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2010 WIA youth program guidance
Summary ETA guided states and local workforce boards on program year 2010 WIA youth activities, drawing on 2009 Recovery Act summer employment experience. It discusses work experience design, employer engagement, education links and performance accountability. ETA now lists the year-specific advisory Canceled.
Document
Federal guidance
Agency
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
Document number
TEGL No. 27-09
Date issued
May 13, 2010
Status
Withdrawn
ETA lists this advisory Canceled as of 2026-10-24; its signed letter prints Expiration Date: Continuing and Rescissions: None. It addresses program year 2010.
Status last verified October 24, 2026
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Accessible letter PDF: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2010/TEGL27-09acc.pdf
CLASSIFICATION
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION WIA/Youth
ADVISORY SYSTEM CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OWI-DYS
Washington, D.C. 20210 DATE
May 13, 2010
ADVISORY: TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 27-09
TO: STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES
STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS
FROM: JANE OATES /s/
Assistant Secretary
SUBJECT: Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Youth Program Guidance for
Program Year (PY) 2010
1. Purpose. The purpose of this Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) is
to provide guidance for use of WIA Youth formula funded activities in PY 2010 building
from the experience and lessons learned during the implementation of the Youth program
in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) of 2009.
2. References.
• Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), as amended (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.)
• WIA Regulations at 20 CFR Part 666
• TEGL No. 03-09 Change 2, “Final Guidance to State Workforce Agencies
(SWAs) and Employers for the Implementation of the Two American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
Targeted Groups Requirements;
http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL/TEGL3-09c2.pdf
• TEGL No. 14-08, “Guidance for Implementation of the Workforce Investment
Act and Wagner-Peyser Act Funding in the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 and State Planning Requirements for Program Year
2009;” http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2728
• TEGL No. 17-05, “Common Measures Policy for the Employment and Training
Administration’s (ETA) Performance Accountability System and Related
Performance Issues;” http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2195
• TEGL 13-09, “Contracting Strategies That Facilitate Serving The Youth Most In
Need;” http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2854
• Training and Employment Notice (TEN) No 33-09, “Release and Availability of
Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Occasional Paper 2010-03:
RESCISSIONS EXPIRATION DATE
None Continuing
Reinvesting in America’s Youth: Lessons from the 2009 Recovery Act Summer
Youth Employment Initiative;”
http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2872.
• Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report, “Recovery Act: Funds
Continue to Provide Fiscal Relief to States and Localities, While Accountability
and Reporting Challenges Need to Be Fully Addressed, September 2009;”
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d091016.pdf
• TEN No. 24-09, “Joint Letter from the Employment and Training Administration
(ETA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration
for Children and Families (ACF) regarding youth subsidized employment
opportunities under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Emergency Contingency Fund;”
http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2844
3. Background. The Recovery Act, signed into law on February 17, 2009, marked the
first time since the implementation of WIA that ETA has encouraged states and local
workforce areas to operate expanded summer employment opportunities for youth. In
TEGL14-08, ETA urged states and local workforce investment areas to use Recovery Act
funds to create and expand summer employment and work experience opportunities for
eligible WIA youth. Through the Recovery Act, over 325,000 youth participated in
summer employment opportunities. The implementation of this large-scale effort resulted
in a number of lessons learned that are relevant for the regular WIA Youth program.
PY 2010 offers an excellent opportunity for states and local areas to build on the success
of the summer employment opportunities and work experiences implemented under the
Recovery Act. ETA encourages states and local areas to develop strategies for
incorporating the lessons learned from the Recovery Act into their youth program design.
4. Program Emphases. Summer employment opportunities and paid and unpaid work
experiences are two of the ten program elements in the WIA youth program. The
Recovery Act implementation demonstrated that meaningful work experiences, both
during the summer and throughout the year, provides youth with invaluable opportunities
to learn about career opportunities and to gain the skills necessary to succeed in the
workplace. ETA encourages states and local areas to continue to focus on these two
program elements during PY 2010 with the use of regular WIA Youth formula funds.
(Local areas must still make services available for the other eight program elements for
non-Recovery Act funded-programs. See 20 CFR 664.410 and TEGL 14-08, p.26).
