Oregon Implementation of Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (WIOA)
Oregon has the support of the federal government
in efforts to help state residents reach their full education and career
potential. The HECC Offices of Workforce Investments (OWI) and Community Colleges and Workforce Development
(CCWD) work together as
the administrative entities for several federally funded workforce and
education programs, authorized by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(WIOA), and are primary partners in the implementation of WIOA in Oregon.
WIOA is designed to help job seekers succeed in
the labor market by providing them with to access employment, education,
training, and support services and to match employers with the skilled workers
they need to compete in the global economy. HECC has direct authority over
several of these core programs in Oregon, including:
support dislocated workers, other adults, and employers before and during a layoff, or with general career development, and they provide adult skills and training opportunities at community colleges and other sites statewide. Administered by the HECC Office of Workforce Investments (OWI).
OWI and CCWD have direct administrative
responsibility for many of the activities identified in the Adult, Dislocated Worker,
and Youth programs identified in title I of WIOA and the Adult Education and
Literacy activities identified in title II of WIOA. In these roles, the HECC
distributes workforce funding, provides fiscal oversight and accountability for
workforce programs, and provides policy direction and technical assistance to
state and local workforce partners, staff, and other stakeholders statewide.
WIOA supersedes the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and amends the Adult Education and Family
Literacy Act, the Wagner-Peyser Act, and the Rehabilitation Act of
1973. Each year, the key programs that form the pillars of WIOA help tens
of millions of job seekers and workers nationwide connect to good jobs and
acquire the skills and credentials needed to obtain them.