President Signs Reauthorization of Workforce Investment Act into Law

On Tuesday, President Obama signed into law H.R. 803, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to reauthorize and modernize the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998.  The WIA was enacted to serve as the nation’s employment and job training program by providing federal funding to states for job training, education, and employment services for unemployed and underemployed workers and youth. In California, WIA investments in employment training programs and services, particularly in rural counties, are vital to developing the highly-skilled and technical workforce our businesses need to sustain, maintain, and grow our competitive edge to compete in the 21st Century global economy. 

RCRC advocated for the reauthorization of WIA throughout the legislative process this year.  As we move forward with WIOA implementation, RCRC will work to ensure that newly designed regulations don’t negatively impact California’s rural Workforce Investment Boards’ ability to provide the critical programs and services our job seekers and businesses need to strengthen our economic competitiveness.  RCRC’s press release on the signing of WIOA/WIA can be accessed here.