When using WIA Youth formula funds to provide summer employment opportunities and
paid and unpaid work experiences, all regular WIA Youth performance and reporting
requirements apply. If using these funds in combination with other available funding
sources such as remaining WIA Youth Recovery Act funds and leveraged funding such
as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency funds, all relevant
performance and reporting requirements for those funding sources apply. For WIA youth
programming in PY 2010, states and local areas should consider the following:
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• Build the capacity for local areas to expand summer employment opportunities
and work experiences within a comprehensive service strategy based on lessons
learned from PY 2009;
• Improve participants’ employability skills through work readiness training;
• Work with the private sector, in addition to the public sector, to provide more
work experience opportunities for economically disadvantaged and disconnected
youth in private sector employment; and
• Strengthen activities that transition youth from subsidized work experiences into
unsubsidized employment, educational pathways, occupational skills training, or
co-enrollment into WIA Adult services.
5. Experiences from Summer 2009. ETA held two summits in the fall of 2009 for
state and local workforce providers to share the findings and lessons learned from the
local area summer youth employment initiatives. The summits were focused around
three themes: a) serving and transitioning older out-of-school youth; b) accessing jobs
and opportunities for youth in green and other emerging industries, including healthcare;
and c) summer youth employment program design and implementation. Summit
participants identified numerous effective practices for administering summer activities
which are integrated throughout this advisory. Furthermore, resources and presentation
materials collected from the summits can be found on Workforce3one, ETA’s technical
assistance platform, at:
http://economicrecovery.workforce3one.org/page/resources/1001001437571756168.
To better understand the efforts made during the summer of 2009, ETA contracted with
Mathematica Policy Research Inc. to conduct an evaluation of summer youth activities
funded by the Recovery Act. In March 2010, ETA disseminated TEN 33-09 releasing the
evaluation, Reinvesting in America’s Youth: Lessons from the 2009 Recovery Act Summer
Youth Employment Initiative. The evaluation focused on the design and implementation
of the summer youth employment initiative (SYEI), the identification and recruitment of
at-risk youth, and the provision of services and work experience opportunities. Overall,
the evaluation found that while it took enormous effort to get this large initiative up and
running in a short period of time, the SYEI was implemented successfully without any
major problems. In addition, the evaluation found the SYEI had a threefold effect:
money got into the hands of needy families; youth and their families spent the income
earned through SYEI jobs in their depressed local economies; and youth gained valuable
work experience, increasing their long-term job prospects. Also, youth valued the
opportunity to hold a job, gain work skills, build their résumés, and valued the exposure
to professional environments and mentoring from adults. Finally, employers were
overwhelmingly positive about the initiative. They felt that the experience of mentoring
a new employee was worth the effort and nearly all agreed that they would participate
again if given the opportunity.
ETA has based this guidance on the findings and recommendations from the summits as
well as those highlighted in the evaluation. Examples of the lessons learned are
integrated throughout this TEGL.
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6. Leveraging Resources. To sustain summer employment and work experience
opportunities, states and local workforce investment boards should consider using
additional sources of funding to leverage summer employment program activities. In
addition to regular WIA Youth formula funds, local areas can use other resources, such as
remaining WIA Youth Recovery Act funds and TANF Emergency funds. When
leveraging multiple funding streams, however, states must carefully track which
participants are served with which funds and utilize only the flexibilities that are
available for that funding source. Program and reporting requirements are based on the
funding source of the activity.
ETA encourages local areas to partner with TANF agencies in order to leverage resources
to better serve low-income youth with barriers to employment. In January 2009, a joint
letter from the ETA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) was distributed to the workforce system
and human services agencies that urged both systems to work together to explore all
funds available for the creation and expansion of subsidized summer employment
opportunities for low-income youth. ETA released TEN 24-09 to the workforce system
encouraging collaboration and the leveraging of resources where possible. By leveraging
resources made available by the TANF program and WIA employment and training
programs, state and local TANF agencies and local workforce investment boards
(LWIBs) have the potential to bring additional subsidized job opportunities to youth this
summer. In order to assist states in implementing partnerships with TANF agencies,
ETA will consider waivers of performance measures, for states that leverage regular WIA
Youth formula funds with TANF Emergency funds, to use the work readiness indicator
only and waivers of program design features in order to provide the flexibility that was
allowed when implementing summer employment under the Recovery Act. See TEGL
26-09 for specific instructions on requesting such waivers.
