Located in:
I. b. Plan Introduction or Executive Summary
The Unified or Combined State Plan may include an introduction or executive summary. This element is optional.
Current Narrative:
Palau is a single state workforce area and the President of the Republic of Palau, as the chief elected official, restructured its State Workforce Development Board (State Board) in June of 2015 to include all community stakeholders from the private and public sector of the Republic. He increased the number of members in the Executive Committee from the State Board to act as State Board Liaison/Local Board and the WIOA Adult, Youth, and Dislocated Worker Grant Sub-recipient. The State Board during its first meeting in July of 2015, selected members to become the Youth Committee to review potential providers of youth activities; conduct oversight and other relevant youth activities under the workforce system.
Palau is very much committed to improving, aligning and integrating workforce delivery systems under Combined State Plan guidelines. The Executive Committee which consists of a majority of private business executives shall perform their specific roles and responsibilities working directly with the WIOA Office Director to further develop and enhance existing demand-driven workforce system and strengthened partnership with education and economic sectors for integration and collaboration of workforce activities. The Board developed its agenda of further development and improvement of the workforce system to strengthen the achievements of workforce, education, business and economic development.
As a single state workforce area, Palau has been operating its workforce investment system on a collaborative partnership with education and the business community toward a better developed, improved, and sustainable economy.
This Combined State Plan development process highlights the following strategies:
-Increase access to and opportunities for the employment, education, training, and support services to individuals, and in particular, those with barriers to employment and need to succeed in the labor market;
-Align workforce investment, education, and economic development systems in support of a comprehensive, accessible, accountable, and high-quality workforce development system;
-Improve the quality and labor market relevance of workforce investment, education, and economic development efforts;
-Promote improvement in the structure and delivery of services;
-Increase the prosperity of workers and employers, the economic growth of communities, regions and the global competitiveness of the nation;
-Provide innovative workforce investment activities, through integrated workforce development systems, that increase employment, retention, and earnings of participants and that increase postsecondary credential attainment and, as a result, improve the quality of the workforce, reduce welfare dependency, increase economic self-sufficiency, meet skill requirements of employers, and enhance productivity and competitiveness of the nation;
-Measure effectiveness, improve transparency, and support informed consumer choice through performance reporting, evaluation, and data systems that support these activities; and
Shall further:
•Create awareness and a sense of urgency around the importance of workforce and economic development that will inform and motivate state and local policy makers, business, education and political leaders about the critical nature of addressing workforce, education, and economic development challenges.
-Build and align a demand-driven system that clearly reflects the employment needs of the industry clusters strengthen partnership aligned to business needs, and to enhance the comprehensive workforce information system.
-Identify and eliminate barriers that inhibit workers from getting the education and training needed to be employable, and employers getting the quantity and quality of the workforce needed.
-Develop systems to measure and report the quantitative and qualitative workforce system impact on local and regional economies and individuals.
-Ensure continuous improvement toward a demand-driven workforce system.
The State Board’s Executive Committee and the Youth Committee undertook a comprehensive planning initiative to set a new strategic direction for the Board to build a highly competitive workforce in Palau.
Formal agreements have been developed and signed by all workforce partnership with the WIOA Office and the State Board that include Palau Community College, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Belau Employers and Education Association. The agreements set forth collaborative services offered by each partner agency to all workforce customers.