Community colleges seek funding and policy changes to job training law to better meet evolving needs of the American work force.

As the first Hispanic woman nominated as U.S. secretary of labor, U.S. Rep. Hilda Solís, D-Calif., faces a series of challenging work force issues, including the role of postsecondary education in preparing Americans — counting the recently unemployed — for high-paying jobs.

One of the first tasks facing Solís is addressing the future of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), the federal government’s chief job training law. Although many community colleges are active partners in WIA initiatives, the federal program has languished without a long-term reauthorization from Congress since 2003 amid concerns that it is overly bureaucratic and not nimble enough to meet job seekers’ needs. Funding also has declined during the past decade.

“Without changes to the WIA statute, our colleges will be hampered from fully utilizing the WIA framework to serve the needs of business, workers and their local communities,” says George Boggs, president of the American Association of Community Colleges.

In a letter to President-elect Obama, the AACC leader said a major concern is funding, which has declined by 70 percent in recent years. Boggs is asking lawmakers to restore funds at least to 2002 levels.

But administrative and policy changes also are needed to bring education and economic interests together.

“To ensure that America continues to have a competitive work force, bold structural reforms are necessary,” said Bennett Blodgett, representing Gov. Tim Kaine, D-Va., at a recent “WIA listening session” on Capitol Hill. Key principles of any restructuring should include alignment of work force and education goals along with flexibility, he said.

“The work force system cannot be onesize- fits-all programs with rigid regulations and prescribed service delivery structures,” Blodgett said. The goal is to “create a marketdriven, supply-focused system that serves workers and business.”