When using Recovery Act funds to support WIA youth service activities, particularly
summer employment opportunities, local workforce areas should refer to the guidelines
provided in TEGL 14-08. Otherwise, ETA encourages local areas to use the approaches
provided in this TEGL to launch 2010 summer employment and work experience
opportunities to both in-school and out-of-school youth using regular WIA Youth
formula funding.
7. Program Design Considerations. When considering expanded summer employment
opportunities and work experiences throughout the year, states and local areas should
consider the following design elements:
A. Ensuring Quality Enrollment
• Focusing on Youth Most in Need. ETA encourages states and local areas to
focus services on the eligible youth most in need such as: out-of-school youth
and those most at risk of dropping out; youth in and aging out of foster care;
youth offenders and those at risk of court involvement; homeless and runaway
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youth; children of incarcerated parents; migrant youth; Indian and Native
American youth; and youth with disabilities.
The hardest to serve youth, like dropouts and out-of-school youth, require
additional time and assistance to attain positive outcomes as measured by the
WIA Youth common and statutory measures. Therefore, ETA encourages
states and local areas to implement strategies that promote longer-term services
for these youth to prepare them for post-secondary education and/or the
workforce. TEGL 13-09 provides states, LWIBs, and service providers
strategies and tools to develop training contracts that promote longer-term
services to the youth most in need, while still achieving performance goals.
• Focusing on Older Youth. Regular WIA formula funds require local areas to
serve youth 14 to 21 years old. Under the Recovery Act, however, local areas
are allowed to serve youth up to the age of 24, making it the first time that many
providers have attempted to recruit, identify and serve this expanded older youth
population. The evaluation found that local areas had difficulty reaching older
youth, including veterans and their spouses. The evaluation cited several
strategies to improve those efforts that would require providers to:
think beyond “youth” when designing and promoting youth activities
given that many veterans and young adults have children, household
responsibilities, and significant work experience;
avoid alienating young adults by characterizing the summer
employment as only a youth program;
develop new partnerships or reframe old partnerships with
organizations that already serve these young adults; and
implement strategies to differentiate services based on the unique needs
of these older participants.
ETA recommends considering these strategies when serving older youth up to
age 21 in the regular WIA youth program and when serving older youth up to
age 24 with remaining WIA Youth Recovery Act funds.
• Improving Eligibility Processes. The summer employment evaluation found
that almost all of the local areas studied had challenges with determining youth
eligibility due to difficulty in managing an increased volume of youth and in
processing and collecting adequate documentation from youth and parents.
ETA recommends that local areas consider several strategies outlined in the
evaluation to improve eligibility processes, such as:
providing more training to less experienced staff members to prepare
them for summer tasks;
relying more heavily on experienced staff to perform eligibility
determination; and
examining other possible strategies to maximize staff resources such as
streamlining intake procedures through prescreening applications and
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coordinating with schools and social service agencies to determine
youth eligibility.
• Using Technology to Aid Program Administration and Reporting. Where
possible, states and local areas should consider utilizing creative and efficient
approaches to program administration through the use of technology. During
the summer of 2009, many local areas used technology to provide on-line
training and webinars as a way to reinforce information provided in employer
orientations and to support work readiness training offered to youth participants.
In addition, local areas reported posting policies, procedures, and guidance
online as well as job listings to assist in transitioning youth into unsubsidized
employment. One local area used a Web site to streamline and simplify
recruitment by offering online applications for both youth and potential
worksites. This technology also provided real-time reporting capabilities,
tracked youth participation and worksite placement efforts, and offered
customizable data sorting features and online document sharing.
