Located in:
- II. Strategic Elements
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include a Strategic Planning Elements section that analyzes the State’s current economic environment and identifies the State’s overall vision for its workforce development system. The required elements in this section allow the State to develop data-driven goals for preparing an educated and skilled workforce and to identify successful strategies for aligning workforce development programs. Unless otherwise noted, all Strategic Planning Elements apply to Combined State Plan partner programs included in the plan as well as to core programs.
- b. State Strategic Vision and Goals
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include the State’s strategic vision and goals for developing its workforce and meeting employer needs in order to support economic growth and economic self-sufficiency. This must include—
- b. State Strategic Vision and Goals
II. b. 1. Vision
Current Narrative:
Delaware Governor John Carney and the Delaware Workforce Development Board (DWDB) envision an integrated workforce system, which brings together diverse partners to ensure all Delawareans have access to a publicly funded workforce system that promotes, prepares, and connects workers with jobs, training, education and other resources to provide Delaware employers with the workers needed to ensure financial independence. Gov. Carney sees the process spanning the entire life of a workforce participant. Developmental years focus on four specific skill-sets: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) skills; Thinking Skills; Workplace Skills; and Citizenship Skills. Students, benefiting from anticipated improvement in graduation rates, move to post-secondary education and/or training via several tracks including, but not limited to, Delaware’s University system, Delaware’s Technical and Community College System, and other professional or trades training programs. Adults will continue to hone their skills throughout a lifetime of learning.
Governor Carney has determined that Delaware will continue to operate as a single service delivery area, with the State Board acting as both a state and local board, in accordance with WIOA. The DWDB concurs and believes Delawareans receive the best service through a unified plan developed and monitored through a single service delivery area. This approach makes best use of limited resources, promotes systemic agility, and ensures unity of effort throughout Delaware’s four One-Stop sites, which cover almost 2,500 square miles in three counties.
Moreover, a single delivery system enables the Governor and Board to build on the successes of the past several years by reinforcing existing relationships among core partners, extended partners, and one-stop partners. This is an essential task, as leaders outside the publicly-funded workforce system provide a wealth of knowledge, access, and resources which expand opportunities under limited governmental resources.
While Gov. Carney and the DWDB will continue to develop and refine the state’s strategic vision, they believe the best place to execute the vision is in a fully integrated One-Stop partner system, which combines mandatory partners, core partners, and extended partners in a robust referral-based system that gets people to the right place in the shortest amount of time.
The operational vision is to provide a comprehensive integrated system of employment & training services for all Delawareans (individuals and businesses).
For Job Seekers:
• The system will be universally accessible and will include services varying from self-directed to intensive and variations in between. For example, Delaware JobLink services can be reached via a personal computer on the internet through intensive case managed services provided by a TANF Welfare to Work staff member.
• It will be characterized by a single portal (Delaware JobLink), connecting business and individual needs. This will be possible by linking One-Stop centers, partner sites, affiliated sites and contractors and individuals for a centralized job seeker referral process.
• Work with customers to link talents, career lattices and work-based training efficiently.
For Business Customers the system will meet the needs of employers by:
• Identifying their needs.
• Developing customized business strategies and products to meet their needs.
• Providing staff-assisted services, as necessary.
• Providing a self-service site to view the full array of services and access to them.
• Sharing resources among partners, thereby limiting duplication in services for businesses.
The Workforce Development Board will continue to use demand occupational data from the state’s Office of Occupational and Labor Market Information (OOLMI), the DWDB’s private industry members, intelligence from the Private Public Partnership (previously the Delaware Economic Development Office(DEDO); and also information gleaned through the Delaware Department of Labor’s, Division of Employment and Training (DOL-DET) outreach efforts of its Business Services Unit to develop and constantly refine the demand occupations list. This list is the primary source for approving and developing training programs. This integrated approach mirrors the cross-agency and cross-divisional cooperation the Governor expects from all partners in the workforce system.