WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), leader of the Senate’s Manufacturing Jobs for America campaign, voted Wednesday to approve bipartisan, bicameral legislation that will strengthen our nation’s workforce training programs and help put Americans back to work. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) streamlines and improves effective workforce development initiatives and eliminates 15 unnecessary programs. WIOA also includes five innovative skills-training provisions from the Manufacturing Jobs for America campaign to help prepare America’s workforce for the manufacturing jobs of the 21st century. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives for approval.

“Keeping America competitive means making sure our workers have the skills employers are looking for,” Senator Coons said. “America’s manufacturing sector helped build our nation’s middle class, but the advanced manufacturing jobs of today require higher-skilled workers than ever before. We have to align our workforce development programs with the needs of America’s manufacturers, and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act takes important steps to do just that. This bill invests in local and regional partnerships that will ensure schools across the country are training workers to fill available jobs. The bill also streamlines and eliminates unnecessary programs to ensure investments are focused on the most effective initiatives. I’m glad the Senate has come together to invest in middle class workers and I urge my colleagues in the House to quickly approve this important legislation.”

Led by Senator Coons, more than 25 senators have contributed more than 30 bills to the Senate’s Manufacturing Jobs for America initiative. Roughly one-third of these bills are focused on skills training. Provisions from five of these bills were included in the Senate-passed WIOA reauthorization. They are detailed below: 

Adult Education and Economic Growth Act (S. 1400)

Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)

WIOA includes key portions of S.1400, which seeks to increase investment in adult education, expand access to technology and digital literacy skills for adult learners, require better coordination and integration of adult education with state workforce development systems and postsecondary education, and strengthen English and civics education for new Americans.

America Works Act (S. 453)

Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)

WIOA includes provisions from S. 453, which seeks to prioritize federal funding for job training programs that offer portable, national and industry-recognized credentials. This reform would promote job-training programs that match the skills of workers with the needs of local employers, thereby training individuals for the jobs that are available in their communities right now.

On-the-Job Training Act (S. 1227)

Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.)

WIOA includes aspects of S. 1227, to significantly expand opportunities for on-the-job-training. WIOA requires state workforce investment boards to disseminate information identifying on-the-job-training opportunities and boosts incentives for employers to participate in on-the-job-training programs.

SECTORS Act (S. 1226) 

Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)

WIOA includes provisions from S.1226 to require state and local Workforce Investment Boards to establish sector-based partnerships between employers, educators, and local workforce administrators to train workers for the most in-demand 21st century jobs.

Community College to Career Fund (S. 1269)

Al Franken (D-Minn.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)

WIOA includes aspects of S.1269 to create partnerships between businesses and schools that facilitate effective job training.