B. Ensuring Youth Preparation and Support
• Work Readiness Training and other Non-Worksite Activities. States and
local areas are encouraged to integrate work experiences with related work
readiness training, academics, occupational skills training, and/or leadership
development. The evaluation revealed that youth found work readiness training
to be one of the most useful aspects of the summer initiative. When
implementing work readiness training, ETA encourages local areas to consider
the following strategies to maximize the impact of work readiness and related
training:
Training Design Components. Program models should include training design
components, such as:
Group orientations that communicate the overall benefits of a work
experience, provide program expectations for work behavior, address
any outstanding procedural questions from youth prior to the start of
the program, and are interactive, motivational, and typically last at least
a half-day;
Work readiness training prior to worksite placement that is engaging,
focuses on the foundation skills desired by employers, lasts at least one
week with the length of time dependent on participants’ needs, and
ensures youth are adequately prepared for their work experience;
On-site group or individual orientation by the employer on the first day
of worksite placement to introduce youth to the worksite, and review
expectations outlined in the worksite evaluation; and
On-going training integrated throughout the work experience that
continues a few hours each week in combination with the work
experience.
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Training Content Areas. Work readiness topics should focus on training content
areas, such as:
Foundation skills such as communication skills, teamwork, decision-
making, problem-solving, conflict-resolution, work habits, customer
service, responsibility, appearance, integrity, leadership, and time-
management;
Job-seeking skills such as portfolio-building (resumes, cover letters,
references), job applications, entrepreneurship, interviewing,
networking, and transition planning into unsubsidized employment
opportunities;
Career planning including career assessments and options for continued
education;
Financial literacy such as budgeting, use of credit, opening of bank
accounts;
Industry-specific training relevant to the work experience; and
Basic skills including math, reading and computer literacy.
• Measuring Work Readiness. The primary indicator for measuring youth
performance under Recovery Act funding is the work readiness attainment rate,
and it is the only required measure for summer youth employment funded by the
Recovery Act. Pursuant to TEGL 14-08, local areas are given flexibility in
designing their work readiness indicator. To enhance the effectiveness of the
measure, the GAO report in September 2009 recommended that ETA “provide
additional guidance on how to measure work readiness of youth, with a goal of
improving the comparability and rigor of the measure.” Based on this
recommendation, and on similar findings from the evaluation, local feedback, and
Federal site visits, ETA will provide additional requirements for the work
readiness indicator in the forthcoming TEGL 24-08, Change 1 for local areas with
remaining Recovery Act funds in PY 2010. We intend that the additional
requirements, with more detail to be provided in TEGL 24-08, Change 1,
including an optional work readiness tool, will include the following:
A worksite evaluation measuring performance in the workplace is
required to assess work readiness for the work readiness indicator.
Previous feedback has demonstrated that the most effective method of
assessing work readiness is to require the worksite supervisor to
observe and evaluate workplace performance. Having youth complete
true/false or multiple choice tests, which only measure knowledge and
not behavior, is a less effective tool for measuring work readiness.
This worksite evaluation will be conducted by the employer. While
the employer will be responsible for assessing performance, local area
program staff should assist employers in order to make the process as
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simple and seamless as possible including designing the evaluation and
providing clear instructions on its use through employer orientations.
The tool should focus on attaining a satisfactory level of workplace
proficiency as opposed to a measurable increase or gain. The
attainment of proficiency or competency in the foundation and
worksite-specific skills necessary to be successful in the workplace
should be determined by the employer and should be based on the
attainment of work behaviors outlined in the worksite evaluation tool.
This tool should clearly state the overall criteria necessary to achieve
workplace proficiency. For example, worksite evaluation tools could
state that work readiness proficiency can only be attained after: a) the
supervisor indicates satisfactory performance; and b) a minimum
numerical score for determining proficiency is achieved.
The tool should measure work readiness skills most desired by
employers. This includes universal foundation skills such as work
habits/professionalism (i.e., attendance, punctuality, attitude),
teamwork/collaboration, communication skills, and critical
thinking/problem-solving. In addition, the tool should allow for
flexibility to include industry or job-specific skills as determined by the
employer.
More information on measuring work readiness as well as examples of evaluation
tools are available on Workforce3one at;
http://economicrecovery.workforce3one.org/view/2001007634435243374/info.
