                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD; VIRGINIA WORKFORCE SYSTEM CREATED (§ 2.2-2472)

A. The Board shall implement a Virginia Workforce System that shall undertake
the following actions to implement and foster workforce development and training
and better align education and workforce programs to meet current and projected
skills requirements of an increasingly technological, global workforce:

   1. Provide policy advice to the Governor on workforce and workforce
   development issues in order to create a business-driven system that yields
   increasing rates of attainment of workforce credentials in demand by business
   and increasing rates of jobs creation and attainment;

   2. Provide policy direction to local workforce development boards;

   3. Assist the Governor in the development, implementation, and modification of
   any combined state plan developed pursuant to the WIOA;

   4. Identify current and emerging statewide workforce needs of the business
   community;

   5. Forecast and identify training requirements for the new workforce;

   6. Recommend strategies to match trained workers with available jobs to
   include strategies for increasing business engagement in education and
   workforce development;

   7. Evaluate the extent to which the state&#8217;s workforce development
   programs emphasize education and training opportunities that align with
   employers&#8217; workforce needs and labor market statistics and report the
   findings of this analysis to the Governor every two years;

   8. Advise and oversee the development of a strategic workforce dashboard and
   tools that will inform the Governor, policy makers, system stakeholders, and
   the public on issues such as state and regional labor market conditions, the
   relationship between the supply and demand for workers, workforce program
   outcomes, and projected employment growth or decline. The Department of
   Workforce Development and Advancement, along with other workforce partners,
   shall provide data to populate the tools and dashboard;

   9. Determine and publish a list of jobs, trades, and professions for which
   high demand for qualified workers exists or is projected by the Department of
   Workforce Development and Advancement. The Department of Workforce Development
   and Advancement shall support the Virginia Board of Workforce Development in
   making such determination. Such information shall be published biennially and
   disseminated to employers; education and training entities, including
   associate-degree-granting and baccalaureate public institutions of higher
   education; government agencies, including the Department of Education and
   public libraries; and other users in the public and private sectors;

   10. Develop pay-for-performance contract strategy incentives for rapid
   reemployment services consistent with the WIOA as an alternative model to
   traditional programs;

   11. Conduct a review of budgets, which shall be submitted annually to the
   Board by each agency conducting federal and state funded career and technical
   and adult education and workforce development programs, that identify the
   agency&#8217;s sources and expenditures of administrative, workforce education
   and training, and support services for workforce development programs;

   12. Review and recommend industry credentials that align with high demand
   occupations, which credentials shall include a credential that determines
   career readiness;

   13. Define the Board&#8217;s role in certifying WIOA training providers,
   including those not subject to the authority expressed in Article 3 (&#xA7;
   23.1-213 et seq.) of Chapter 2 of Title 23.1;

   14. Provide an annual report to the Governor concerning its actions and
   determinations under subdivisions 1 through 13;

   15. Create quality standards, guidelines, and directives applicable to local
   workforce development boards and the operation of one-stops, as necessary and
   appropriate to carry out the purposes of this article;

   16. Conduct or cause to be conducted, on a biennial basis, an independent
   evaluation of the operational and program objectives of the Department of
   Workforce Development and Advancement and submit a report to the Governor and
   the General Assembly summarizing such evaluation; and

   17. Perform any act or function in accordance with the purposes of this
   article.

B. The Board may establish such committees as it deems necessary

C. The Board, the Secretary of Labor, and the Governor&#8217;s other Cabinet
Secretaries shall assist the Governor in complying with the provisions of the
WIOA and ensuring the coordination and effectiveness of all federal and state
funded career and technical and adult education and workforce development
programs and providers within Virginia&#8217;s Workforce System.

D. The Board shall assist the Governor in the following areas with respect to
workforce development: development of any combined state plan developed pursuant
to the WIOA; development and continuous improvement of a statewide workforce
development system that ensures career readiness and coordinates and aligns
career and technical education, adult education, and federal and state workforce
programs; development of linkages to ensure coordination and nonduplication
among programs and activities; designation of local areas; development of local
discretionary allocation formulas; development and continuous improvement of
comprehensive state performance measures including, without limitation,
performance measures reflecting the degree to which one-stop centers provide
comprehensive services with all mandatory partners and the degree to which local
workforce development boards have obtained funding from sources other than the
WIOA; preparation of the annual report to the U.S. Secretary of Labor;
development of a statewide employment statistics system; and development of a
statewide system of one-stop centers that provide comprehensive workforce
services to employers, employees, and job seekers.
			The Board shall share information regarding its meetings and activities with
the public.

