Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Quick Start Action Planner

Food for Thought as you continue to plan for sustainability and scaling within your community college

WIOA Quick Start Action Planner

User Guide

What is the WIOA Quick Start Action Planner?

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) presents an extraordinary opportunity for the public workforce system to transform and improve the quality of life for job seekers and workers through an integrated, job-driven system that links diverse talent to our nation’s businesses.

The WIOA Quick Start Action Planner (QSAP) is an interactive, self-paced assessment tool designed to help leaders at all levels of the public workforce system plan for this transformation and prepare for the implementation of WIOA. The WIOA QSAP helps workforce leaders identify areas of strength and targets for improvement in their workforce system and connect to targeted resources to prepare and plan effectively.

Who should use the Quick Start Action Planner?

The QSAP is designed for leaders in the public workforce system at the state and local levels. Completing the QSAP and holding a team discussion on the results will help states and local areas develop a common understanding of their readiness to implement WIOA – and jointly develop a plan to address opportunities for action.

How does the Quick Start Action Planner Work?

The WIOA QSAP is comprised of a series of assessments on critical topics, such as partnerships, governance and leadership, One-Stop service design, and youth strategies. State and local leaders are encouraged to complete all of the relevant QSAPs in the series.

QSAP	Target Group
Partnerships	State and local leaders
State Governance and Leadership	State level leaders
Local Governance and Leadership	Local level leaders
One-Stop Center Service Design	State and local leaders
Youth Service Strategies	State and local leaders
Eligible Training Providers	State and local leaders

 Each QSAP contains a list of indicator statements related to the topic. Review each indicator statement and rate how well your state or local area is prepared for WIOA implementation in that area.

Starting the WIOA Quick  Start Action Planner

Step 1 – Select a QSAP

Start by selecting a topic on the WIOA QSAP page at https://wioa.workforce3one.org/page/planner.

Step 2 – Complete the QSAP

You will be asked to respond to a series of indicator statements that assess where you believe your workforce system currently stands related to WIOA implementation. Some indicator statements will be applicable to both the state and local level, while others are for state or local level leaders. The indicators will be clearly identified – respond to only those indicator statements that are applicable to your level in the workforce system.

Step 3 – Get the Results

Once you have responded to all the indicators and completed the QSAP, you will receive a report of the results. This report will also include direct links to technical assistance resources related to that topic area that can help you to prepare and plan effectively for WIOA. You can choose to download the results report or e-mail the report to yourself and others.

As you begin, please keep in mind…

·      Each QSAP will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.

·      In order to ensure confidentially in completing the assessment, your responses will not be saved.

·      You therefore must respond to all the indicator statements in the individual QSAP – if you leave the website before completing the assessment, your responses will be lost!

How to use the Quick Start Action Planner for Results

The WIOA QSAP can be used in multiple ways to prepare for the implementation of WIOA and identify the changes needed to transform the public workforce system. Regardless of the approach, you will get the most benefit from using the QSAP if the results are discussed with a team, such as the State or Local Board, a coalition of partner programs, or the designated WIOA implementation workgroup. A team discussion will help develop a common understanding of the level of readiness to implement WIOA, and help align around targets for change and improvement in the workforce system.

·      When holding a team discussion, consider the following questions:

·      What areas represent our strengths?

·      What areas represent opportunities for improvement?

·      Do we have internal disagreements about our self-assessment scoring? What can we learn from the different perspectives?

·      What are the priorities for change for our workforce system?

The following are examples of ways you can use the WIOA QSAP and get the most use out of the tool!

Individual Results and Team Discussion

Multiple individuals in a group can take the QSAP separately using the on-line assessment tools available at https://wioa.workforce3one.org/page/planner. The results can be saved by individuals and e-mailed to share with others in the group.

Once the group members have individually completed the QSAPs, the team then comes together to discuss the results, develop a shared understanding of areas of strength and improvement, and collectively identify priorities for change.

Facilitated Group Discussion

Each QSAP is also available as a PDF document at https://wioa.workforce3one.org/page/planner. You can print the QSAPs to use as a tool as part of a strategic planning meeting. A facilitator can lead your team through a discussion of the indicators in the QSAP, and help resolve disagreements and reach consensus about the current status of the workforce system and where changes are needed.

Benchmarking Progress

The WIOA QSAP can also be a valuable tool to help assess your efforts to implement WIOA and make changes to your workforce system over time. Complete the QSAP now and save the results as your benchmark – then take the QSAP in 6 months or a year to assess your progress.

Develop a WIOA Action Plan

After you have completed the QSAP and discussed the results with your team, you can develop a WIOA Action Plan to address the areas of opportunity identified during the group discussion.

An Action Plan template is available on the WIOA QSAP page at https://wioa.workforce3one.org/page/planner .

Use the template to develop a plan of the actions needed to prepare for and implement WIOA, and make the transformative changes envisioned for the workforce system under the new law

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act