• Academic and Occupational Linkages. Under the Recovery Act, ETA allows
local areas the flexibility to determine whether it is appropriate that academic
learning be directly linked to summer employment for each youth. The
evaluation found that some local areas offered academics or skills training to
either all or a subset of youth, either before or while participating in a work
experience, ranging from occupational skills training to recovery of school
credits. The most commonly targeted occupational skills training was health care,
manufacturing, culinary, and construction industries as well as entrepreneurship.
Less common academic programs included recovery of school credits, GED
preparation programs, and remediation. When linking academic and/or
occupational learning to a work experience, ETA encourages local areas to assess
the academic and occupational skills needs and interests of youth and determine
appropriate training, especially training leading to credential attainment,
combined with a work experience placement that supports the enhancement of
identified skills.
• Supportive Services. Under WIA, the provision of supportive services is one of
the ten elements local areas must make available to eligible youth. Supportive
services may include transportation, child care, dependent care, housing, and
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other services that are necessary to enable an individual who is unable to obtain
the services from other programs to participate in activities authorized under
WIA. The evaluation found that although sites were not required to offer
supportive services to participants under the Recovery Act, nearly all sites offered
them to participants once they were placed on a job. The evaluation stated that
many providers had extensive experience working with disadvantaged youth and
recognized the need for additional support for youth to overcome their
employment barriers. Staff most often reported helping youth to resolve
transportation issues, to acquire appropriate work clothing and tools, and to gain
access to child care. ETA encourages local areas to provide supportive services to
populations in need, such as disconnected youth, in order to support their efforts
to connect to and succeed in education, training and work experience
opportunities.
C. Ensuring Quality Work Experiences
• Ensuring Quality Worksites. States and local areas should seek employers that
are committed to helping participants receive high quality experience and training
as well as employers that are willing to work closely with program staff. Local
areas should consider recruiting employers based on local workforce investment
targeted and priority industries. Employers should be flexible in working with
youth who have issues that may present barriers to employment. In addition,
states and local areas should consider a combination of public sector, private
sector, and non-profit work experiences. The evaluation found that while not
necessarily appropriate for all youth, the private sector can be a good source of high
quality jobs for many participants, particularly older youth with previous work
experience. Some local areas included in the evaluation felt that by placing young
people in private sector worksites, there was a greater chance for the summer
work experience to lead to unsubsidized employment opportunities.
ETA recommends that local areas place a strong emphasis on the orientation and
preparation of worksite supervisors. Local areas are encouraged to formalize
worksite agreements with worksite supervisors prior to youth beginning their
work experience. Worksite supervisors should be fully trained on the program’s
elements, mission, and goals. The evaluation reported that some local areas found
that creating comprehensive job descriptions for participants ensured that
expectations were met by youth, employers and providers. In addition, having
employers participate in a supervisor orientation, provide input on the
development of the work experience, and serve as onsite mentors improved the
experience of both employers and youth.
• Job Matching. States and local areas should make an effort to match worksites
with participants’ personal and professional interests and goals. The evaluation
found that a well thought-out match can maximize the likelihood that a youth has
a meaningful work experience. Local areas reported four key considerations
when matching youth to worksites: the youth’s personal interests expressed
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through their application, orientation, or meetings with staff; direct employer
feedback after a formal interview; the youth’s age, experience, and skills; and
transportation needs or other logistical issues. Some local areas also felt that
private sector placements provided a greater opportunity to match jobs by youth
interest based on the variety of jobs available in the private sector. ETA
encourages local areas to consider all of these factors when developing
meaningful work experiences for youth.
• Worksite Monitoring. Worksite monitoring is an important component of a
summer employment or work experience program to ensure a meaningful work
experience for young people as well as to secure a quality worksite. The
evaluation reported that staff unanimously agreed that ongoing
monitoring/oversight through in-person visits was essential to ensuring high-
quality experiences and heading off problems between worksite supervisors and
youth before they became serious. Local areas are encouraged to dedicate
appropriate staff to monitor employers and worksite activities. Program monitors
can work to maintain on-going contact with employers to provide support and
technical assistance. In addition, monitors can work to ensure that worksite
agreements are upheld, adequate supervision and quality mentoring are provided
to youth, and worksites are in compliance with workplace safety and child labor
laws.
