National Skills Coalition's Audio Updates are national audio conference briefings on state and federal policy led by our staff and allies. You can listen to the presentation portion of these Updates online via podcast. To ensure you receive invitations to these updates, which include live Q&A with national experts, sign up for our member mailing list.

Audio Updates are made possible by the generosity of our foundation partners, our organizational Supporting Members, and individual donors. To become a Supporting Member organization, click here. To become a donor, click here. 

 

Federal Policy End of Session Wrap-up
December 15, 2011

Listen as NSC’s federal policy team recaps the trials and triumphs for workforce advocates in one of the most difficult political environments in recent memory, and discusses the flurry of year-end congressional activity that is likely to have significant impact on our nation's workforce development system in 2012.  You can follow along with the Podcast PowerPoint while listening to the following segments:

Counting on Credentials: Approaches to State Credential Measurement Policy
November 18, 2011

Every state makes human capital investments in a range of education, training and workforce development programs, but do states know if the full range of their investments is producing desired results? Listen as NSC partners from Maryland, Rhode Island, and Minnesota discuss their how their states are developing or implementing credential measurement policies, and how a cross-agency approach helps align systems and agencies to determine if a state’s skill and credential outcomes address labor market demand.

  • Introduction | Jessie Hogg Leslie and Eric Seleznow, National Skills Coalition
  • Maryland | Paulette Francois, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
  • Rhode Island | Linda Katz, The Poverty Institute
  • Minnesota | Bryan Lindsley, Minnesota Governor’s Workforce Development Council

Federal Funding Update—Fiscal Year 2012 (and Beyond)
September 13, 2011

Listen as National Skills Coalition's Federal Policy Team discusses what was included (and not included) in the Budget Control Act of 2011, the timeline for the newly-created Super Congress, and how this measure could affect federal funding for job training during the Fiscal Year 2012 appropriations cycle and throughout the next decade. Also learn about the training provisions included in President Obama's American Jobs Act. Follow along with the Podcast PowerPoint while listening to the following segments:

Moving Fiscal and Political Mountains: Advancing Workforce Legislative Reforms in the States
June 28, 2011

Listen as National Skills Coalition partners from Massachusetts, Iowa, Indiana and Oregon discuss their efforts to pass significant workforce policy legislation to help their state prepare more workers for middle-skill jobs. They discuss how their multi-stakeholder coalitions developed, introduced and advocated for new bills, resolutions and/or funding despite challenging political and fiscal environments. Learn successful strategies for organizing stakeholders to get a bill moving, identifying champions and supporters, and developing advocacy plans to advance innovative state policy reforms.

  • Massachusetts | Loh-Sze Leung, SkillWorks
  • Indiana | Jessica Fraser, Indiana Institute for Working Families
  • Iowa | Steve Ovel, Kirkwood Community College
  • Oregon | Agnes Balassa, Oregon Workforce Partnership
  • Wrap-Up | Eric Seleznow and Jessie Hogg Leslie, National Skills Coalition

Closing Out the FY 2011 Budget Process and Looking Ahead to the FY 2012 Budget Fight
May 5, 2011

Listen as National Skills Coalition's Federal Policy Team provides overview and analysis of the recently-passed FY 2011 continuing resolution (CR), as well as the latest news on the FY 2012 budget debate—what is being proposed by Congress and the Administration and how the workforce community can weigh in on the conversation. Download NSC's FY 2011 CR summary and funding chart, our analysis of the FY 2012 House-passed budget resolution, and follow along with the Podcast PowerPoint while listening to the following segments:

Fiscal Year 2011, 2012 Budget and Appropriations for Workforce Programs
February 28, 2011

Listen as National Skills Coalition's Federal Policy Team provides overview and analysis of the Fiscal Year 2011 appropriations process—including the latest on the Continuing Resolution—and President Obama's Fiscal Year 2012 budget proposal for workforce programs under the Departments of Labor and Education. Download NSC's Fiscal Year 2012 budget analysis and budget chart, and follow along with the Podcast PowerPoint while listening to the following segments:

Federal Workforce Policy: Closing out the 111th Congress, Looking Ahead to 2011
December 17, 2010

With the close of the 111th Congress, join NSC as we look at what has been accomplished across a range of federal policies and what challenges and opportunities lie ahead under the incoming 112th. In addition to providing a debrief of work done during the post-election lame-duck session, we provide an overview of the 2010 election results and what a number of new faces in Congress might mean for federal workforce policy efforts in 2011. Follow along with the Podcast PowerPoint while listening to the following segments:

State Transitions and Workforce Policy: Working with New Governors and Legislator
November 19, 2010

With new Governors taking office this January in a number of states, the next few months could be crucial in getting those new administrations off on the right foot. Listen as National Skills Coalition partners from Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania discuss engaging transition teams as a means for getting skills and workforce policy issues into the immediate action plans of incoming Governors.

  • Round Table Discussion | Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
         Moderator:Eric Seleznow, National Skills Coalition
         Michigan: Larry Good, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
         New York:John Twomey, New York Association of Training & Employment Professionals
         Pennsylvania: Sandi Vito, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry

Engaging Gubernatorial Races, Getting Skills in the Debate
June 29, 2010

Listen as National Skills Coalition partners from Massachusetts, Michigan and New Mexico discuss their efforts to engage gubernatorial candidates and get “skills” in the campaign debates. With gubernatorial races underway in 37 states, the 2010 mid-term elections offer a key opportunity to assess where the candidates stand on skills training and education and to what extent their broader economic proposals include investments in the state’s workforce.

  • Overview and Legal Perspective| Andrea Ray, National Skills Coalition and Allen Mattison, Lichtman, Trister & Ross PLLC
  • Round Table Discussion | Part 1 and Part 2  
         Moderator: Andrea Ray, National Skills Coalition
         Massachusetts:Loh-Sze Leung, SkillWorks
         Michigan: Andrew Brower, The SOURCE
         New Mexico: Sally Adams, Clear Channel Outdoor

The President's Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Proposal
February 26, 2010

Listen as National Skills Coalition analyzesPresident Obama's Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal. Learn how the workforce field can impact jobs legislation and appropriations debates on Capitol Hill, and help ensure that we’re investing in the job training and education that America’s workers and businesses need to rebuild the economy. Follow along with the Podcast PowerPoint while listening to the following segments:

Recovery to Reauthorization Audio Update Series

In June 2009, National Skills Coalition launched Recovery to Reauthorization, a time-limited series tracking how Recovery Act efforts could help drive a lasting transformation of the federal workforce and education systems if these efforts receive long-term federal support through the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act.

Implementing the Obama Administration’s Unemployment Insurance-Pell Grant Initiative
August 11, 2009

Career Pathways Under the Recovery Act
July 24, 2009

Sector Strategies Under the Recovery Act
July 1, 2009

End of Session Wrap-Up
December 11, 2008

Listen along as National Skills Coalition Federal Policy Director Rachel Gragg debriefs the close of the 110th Congress and looks ahead to the new Administration and the 111th Congress. In addition to wrapping up any remaining work done in the lame-duck session, she provides an overview of the 2008 election results and what a number of new members of Congress might mean for workforce policy. Follow along with the Podcast PowerPoint as you listen to the following segments:

The New FSET
June 19, 2008

The recently passed farm bill includes several key changes to the Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSET) program. Reforms proposed by National Skills Coalition in the new law remove restrictions on program participation for working individuals and expand the scope of post-employment support services allowable under the program. Learn what these changes will mean from leading experts in the field.

The President's Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Proposal
February 28, 2008

Listen to National Skills Coalition's analysis of President Bush's Fiscal Year 2009 budget proposal, which includes severe cuts to workforce programs under the Departments of Labor and Education. Follow along with the Podcast PowerPoint while listening to segments on:

End of Session Wrap-Up
December 18, 2007

This audio update assesses the status of federal workforce funding as well as Congressional action on the following key workforce policies:

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