Signed into Law on August 7, 1998, the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA--P.L. 105-220) reforms Federal employment, adult education, and vocational rehabilitation programs to create an integrated, "one-stop" system of workforce investment and education activities for adults and youth. Entities that carry out postsecondary vocational and technical education activities assisted under the Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act are mandatory partners in this one-stop delivery system.
WIA was instituted to help address the challenges of a global economy. Rather than focusing on the individual and their needs like JTPA, WIA focuses on the needs of "the" company and how to make companies and industries more productive. WIA gives state and local government the primary responsibility to implement all programs and mandates an even larger role for business led decision-making. A major goal for WIA is economic development for the business community obtained by growing companies and increasing the number of jobs.
Title I of WIA authorizes workforce investment programs and activities that are administered by the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor.
The Federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) provides the framework for a national workforce preparation and employment system and funds a number of employment and training programs. Services are provided to employers and job seekers, including adults, dislocated workers and youth.
WIA's primary purpose is to increase the employment, retention, skills and earnings of participants. These programs help prepare people to participate in the workforce, increase their employment and earnings potential, improve their educational and occupational skills, and reduce their dependency on welfare, which will improve the quality of the workforce, and enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the nation's economy.
Effective July 1, 2000, WIA replaced the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), the 1982 Federal law which created, directed and financed the nation's single largest employment and training program.
Congress passed The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in 1998 and replaced the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) in an effort to streamline and strengthen this country's job training system. Taking full effect on July 1, 2000, WIA intended to create a locally integrated "One-Stop" delivery system of multiple employment services, job training and education programs, designed to be universally accessible to job seekers, and to meet local industry demands in communities across the county. WIA mandated the participation of partner agencies that provide such services, including the Perkins program.
Implementation of WIA has worked well in some local areas, but, overall, there has been a downward trend in the provision of employment services, particularly in the number of job seekers being referred to training programs. According to U.S. Department of Labor data analyzed by the Center for Law and Social Policy, there has been an approximate 66 percent drop in the number of person receiving training in the early years of WIA's implementation, and the last years of JTPA. Among the reasons cited for this change includes local funds being diverted from service delivery for infrastructure development in the new One-Stop system. Additional frustrations at the local level have included complicated negotiations among partner agencies regarding funding and service delivery, and limited business engagement in the system.
The Workforce Investment Act was originally scheduled for reauthorization in 2003, but numerous delays have occured and a new law has not been finalized.
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