Where possible, dedicating a staff person to monitor and work with youth can be
valuable in assessing the quality of the work experience and measuring youth
progress throughout the subsidized placement. Program staff may work to ensure
youth are receiving mentoring, are safe and productive, and are achieving success
in their placement. Proper and on-going monitoring can ensure that if problems
exist or if the worksite is not a good match for the youth or the employer, local
areas will have time to effectively address the issue or place the participant in an
alternative worksite activity, if appropriate.
• Incorporating Green Work Experiences. In TEGL 14-08, ETA encouraged
local areas to expand opportunities for youth in the emerging green industry. In
summer 2009 under the Recovery Act, local areas responded by developing a
variety of opportunities that exposed youth to green jobs. These included:
offering opportunities for youth to receive industry-recognized certifications,
occupational skills training in green technology, materials and building
techniques, and training courses on green career paths provided by local
community colleges. Other local areas developed conservation corps, partnered
with the public housing authority to do energy audits, and provided opportunities
to receive college credits for exploration of water quality jobs. These and other
summer youth employment program examples focused on green jobs have been
collected and archived on Workforce3One and are available at:
http://economicrecovery.workforce3one.org/page/resources/10009265459411215
82 and
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http://economicrecovery.workforce3one.org/page/resources/10010027305152525
81.
To further expand the knowledge and improve the practices related to green jobs,
the Department has engaged in several efforts that aim to assist the workforce
system in this emerging field. ETA supported an Occupational Information
Network (O*NET) project, that resulted in a report titled, “Greening of the World
of Work: Implications for O*NET-SOC and New and Emerging Occupations”
that aimed to define the types of occupations that fall into this new green
economy and determine the level of demand as well as the change in skills and
education required for the occupation. This research can be used as a starting
point for identifying green industries and occupations and informing the
development of training and job placement programs. The report can be found at:
http://www.onetcenter.org/dl_files/Green.pdf.
Most recently, Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published a notice in the
Federal Register that presents definitions BLS will use in measuring green jobs,
describes in general how BLS plans to collect data on green jobs and solicits
comments from the public on the definition and specific questions concerning the
definition. The Notice as well as additional information on BLS’ efforts around
defining and reporting data on green jobs can be found at:
http://www.bls.gov/green/.
ETA has also created a new Green Community of Practice (CoP) offering an
interactive platform for technical assistance related to building a green economy
through webinars, discussion boards, blogs and other online resources to
workforce professionals, particularly those at the state and Workforce Investment
Board levels as well as green jobs grantees. The Green CoP is available at:
http://greenjobs.workforce3one.org/.
In addition, ETA awarded nearly $500 million for grants for green job training
under five separate competitions in late 2009 and early 2010. The purpose of
these grants is to provide preparation to workers for careers in energy efficiency
and renewable sectors of high growth and emerging industries. Fact sheets are
available for each of the grants awarded and can offer valuable information to
states and local areas working to develop green jobs opportunities for youth
during summer and year-round employment programs. Fact sheets can be found
on the Green Capacity Building Grants at:
http://www.doleta.gov/pdf/GreenJobs.pdf, the State Labor Market Information
Improvements Grants at:
http://www.doleta.gov/pdf/LMI_Grant_Summaries_02052010.pdf, the Energy
Training Partnership Grants at:
http://www.doleta.gov/pdf/ETP_SGA_Award_Summaries_120409.pdf, the
Pathways Out of Poverty Grants at:
http://www.doleta.gov/pdf/Pathways_Poverty_grants.pdf; and the State Energy
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Sector Partnership and Training Grants for Green Jobs at:
http://www.doleta.gov/pdf/SESP_Summaries.pdf.
