Possible Senate shifts on apprenticeship, what small business wants, and $2 billion in grants listings.
Plus, the hard math of training incentives, and should organizations change their names to pursue federal grant dollars? Oh, and the shutdown too.
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News you should know about money and things getting people to work.
The shutdown drags on. Hopefully not for too much longer.
Negotiations on the Hill this week suggest we’re getting into the late stages of the shutdown, which seems decently likely to end by week after next, depending in part on the fate of a trio of full-year spending bills that would be passed alongside it.
Of course, there is plenty of negotiation to go—and a White House to mind. Today, Democrats are likely to reject a Republicans’ current offer, which would fund programs including SNAP until next September—and presumably keep them safe from House cuts. Democrats, who you might have heard won a few elections this week, hope to get more out of Republicans, including renewing healthcare subsidies at the heart of the shutdown battle.
The bad news for workforce is training program dollars remain in an unhealthy appropriations marriage with healthcare spending. Accordingly, workforce cash won’t be part of the full-year package worked out to keep funding the government. A potentially existential moment for American workforce funding likely will be punted to until early next year, with January likely being the next deadline for appropriations.
Right now, I think workforce organizations should want the healthcare subsidies battle resolved before any vote on a full-year workforce bill. If something has to be cut to make a deal, I would expect health and education spending to take precedence over workforce for Democrats. Yes, even with a bazillion AI layoffs.
A small business wishlist on workforce.
Last week, Business Leaders United for Workforce Partnerships published a new report based on interviews with 75 small businesses on what those businesses are doing to develop talent and what they want from policymakers on workforce.
What are they doing? “Leading businesses” are figuring out exactly what their jobs are and how to hire for jobs through strategies like skills-first hiring. They’re also forming partnerships with training providers to get what they want and drawing on workers’ input.
What do they want from policymakers? In short, investment—through industry-wide partnerships, supportive services like childcare that get workers to and through training and work, and coverage for training current staff. They also want help understanding a confusing picture on credentialing.
I recommend giving the report a close read. Too much of the conversation on workforce is driven by business press stories with headlines like “Tech CEO Says Workers Need to Stop Asking for Childcare and Start Asking ChatGPT How to Predict What Credential Their Boss Might Want Next” and “Another CEO Has Learned that Some People Don’t Go to College.” What businesses actually want can be much more thoughtful and nuanced outside of Big Splashy Corporate Thought Leadership.
And as Congress continues to decipher how to connect “worker” and “job,” I think this indicates a much clearer roadmap that national policymakers aren’t seeing.
This week’s grants listings number: $2 billion.
A big drop because a $50 billion HHS grant came off the board on Wednesday. It’s getting thin out here on the federal front. Two private grants hit deadlines at the end of next week.
Behind the paywall.
What message is Congress sending on apprenticeship after a Senate hearing?
What do key employer groups want from apprenticeship, anyway?
Should organizations’ change their names to get grant cash?