Emily Stover DeRocco Speech
National Research Conference
June 4, 2003
Good morning, and welcome to the ETA Biennial National Research Conference. Am I glad to see you!
I never really considered myself to be an academic, but I've always had a great appreciation for research that is done well. Throughout my career, I've taken great pride in the work I do. I have tried to set a course, and lead people in the direction I think they, or the organization they work for, should go. I have tried to be decisive, and I know that making the right decision depends on having the right information.
But let me tell you: nothing I've done, nothing, has prepared me for the research situation I have found myself in as Assistant Secretary for the Employment and Training Administration.
As Assistant Secretary, it is my job to make sure our nation's workforce investment system is as effective and efficient as it can possibly be.
I must be able to decide how we are going to spend the $12 billion Congress invests in us each year. In order to do that, I need access to the information that tells me:
- What has worked in the past and why?
- Has the same thing worked everywhere?
- How has the program varied between urban and rural settings?
- What caused similar programs/initiatives to fail?
- What changes would make the program more effective?
- What are the results from the program that I can point to?
The list of questions I need answered is almost endless. I know because every time I go before a Committee of Congress, I get many of them. Unfortunately, the pool of research I can draw on to defend the decisions I have to make every day is rather shallow.
Congress asks extremely tough questions about the resources they commit to our agency, and you know what? They should.
We have a limited number of resources and the competition for them is very tight. In effect, we are competing for appropriations against education and health programs. Members of the Appropriations committee must decide whether the money they invest in workforce programs will gain more benefit than the money they spend on education, or in fighting disease.
The only way I can ever know what is effective and efficient and defend it to the Congress, the media or the general public, is with good research.
Your work is critical for me and the Congress who funds these programs in order to:
- Assess program effectiveness
- Identify process improvements
- Reform and improve the way we do things.
That is why I am calling on you today to join me in rethinking the way the Employment & Training Administration approaches research.
Before I go any further, let me just acknowledge the fact that as professional researchers I know you are professionals and will do a tremendous job of conducting the research we request. However, in the past, I don't believe ETA has been as specific as we needed to be in articulating the types of research we need or want from the research community.
So, today I ask you to set aside any preconceived notions you may have about the types of research ETA has traditionally asked for. This is a new beginning. We commit to you to be as specific with you as possible. We will also attempt to clearly define our expectations going into projects to make sure you know what we expect in the form of a final product.
Because this is a new beginning, I think everything should be on the table. We need to look at new ideas. We need to question accepted practices and we need to probe areas that have not been examined in order to find the most effective and efficient ways of doing business.
I realize we don't have much time this morning, but let me just pose some questions to you that will hopefully get your minds revving to help kick off this conference. For example:
1) How do we test and improve linkages of the WIA system to vocational and adult education?
2) What are the appropriate roles of public K-12 and higher education in an integrated Workforce Investment System?
3) How are the skill needs of employers in particular sectors and industries, identified and used to inform a demand driven system?
4) What regimen of short-term or long-term, scientific or non-scientific analyses of issues will continually yield useful and timely information for policy makers?
5) What benefits arise from interagency cooperation on large scale research and demonstrations?
6) How can we better use data about our programs and populations served by DOL?
7) Can we identify existing alternative data sources that allow us to answer questions quickly or with minimal burden?
8) How can we better use administrative data from WIA, UI and other programs?
9) Has the increase in the use of intermediaries and an expanded use of faith-based and community-based service providers led to promising approaches to service provision?
10) What methods should be used to test impacts and cost effectiveness of these approaches?
11) What are the relative roles of employer and government sponsored training?
12) At which point is it more effective, for entry level employment or for retention and advancement? What are the short term and long term costs and where do these burdens reside?
13) How can the Unemployment Insurance Program effectively adapt to an evolving U.S. economy? Areas of exploration include program administration, coverage, eligibility, benefit adequacy, benefit duration, recipiency, benefit financing, economic stabilization, special populations and changing work patterns.
14) What do changes in the structure of work, changes in wages and compensation, recent trends in the receipt of benefits, including health insurance and retirement benefits, require of a flexible workforce investment system?
15) What are the implications of wage and compensation trends for employment and training interventions? How should employment and training interventions respond to wage and compensation trends?
16) What are the total costs of benefit and service provision? What is the return on investment?
17) How can we test and show that training works? What methods should we use? Should our analysis break out training into components, e.g., OJT, classroom training, basic training?
These are just some of the questions we are faced with on a regular basis as we work to develop a budget, make policy decisions, and manage our programs. I'm here to tell you that we need you and the studies you develop so that we can have data to lean on when these tough decisions need to be made.
Right now, we are working with Congress to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act. This effort is made stronger by the lessons learned the hard way in the field and through research and evaluation.
Most of you probably know, the provisions of the WIA direct the Secretary of Labor to prepare a five year research plan for research, pilot and demonstration initiatives every two years. This plan reflects a strategic vision for stakeholders in employment and training research, a review of recent efforts, an identification of areas where future research may be needed, and a review of possible research methodologies. ETA published the first plan in June 2001 and is nearing publication of the second issue of the plan. A plenary session is planned for tomorrow morning on the recently completed five year plan.
It is in this environment of change in the macro-economy which has taken place in the areas of technological transformation, increasing globalization and changing demographics over the recent years, and the resulting effects of rising workforce insecurity, wherein the Employment and Training Administration decided to continue the research conference series.
In addition to addressing linkages to vocational and adult education, Immigration, Employer Sponsored Training, Unemployment Insurance, Competency Standards, Older Workers and LEP Focus on Language and Literacy, key topics I have identified as important, the conference will also address the following topics in detail:
- Skills Requirements of Employers (skills needed by employers in particular sectors and industries, the effect of new technologies, including the internet and e-commerce, on skill needs of employers)
- Workforce Investment Act (program implementation and administration of adult, dislocated worker and youth programs; issues relating to WIA reauthorization)
- Changes in the Structure and Organization of Work (changes in tenure and the rise of contingent work arrangements)
- Effect of Contingent Work on Hiring Practices (the effect of hiring practices of employers and the job search behavior of individuals)
- Role of Intermediaries in the Labor Market (whether intermediaries offer new approaches and techniques that can be adapted by the public- sector employment and training community)
- Adaptability of the Unemployment Insurance Program to an evolving U.S. economy (program administration, coverage, eligibility, benefit adequacy, benefit duration, recipiency, benefit financing, economic stabilization, special populations and changing work patterns)
- Changes in Wages and Compensation (effect of education on workers' earnings). Wages and Compensation Trends (recent trends in the receipt of benefits, including health insurance and retirement benefits)
- Implication of Wage and Compensation Trends for Employment and Training Interventions (employment and training intervention responses to wage and compensation trends)
- Impact of technology, Internet and labor market information on labor exchange processes
Education - Workforce Training Continuum (appropriate roles of public K-12 and higher education integrated with Workforce Investment System)
Hopefully, you will find this conference both informative and engaging, whether you are a researcher, a state liaison, a federal employee, a student or a contractor. The goal of this conference is to provide all participants a forum for the presentation and discussion of the studies commissioned by ETA; to provide an opportunity for presenting external research studies that are relevant to the Employment and Training Administration; and to serve as a springboard for developing partnerships between ETA and outside organizations that conduct research of interest to ETA.
We intend to publish selected papers presented at the conference that broadly represent this years themes as an Occasional Paper, the hard part will be deciding which ones to select.
I again welcome you to the Biennial National Research Conference.
Since there are a few minutes before the breakout sessions begin, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