Incorporating Heath Care Work Experiences. Health care is one of the fastest
growing industry sectors in the nation. In December, 2009, BLS predicted that of
the 30 fastest-growing occupations between 2008 to 2018, 17 will be in health
care or medical research and that employment in health care is projected to
increase by 21 percent or 1.6 million jobs. Acute workforce shortages and
projected growth exist for allied health occupations in particular, such as medical
assistants, respiratory therapists, pharmacy technicians, diagnostic medical
sonographers, paramedics, and radiological and other technicians. BLS projects
that by 2016 medical assistant occupations are expected to grow by 35 percent,
paramedic occupations are expected to grow by 19 percent and radiological
technicians by 15 percent. As such, ETA encourages local areas to provide
opportunities for youth to connect to educational and career pathways in the
health care and allied health industries. Local areas are encouraged to provide
youth with exposure to the field, work experience and opportunities to earn
credentials. Upon completion of the work experience, local areas should facilitate
the transition of youth into entry-level health care employment opportunities or
into related education and training programs, when appropriate.
During summer 2009 under the Recovery Act, local areas provided youth with
opportunities in career exploration and mentorship, job shadowing, and hands-on
work experiences within the health care industry. In addition, young people were
provided with opportunities to complete industry specific training, such as in
medical terminology, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and
health information technology as well as to earn industry recognized
certifications, such as Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation – Health Provider, First
Aid, Blood Borne Pathogens and Automatic External Defibrillator. These and
other examples of summer youth employment initiatives focused on health care
and allied health occupations can be found on Workforce3one at:
http://economicrecovery.workforce3one.org/page/resources/10010027351433390
93.
D. Ensuring Transitional Opportunities beyond Work Experience
• Transitioning Older Out-of-School Youth beyond Work Experience. For
older and out-of-school youth who are not returning to school following a
subsidized work experience, states and local areas should work to transition youth
into unsubsidized employment, education, training opportunities, or co-enroll
them into WIA Adult services. Additionally, states and local areas may test
transitional job models that combine short-term subsidized work experience with
support services and career counseling using Statewide Youth Activities funds or
other resources to pilot and support new and innovative strategies for out-of-
school youth.
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Examples of transition strategies reported by local areas include: forming work
experience partnerships with business, education, and training institutions that can
continue to assist young adults beyond the work experience; hiring program staff
who are specifically assigned to connect young adults to transitional opportunities
based on their individual interests and needs; allocating time in weekly work
readiness workshops to promote speakers from local business and educational
institutions; and holding career transition conferences or related work fairs
following the conclusion of the summer. ETA encourages states and local areas
to develop planning strategies that can be integrated before, during, and/or after a
work experience that transition youth into one of the following:
Unsubsidized Employment. Many youth, particularly older out-of-
school youth, aim to directly transition from subsidized to unsubsidized
employment. Prior to a youth completing a work experience, local
areas should identify employers with greater potential to hire youth into
unsubsidized employment; utilizing local labor market information to
inform the process. The evaluation found that a number of local areas
reported that private sector employers were more likely to hire youth
into unsubsidized positions and that private sector employers can offer
high-quality jobs, particularly for older youth with greater work
experience. Therefore, ETA encourages local areas to expand
engagement efforts to private sector employers, thereby increasing
unsubsidized employment opportunities.
Education. For out-of-school youth, a work experience can provide a
potential bridge back to education. Through work experiences as well
as career mentoring provided by employers, youth are exposed to the
skills and education needed to achieve their career goals. This often
reinforces the importance of earning secondary and post-secondary
credentials. Local areas are encouraged to link work experiences with
opportunities that expose youth to educational pathways. In 2009,
many local areas partnered with community colleges to provide
integrated work and training experiences that increased the exposure of
youth to higher education including the opportunity to earn college
credits. Also, many local areas used academic training to address basic
skill deficiencies or stationed staff at partner schools to help promote
the return of out-of-school youth.
Occupational Skills Training. Moving from a work experience to
occupational skills training can be a natural transition for youth. ETA
encourages local areas to partner with regional occupational training
programs, adult education programs, and community colleges to enroll
older youth in programs that have successful completion and high
placement rates for serving this population of youth. Training areas
can include, but are not limited to: allied health, solar installation,
aviation mechanics, customer service, welding and diesel mechanics,
information technology, and topics related to science, technology,
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engineering, and math occupations. Occupational skills training should
result in the attainment of employer/industry-recognized credentials
that promote career pathways.
