Washington State Workforce Training & Education Coordinating Board

Who We Are Board Members and Meetings Board Members Board Meetings Board Agenda Board Staff Newsletter Board Bylaws Accessibility Policy The Workforce Board actively works with partner agencies, including the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Department of Services for the Blind, to help ensure the agency meets universal design standards whenever possible. Partner agencies also help with usability testing to ensure materials are accessible. In addition, the Workforce Board makes every effort to make its meetings accessible to employees, its partners, and the public, including individuals with disabilities. Talent and Prosperity for All The Workforce Board, with Board staff and partners, prepares a strategic plan for Washington's workforce system called Talent and Prosperity for All. Operating plan, mission Here's our operating plan and vision, mission, goals, objectives & strategies Role of Interagency Committee An Interagency Committee supports the coordinating role of the Board. Other partnerships The Workforce Board also partners with other agencies through Washington's Workforce Compact. Meeting information For more information about the Workforce Board and its meetings, contact Board Secretary Erica Wollen. The Workforce Training & Education Coordinating Board is a Governor-appointed partnership of nine voting members from business, labor, and government. Non-voting members participate. The Workforce Board: Advises the Governor and Legislature on workforce development policy. Ensures the state’s workforce services and programs work together. Evaluates the performance of Washington's key workforce programs. Why We Exist In 1991, the Legislature set about eliminating the four state boards that supervised the state's tangled training system. The Workforce Board replaced these boards and created a coordinated and more accountable workforce system. Our strategic plan, Talent and Prosperity for All, details the state's opportunities and workforce objectives while our performance reports enforce strict accountability measures that go beyond federal requirements, ensuring the state's education and training programs receive an objective evaluation, meet Washington's high performance goals, and offer a return on investment for taxpayers. Business and Labor Guide the Board Two-thirds of voting seats are held equally by business and labor representatives. Remaining seats are held by major service providers. This means customers have a direct, influential voice in all decision-making. With business and labor at the table, we get a real-world view of our challenges and opportunities--and take action on them. Workforce System Customers Our workforce customers have a broad range of ages, abilities and backgrounds--from high school students who require relevant, applied learning to stay in school, to low-skilled working adults who need more education to earn a living wage, to the recently laid off retooling for new careers. We advocate for lifelong learning so all workers become better educated and better skilled--keeping our workforce, and our state, competitive. The System We Oversee The Workforce Board oversees 16 workforce programs, administered by seven agencies. We measure the performance of 12 of the state's largest programs, which account for about 95 percent of federal and state dollars spent on our workforce system--or roughly $1.5 billion per year. Our Staff Researchers, policy analysts and managers prepare and analyze our detailed reports on everything from worker skill gaps to how effectively our state's programs train workers to fill jobs. Staff members have expertise in a wide range of disciplines but specialize in outreach and building partnerships.