FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Dec 1, 2003) Federal legislation allows employers to address skill shortages by employing foreign workers under H-1B visas. The legislation also established a training program to provide American workers with the skills needed for occupations where skill shortages exist. More than half of the revenues from H-1B visa application fees are earmarked for the U.S. Department of Labor's H-1B Technical Skills Training Grant Program. This major initiative aims to increase the workforce investment system's capacity to meet the skill needs of employers, as well as to provide American workers with training and employment opportunities. To date, the Department has awarded over 100 H-1B Technical Skills Training Grants totaling $243.3 million. Another 70 grants, estimated at $200 million, are expected to be awarded in the coming year.

Partnership with employers is a critical aspect of successful skills training programs. Business involvement helps ensure that the training is demand-driven, and benefits the workforce development system overall by establishing and strengthening ties to employers in growth industries. DOL has contracted with Berkeley Policy Associates (BPA) to study the implementation of grantees' H-1B training activities and their efforts to engage employers in the Training Grant Program and in the workforce development system as a whole. The project includes two types of research tasks: 1) reviewing existing grantee materials and conducting site visits to 15 projects that use interesting strategies to involve employers; and 2) a survey of the grantees' employer partners about their preferences for worker training. The results of this research will be packaged into tools and materials to help the workforce development system implement demand-driven skills training programs. Products will include:

• An Employer Connection Tool Kit that workforce development programs can use to develop effective partnerships with employers.
• An Issue Brief on a Demand-Driven Workforce Investment System.
  
• A Brief on Employer Perspectives and Preferences about Training Providers.
  
• Return on Investment Marketing Tools that workforce development programs can use to encourage employers to participate in skills training programs. The tools include a brochure and an on-line interactive return-on-investment estimating tool that can be used to estimate return on investment in different contexts.
  

CONTACT INFO:
Sherry Almandsmith, Project Director
Berkeley Policy Associates
440 Grand Avenue, Suite 500
Oakland, CA 94610-5085
Phone: 510-465-7884
FAX: 510-465-7885
TTY: 510-465-4493
sherry@bpacal.com
www.berkeleypolicyassociates.com