Registered Apprenticeship. Pre-apprenticeship programs can include
summer employment opportunities and work experiences that provide
an introduction to the skills and knowledge required to be eligible for
registered apprenticeships. Local areas are encouraged to develop and
implement pre-apprenticeship training programs as well as develop
strategies that transition youth from pre-apprenticeship programs into
registered apprenticeships. Through partnerships with schools,
employers, labor organizations, registered apprenticeship program
sponsors and state apprenticeship offices, local areas should work
collaboratively to determine how best to coordinate these efforts.
Co-Enrollment in WIA Adult Services: Older youth who meet the
eligibility criteria for WIA Adult services can co-enroll in both the
WIA Youth and Adult programs (including both WIA-funded services,
where the maximum “youth” age is 21 and Recovery Act-funded
services, where the maximum “youth” age is 24). WIA regulations at
20 CFR 664.500 (b) state that individuals who meet the respective
eligibility requirements may participate in adult and youth programs
concurrently. This would allow youth who are co-enrolled to access
advanced occupational training.
Additional strategies on transitioning older out-of-school youth beyond work
experience can be found on Workforce3One at
http://www.workforce3one.org/view/5000920957388172820/info.
• Work Opportunity Tax Credit adds Transition Incentive for Disconnected
Youth: The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a Federal credit available
to private for-profit employers who hire eligible participants from particular target
groups into unsubsidized employment. In 2009, the Recovery Act expanded
WOTC eligibility to include two new groups that begin working for an employer
in 2009 or 2010: unemployed veterans and disconnected youth. Disconnected
youth is defined as youth ages 16-24 who are not regularly attending school or
employed, and are not readily employable due to a lack of basic skills. For
disconnected youth the credit is available for up to $2400 for private-for-profit
employers who hire disconnected youth, that could include eligible WIA youth
participants, into unsubsidized employment. The WOTC is a potential incentive
for employers to hire youth into unsubsidized, permanent employment following
the completion of a work experience or summer job. To facilitate timely
certifications for the disconnected youth category, ETA has issued a national
Youth Self Attestation Form. This form and additional clarification around the
WOTC eligibility criteria for “disconnected youth” can be found in TEGL No.
03-09 Change 2. States and local areas are encouraged to promote the awareness,
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benefits, and execution of the WOTC through multiple strategies that may include
the use of promotional materials, employer outreach, and administrative
assistance to employers with the WOTC application process. For more
information on other eligible groups, eligibility criteria, and application
procedures see the following link:
http://www.doleta.gov/business/Incentives/opptax/.
E. Tools and Resources. ETA has gathered a clearinghouse of tools and resources from
around the country that may be helpful to local areas in implementing summer
employment and work experiences throughout the year. The tools and resources include
summer youth program examples, worksite agreements, work readiness measurement
methodologies, training materials for staff and worksite supervisors, guidance for
monitoring worksites, green and health care industry materials, past technical assistance
materials developed under the Job Training Partnership Act summer employment
program as well as more recent resource materials gathered from the 2009 summer youth
employment initiatives implemented under the Recovery Act. The tools and resources
for summer youth, as well as for reemployment, can be found on
http://economicrecovery.workforce3one.org/.
8. Performance Accountability. To ensure ETA is able to describe the successes
achieved through the implementation of these youth program strategies, the collection of
accurate, quality data is instrumental to analyzing the outcomes of the various programs
and services offered by the workforce system, including the WIA Youth program. There
are three performance reports that must be completed on a monthly or quarterly basis:
(1) the ETA 9090, WIA Quarterly Report, (2) the Workforce Investment Act
Standardized Record Data (WIASRD), submitted quarterly on all participants and exiters,
and (3) the ETA 9149, WIA Youth Monthly Report. Additionally, on an annual basis,
states must submit the ETA 9091, WIA Annual Performance Report.
9. Inquiries. Questions regarding this guidance should be directed to the appropriate
ETA Regional Office.
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