1999 Workforce Development Assessment

 

Indicators

Although many individual workforce development agencies and programs are tracking their own performance, there is currently no system-wide measurement system for workforce development in place. The Community Action Network (CAN) is dedicated to developing Workforce Development performance measures that will enable the community to track its progress in achieving the goals identified in the Community Assessment vision statement.

One way to capture changes in the workforce development system over time is to utilize regularly published federal, state, and local data as outcome indicators. For example, in the current assessment, the writers examined Department of Labor unemployment data, State economic statistics, and Capital Area Workforce Development Board numbers. When the next assessment on workforce development is conducted, the same data, statistics and numbers can be examined to determine what changes have occurred since the last assessment. Assessment writers can examine both quantitative and qualitative changes over time. Within each of those categories, assessment writers can determine if employer, provider, worker, and community changes have occurred. Below is a summary of the data indicators used in the current report, which can be measured annually or biannually to track workforce development issues in the Austin/Travis County area.

Workforce Development Indicators

Type of Indicator Category Description
Quantitative Employer
  • Percent change in the number of employer collaborations with government workforce development programs
  • Percent change in the number of employers helping to fund off- or on-site child care
  • Responses on Workforce Summit survey. Example: Percentage of employers reporting less difficulty finding workers by type of industry
  • Tracking of performance on Workforce Summit initiatives
  • Change in accessibility and convenience of public transportation (bus routes)
  Provider
  • Percent change in number of slots available for ESL training
  Worker
  • Employment and unemployment rates
  • School drop-out rate
  • Percentage of economically disadvantaged school children in target districts
  • Percentage of individuals transitioning off of TANF who find employment
  Community-wide
  • Amount and changes in distribution of funding for workforce development in the community
Qualitative Employer
  • Change in focus group responses- Present results to group from previous year to get feedback plus discuss current issues
  • Change in survey results (R&P workforce survey)
  Provider
  • Change in focus group responses- Present results from previous year to get feedback plus discuss current issues
  • Change in survey results (R&P provider survey)
  Worker
  • Change in survey results from Adult Basic Education classes (R&P survey)
  Community-wide
  • Changes in topics in articles from Austin Business Journal, Fiscal Notes, Austin-American Statesman, & other sources reporting trends/concerns about workforce in the local area

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Another way to capture improvements over time would be to require all workforce development programs in the Austin/Travis County area to collect standardized performance measures. In a timely coincidence, the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has been leading a national Workforce Development Performance Measures (WDPM) Initiative to develop a menu of system-wide performance measures with standard definitions. The WDPM initiative includes a continuous improvement model for voluntary use by the workforce development system. The Community Assessment team recommends incorporating selected outcomes created by the WDPM Initiative into the current assessment system. In addition, where possible, the selected outcomes will be consistent with other local entities, such as the Capital Area Workforce Development Board. Below is a list of the eight main performance goals established by the WDPM Initiative for testing in a pilot project.

National Standards: Eight main workforce development goals

  • Employment
  • Self Sufficiency
  • Knowledge/Skill Attainment
  • Enhance Link between Labor Supply and Employer Demand
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • Cost Effectiveness
  • Workplace
  • One-Stop Career Center (Universality)

Listed below are descriptions of the specific workforce development measures associated with each of the main WDPM goals. Although it would be desirable to measure all the outcomes listed below, limited resources dictate that the community assessment team select a few key criteria for which to gauge the progress of workforce development in our community. In addition, performance measures for issue areas that indirectly impact workforce development such as welfare reform, child care, transportation, and basic needs, will be created in future community assessments.

  • Employment, Workplace, and One-Stop Goals
    • Number of individuals who completed services* and entered unsubsidized employment vs. those who completed services, left before completing services or completed services but are still receiving subsidies
    • Annual earnings gains (measure is computed separately for individuals who were previously employed versus those who were not) (formula is available)
    • Average duration of retention in the labor market (with the same or other employer) forthe individuals who entered employment
    • The average hourly wage at start time of employment for those persons meeting the definition of entered employment in 1. (a).

*Definition: Services = Workforce development services can include: Basic Adult Education, occupational Skills training, and employment/reemployment-related services (I.e., job search assistance, employment testing/counseling, world of work, job retention, etc.)

  • Self-Sufficiency Goal
    • Post-employment ratio of average annual earnings of employed individuals who received services compared to nationally recognized index of cost-of-living for the local area
  • Knowledge/Skill Attainment Goal
    • Percentage of individuals, 16 years of age or older, enrolled in basic skills programs who achieve mastery of one or more nationally recognized levels leading up to GED/High School Diploma and Certificates of Initial Mastery (CIM)
    • Percentage of individuals completing occupational skill training who demonstrate mastery of occupational skills through various credentials
    • Ratio of number of individuals exiting basic or occupational skills training programs who obtain employment or successfully transition to further education (or both) compared to total number exiting skills training
  • Enhance Link between Labor Supply and Employer Demand Goal
    • The number of WDS applicants hired into mediated WDS job openings (those openings where WDS staff provide direct assistance to the employer) divided by all mediated WDS job openings. (also targets Employment and One-Stop Goals)
    • The distribution of job listings and occupations of registered jobseekers* (by occupational code) compared to the distribution of projected job openings and applicant pool (by occupational code) in the labor market area
    • The unduplicated number of employers using information, labor exchange, or employer training (excluding UI transactions) divided by the number of employers covered under the UI law. This could be measured in two segments: Employers who utilize the services once and employers who utilize the services more than once.

*Definition: Jobseeker = Anyone who needs/seeks job employment, training and/or information services. These individuals can be seeking first, new, or better jobs.

  • Customer Satisfaction Goal
    • Indicators of customer satisfaction for the following three major customer groups:
        • Employer
        • Jobseeker
        • Internal
  • Cost Effectiveness Goal
    • The comparison of total program and administrative costs of services to the increase/decrease in earnings/public support payments, expressed as the net increase/decrease in earnings/public support divided by: post-program earnings and pre-program public support and FICA minus pre-support minus post-program earnings and program public support and FICA total annual program administrative costs.
    • Ratio of increase in earnings of participants tracked separately for different programs compared to the dollar amount of expenditures for services, training, and labor exchange within a certain period.

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