Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Wagner-Peyser Program (Employment Services)
All Program-Specific Requirements provided for the WIOA core programs in this section must be addressed for either a Unified or Combined State Plan.
a. 1. Describe how the State will staff the provision of labor exchange services under the Wagner-Peyser Act, such as through State employees, including but not limited to state merit staff employees, staff of a subrecipient, or some combination thereof.
Current Narrative:
Indiana’s Wagner Peyser program covers the full range of labor exchange activities in our WorkOne system. In the comprehensive one-stop offices, the Department of Workforce Development employs over 120 employees through Wagner Peyser funding. These employees partner with the other staff who implement key components of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Their tasks include, but are not limited to, initial client evaluation and assessment, job search assistance, re-employment assistance through the Indiana’s Jobs for Hoosiers program, employer recruitment and other employer services. Indiana’s state merit staff are closely tied to our employers across the state and provide a full range of services directly to our employers to assist them filling their open positions.
In addition to staff the Wagner Peyser grant provides tools for state staff and their partners to manage the labor exchange services necessary to match an employer with a potential employee. Some of these tools include Indiana’s labor exchange system called Indiana Career Connect. Assessment tools to help employees and employers evaluate the skills needed for critical positions such as Indiana Career Explorer (ICE), WorkKeys, cTorq, Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE) to name a few.
Additionally, over the next 4 years, we intend on leveraging our state merit staff to help train and inform guidance counselors in our school districts and career coaches through community organizations on labor exchange services and job matching. Through partnerships with local Workforce Development Boards, school districts could collaborate with the Boards to coordinate staff and expertise to assist with career counseling for K-12 students. State merit staff could offer workshops or professional development opportunities to help teachers and counselors learns about various postsecondary options. They can also be embedded in schools to share the counseling load or provide labor exchange information. Other WIOA programs, such as Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG), and community organizations could be supplemented with labor exchange services from state merit staff, serving as the gap filler for these services.
Indiana will also leverage the Skillful Governor's Coaching Corps to provide labor exchange services to constituents. This program is a partnership between Skillful and the state of Indiana. It is an 8-month program that gives career coaches the tools and training they need to better serve Hoosiers in our rapidly changing labor market. The participants represent a diverse mix of organizations: public workforce centers, adult educational institutions, K-12 schools, and non-profits from all 12 Indiana workforce regions. The work that this group completes serves as a foundation for professional development for school counselors and other school personnel to help provide career guidance and advisement to students and parents to help them make more informed decisions.
In light of the recent changes to the Wagner-Peyser regulations that permits states to have increased staffing flexibility, Indiana will evaluate potential changes to staffing models and the state merit requirement over the next fiscal year.