Archives for Workforce & Government

The lifeline that many in the White House hoped would be forthcoming for the 1.3 million Americans who lost their Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits on December 28, 2013 (which KRA Corporation highlighted in a recent blog post), emerged yesterday. In a bill co-sponsored by Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the Senate agreed by a vote of 60-37 to proceed with an action that would temporarily reinstate benefits for the long-term unemployed for another 3 months. Tom Perez, the Department of Labor Secretary, was congratulatory of the move saying in a statement that, “Today’s Senate vote was
Read More

KRA Corporation looks at some of the figures and factors that predominate the size and earning capabilities of Federal employees as 2014 unfolds. As the White House continues to employ measures aimed at creating jobs and growing the middle class, there is a movement toward shrinking their own ranks from within. According to a Government Executive article, the Federal Government lost a further 7,000 jobs in November—which is on top of the additional 18,000 positions that closed in September and October combined. It seems that this downward trend in employment within the government is calculated. The Bureau of Labor Statistics
Read More

KRA Corporation examines where the Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization stands as this year draws to a close. With questions circulating about the future of important federally-funded programs, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and its pending reauthorization should receive some special mention. Since it was last revisited in 2003, the failure to reauthorize P.L.105-220 has claimed some invaluable funding streams for workforce development programs.   It has not all been “can kicking” down the aisle. There have been reformation and reauthorization efforts on both sides of the political equation in recent years. This year, the Senate approved S. 1356 and the House passed
Read More

Today seems set to be the day that millions of unemployed Americans will receive their final Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefit payment. The extension of these federally-funded unemployment benefits that is currently being offered to some 1.6 million jobless Americans is set to expire on December 31, 2013 with no phase-out period. Congress has the capability and the authority to extend the deadline on those benefits (the parameters and proposed congressional amendments of which are outlined in this report by the Congressional Research Service). However, the current bipartisan budget deal presented by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.,
Read More

KRA Corporation has followed the increased attention that apprenticeship is receiving in the effort to revitalize workforce initiatives for youth and we look at some of the barriers it faces. There has been a fair amount of buzz recently around the advantages of adopting the apprenticeship model as a solution to the burgeoning unemployment figures among U.S. youth. It does have one major fan in its corner—President Barack Obama—who believes: “an economy built to last demands that we keep doing everything we can to help students learn the skills that businesses are looking for.” His commitment to that belief in
Read More

KRA Corporation continues this short series, looking at sector-based employment and training as a much-needed approach for some local workforce and economic development systems… A few weeks ago, it was reported here that 10 years ago, the Bush administration laid out a “groundbreaking approach for closing employment skills gaps”—the High Growth Job Training Initiative (HGJTI) aimed at equipping workers with the technical skills they need to be successful in the workforce.  The full article can be viewed here. The Department of Labor (DOL), through the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and the Women’s Bureau, and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS),
Read More

The Obama administration has taken another step toward making good on its promise to help better prepare students entering the workforce, as well as ensuring that the U.S workforce can compete globally, by announcing $100 million dollars to fund Youth CareerConnect  Grants. This competitive grant—using money from the H1-B visa program—offers awards of between $2-$7 million for 25-40 education agencies, public or non-profit local workforce entities, or non-profits with education reform experience involved in individual or multi-site projects. It is reassuring that the commitments made are being honored by lawmakers, and KRA Corporation applauds the continued investment in the upcoming
Read More

As a company that has dedicated more than 30 years to improving the lives of individuals and strengthening the communities in which we live, KRA Corporation cast an intrigued eye over two interesting articles—both of which dealt with disparities in what workers have traditionally gotten paid—from the different DOL departments in the official blog, Work in Progress. Most interesting was the scope of focus regarding how the various tiers of payment practices and the discrepancies that exist have affected workers among certain groups. As many strides have been made in creating parity in the workforce since the turn of the
Read More

It is reassuring to see that it is business as usual around the halls of the Department of Labor (DOL), which has picked up right where it left off after the temporary shutdown, with last week proving to be very productive for the agency. Labor Secretary Perez offered his opinions on the employment figures for October (which continue to move in a healthy direction). In his characteristic uncompromising fashion, the Secretary took a very outspoken approach on actions by the government that he feels have hindered forward progress in social and employment equity, as well as hurting the overall cause of workforce
Read More

Veterans Day prompted a buzz in the Department of Labor (DOL), with the agency highlighting the legislation that was passed this year, as well as the existing resources available to this important workforce group. KRA Corporation believes that—after youth employment programming—our veterans are the most important group in public workforce policy and so we are heartened to see that the DOL’s commitment to improving the employment plight of U.S. veterans remains consistent. Ensuring that veterans get access to employment programs and initiatives is something in which Secretary of Labor Perez has taken a personal interest, overseeing the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service
Read More