Job-Driven Training for Workers

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 5, 2014)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 7041-7043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-02624]

Vol. 79

Wednesday,

No. 24

February 5, 2014

Part III

The President

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Memorandum of January 30, 2014--Job-Driven Training for Workers

Memorandum of January 31, 2014--Enhancing Safeguards To Prevent the
Undue Denial of Federal Employment Opportunities to the Unemployed and
Those Facing Financial Difficulty Through No Fault of Their Own

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

Memorandum of January 30, 2014

Job-Driven Training for Workers

Memorandum for the Secretary of Labor[,] the Secretary
of Commerce[, and] the Secretary of Education

Giving workers the opportunity to acquire the skills
that they need to pursue in-demand jobs and careers is
critical to growing our economy, ensuring that everyone
who works hard is rewarded, and building a strong
middle class. Despite recent employment growth, far too
many hard-working individuals still have not been able
to find a job or increase their earnings, and many
businesses report difficulty hiring workers with the
right skills for jobs that they want to fill.

It is critical that the Federal Government ensure that
its policies and programs in the workforce and training
system are designed to equip the Nation's workers with
skills matching the needs of employers looking to hire.
To achieve this goal, employers must identify the
skills and credentials required for in-demand jobs and
help develop training programs; workers and job seekers
must have access to education and training that meets
their unique needs and the requirements for good jobs
and careers; and employers must have easy ways to find
workers who have or can acquire those skills. We must
take steps to ensure that all relevant Federal programs
follow such a job-driven approach to training, and that
these programs are accountable for getting Americans
into good jobs and careers as quickly as possible. That
is why I have asked the Vice President to lead a
Government-wide review of relevant Federal programs.

Therefore, as part of the overall review process led by
the Vice President, I hereby direct as follows:

Section 1. Job-Driven Reform of Federal Employment and
Training Programs. (a) Within 180 days of the date of
this memorandum and in coordination with the Office of
the Vice President, the National Economic Council, the
Domestic Policy Council, the Council of Economic
Advisers, the Office of Science and Technology Policy,
and the Office of Management and Budget, the
Secretaries of Labor, Commerce, and Education
(Secretaries), in consultation with other executive
departments and agencies as appropriate, shall develop
a specific action plan, to be provided to me through
the Vice President, to make the workforce and training
system more job-driven, integrated, and effective.

(b) The action plan shall identify concrete steps
to make Federal workforce and training programs and
policies more focused on imparting relevant skills with
job-market value, more easily accessed by employers and
job seekers, and more accountable for producing
positive employment and earning outcomes for the people
they serve. Such steps shall be consistent with the
following job-driven training principles:

(i) promoting more active engagement with industry, employers and employer
associations, and worker representatives to identify the skills and
supports workers need, and to make sure those skills are better
communicated to education and training providers, workforce leaders, job
seekers, and policy makers;

(ii) providing support for secondary and post-secondary education and
training entities to equip individuals with the skills, competencies, and

credentials necessary to help them obtain jobs, increase earnings, and
advance their careers;

(iii) making available to workers, job seekers, and employers the best
information regarding job demand, skills matching, supports, and education,
training, and career options, as well as innovative approaches to training
using learning science and advanced technology;

(iv) improving accountability for the outcomes of training programs,
including employment and earnings outcomes;

(v) ensuring better alignment across secondary, post-secondary, and adult
education, and workforce training, including coordinating Federal programs
and promoting foundational skill development for employability, on-the-job
training, and apprenticeship options; and

(vi) encouraging effective regional partnerships among industry, educators,
worker representatives, nonprofits, and the workforce system to prepare,
support, and train youth, unemployed workers, low-skilled employed adults,
and others for career path employment and advancement.

(c) In developing the action plan, the Secretaries
shall consult with industry, employers and employer
associations, State and local leaders, economic
development organizations, worker representatives,
education and training providers, workforce leaders,
and relevant nonprofit organizations.
(d) In developing the action plan, the Secretaries
shall review existing evidence of the job training
strategies that most effectively achieve the goals of
this memorandum, determine what information is lacking,
and identify future research and evaluation that can be
undertaken to ensure that Federal programs invest in
effective practices.

Sec. 2. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this
memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise
affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head
thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent
with applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.

(d) The Secretary of Labor is authorized and
directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal
Register.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

Washington, January 30, 2014.