V. REQUIRED CAPACITY BUILDING AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES
Composition of Grant Activities
The SGA indicates that proposals should include both capacity building and training activities. Should proposed funds be split evenly between the two activities?
The SGA does not specify how funds should be split between capacity building and training activities. Applicants should propose a balance of capacity building and training activities that appropriately addresses the industry needs and community college capacity constraints in the local community.Eligible Training Providers
Who are eligible training providers under CBJTGs? Can the grantee subcontract with the local One Stop Operator, universities, K-12, or MEP Centers to do the training?
Community and technical colleges are the required training providers under Community-Based Job Training Grants, regardless of the applicant, with the exception of rural areas and other educationally underserved communities with no reasonable access to community colleges. Under the exception, public Institutions of High Education that award 2 or 4 year degrees are eligible applicants and would be the training provider under those applications. Alternate Educational Entities, who are also eligible under the exception, are required to specify one or more community college(s) where capacity building and training activities will occur under the grant. Please see section III(C)(5) of the SGA for more details. ETA encourages applicants to be creative in integrating partner resources and expertise into the training plan. For example, a business partner may provide a qualified instructor to the community college; the community college may provide on-site training for workers to take advantage of business-loaned equipment; the training may be provided jointly; or the training may utilize technology-based distance learning alternatives as well as blended learning, which combines self-paced and instructor-led interactions. See 71 Fed. Reg. 37954 (July 3, 2006).
Credentials
The SGA indicates that training activities must lead to a credential. Does the credential have to be an associate’s degree? Training under Community-Based Job Training Grants may lead to a variety of credentials, provided the credentials are industry-recognized and indicate a level of mastery and competence in a given field or function. The credential awarded to participants upon completion should be based on the type of training provided through the grant and the requirement of the targeted occupation, and should be selected based on consultations with industry partners. In cases where training provided under Community-Based Job Training Grants leads to a degree after the grant program is over, the credential required will be college credit for each course leading to an Associate’s or Applied Associate’s degree. Additional examples of appropriate credentials are provided in the SGA at 71 Fed. Reg. 37948 (July 3, 2006). Outcomes The SGA states that grantees must track common measures as part of their outcomes. What are the common measures that need to be tracked? For trainees, the common measures that should be tracked are:A detailed description of ETA’s Policy on Common Measure can be found in the Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 17-05 (http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL17-05.pdf).
Are there additional outcomes that need to be tracked?
Applicants must track training outcome measures that are consistent with ETA’s Common Measures, as set forth in the previous questions, such as employment placement numbers, employment retention, and average earnings for adults. Other training outcome measures that must be tracked include the number of individuals awarded credentials or degrees; the number of individuals trained using grant dollars; the number of individuals trained as a result of leveraging of resources (e.g. training is paid through sources other than the grant, including Pell Grants or Workforce Investment Act training funds such as customized training, ITAs, or pilot CAAs), if applicable; and other outcome measures specific to the proposed training project. Applicants must also identify the credential that participants will earn as a result of the proposed training, and the employer-, industry-, or state-defined standards associated with the credential.
For capacity building activities, grantees should track the impact of the activity to demonstrate the number of participants or entities who will benefit from the proposed activities.
I am training incumbent workers. What common measures should be tracked?
For incumbent workers, employment retention and six month earnings increase are the appropriate common measures to track.
Are there minimum standards (minimum percentages) for the Common Measures?
The SGA does not specify any minimum standards for the common measures that grantees must meet.
How will community colleges access UI wage records to back up common measure requirements?
Grantees awarded under this SGA will not be required to use UI wage records as the sole data source for reporting outcomes on program trainees if the grantees do not have access to such records. In such cases, use of supplemental data is acceptable in tracking common measures. Sources of supplemental data include case management notes, automated database systems, One-Stop operating systems’ administrative records, surveys of participants, and contacts with employers. Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 17-05 provides additional guidance on allowable data sources for implementing common measures (http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL17-05.pdf).
ETA encourages applicants to partner with their local workforce investment system, particularly One-Stop Career Centers, who have substantive experience in tracking the outcomes of program participants. One-Stop Career Centers may coordinate, provide support, or manage the tracking training recipients for the performance management aspect of the CBJTG.
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