WIOA (Congressional Act passed in 2014) is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy. [https://www.doleta.gov/WIOA/Overview.cfm, Accessed 03/05/17]
The Idaho Department of Labor, in concert with the Idaho Departments of Education and Health and Human Services and other state agencies, is working to implement the framework for this program which will certify American Job Centers operated in the local areas across the state.
The Idaho one-stop service delivery system is designed to provide a high level of service across the state, including rural areas, with one-stop network partners connected to Live Better Idaho [https://www.livebetteridaho.org/].
WIOA acknowledges the role public libraries play in workforce development and identifies public libraries as potential partners in the American Job Center network. Every day people in communities across Idaho use libraries to access the Web for career development—boosting their skills through online learning, improving their English literacy and digital literacy, and finding work. The following are some ways Idaho public libraries might participate:
- Leveraging digital literacy activities;
- Training library staff on employment and training resources;
- Being a stop on the route of mobile American Job Centers;
- Providing library space for career assistance;
- Sharing workforce and labor market information.
For more information, or questions on how your public library might participate, contact Shirley Biladeau, Program Supervisor, 208-639-4149 or shirley.biladeau@libraries.idaho.gov.