E. Each local workforce development board shall develop and submit to the
Governor and the Board an annual workforce demand plan for its workforce
development board area based on a survey of local and regional businesses that
reflects the local employers&#8217; needs and requirements and the availability
of trained workers to meet those needs and requirements. Local boards shall also
designate or certify one-stop operators; identify eligible providers of youth
activities; develop a budget; conduct local oversight of one-stop operators and
training providers in partnership with its local chief elected official;
negotiate local performance measures, including incentives for good performance
and penalties for inadequate performance; assist in developing statewide
employment statistics; coordinate workforce development activities with economic
development strategies and the annual demand plan, and develop linkages among
them; develop and enter into memoranda of understanding with one-stop partners
and implement the terms of such memoranda; promote participation by the private
sector; actively seek sources of financing in addition to WIOA funds; report
performance statistics to the Board; and certify local training providers in
accordance with criteria provided by the Board. Further, a local training
provider certified by any workforce development board has reciprocal
certification for all workforce development boards.

F. Each workforce development board shall develop and execute a strategic plan
designed to combine public and private resources to support sector strategies,
career pathways, and career readiness skills development. Such initiatives shall
include or address (i) a regional vision for workforce development; (ii)
protocols for planning workforce strategies that anticipate industry needs;
(iii) the needs of incumbent and underemployed workers in the region; (iv) the
development of partners and guidelines for various forms of on-the-job training,
such as registered apprenticeships; (v) the setting of standards and metrics for
operational delivery; (vi) alignment of monetary and other resources, including
private funds and in-kind contributions, to support the workforce development
system; and (vii) the generation of new sources of funding to support workforce
development in the region.

G. Local workforce development boards are encouraged to implement
pay-for-performance contract strategy incentives for rapid reemployment services
consistent within the WIOA as an alternative model to traditional programs. Such
incentives shall focus on (i) partnerships that lead to placements of eligible
job seekers in unsubsidized employment and (ii) placement in unsubsidized
employment for hard-to-serve job seekers. At the discretion of the local
workforce development board, funds to the extent permissible under &#xA7;&#xA7;
128(b) and 133(b) of the WIOA may be allocated for pay-for-performance
partnerships.

H. Each chief local elected official shall consult with the Governor regarding
designation of local workforce development areas; appoint members to the local
board in accordance with state criteria; serve as the local grant recipient
unless another entity is designated in the local plan; negotiate local
performance measures with the Governor; ensure that all mandated partners are
active participants in the local workforce development board and one-stop
center; and collaborate with the local workforce development board on local
plans and program oversight.

I. Each local workforce development board shall develop and enter into a
memorandum of understanding concerning the operation of the one-stop delivery
system in the local area with each entity that carries out any of the following
programs or activities:

   1. Programs authorized under Title I of the WIOA;

   2. Programs authorized under the Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. &#xA7; 49 et
   seq.);

   3. Adult education and literacy activities authorized under Title II of the
   WIOA;

   4. Programs authorized under Title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
   U.S.C. &#xA7; 720 et seq.);

   5. Postsecondary career and technical education activities authorized under
   the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act (20 U.S.C.
   &#xA7; 2301 et seq.);

   6. Activities authorized under Chapter 2 of Title II of the Trade Act of 1974
   (19 U.S.C. &#xA7; 2271 et seq.);

   7. Activities pertaining to employment and training programs for veterans
   authorized under 38 U.S.C. &#xA7; 4100 et seq.;

   8. Programs authorized under Title 60.2, in accordance with applicable federal
   law;

   9. Workforce development activities or work requirements of the Temporary
   Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program known in Virginia as the Virginia
   Initiative for Education and Work (VIEW) established pursuant to &#xA7;
   63.2-608;

   10. Workforce development activities or work programs authorized under the
   Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. &#xA7; 2011 et seq.);

   11. Other programs or activities as required by the WIOA; and

   12. Programs authorized under Title I of the WIOA.

J. The quorum for a meeting of a local workforce development board shall consist
of a majority of both the private sector and public sector members. Each local
workforce development board shall share information regarding its meetings and
activities with the public.

K. For the purposes of implementing the WIOA, income from service in the
Virginia National Guard shall not disqualify unemployed service members from
WIOA-related services.

L. The Secretary of Labor shall be responsible for the coordination of the
Virginia Workforce System and the implementation of the WIOA.

HISTORY: 2014, c. 815; 2015, cc. 191, 275, 292, 435; 2017, c. 265; 2018, c. 225;
2019, c. 210; 2020, c. 58; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 453; 2023, cc. 624, 625.