SECTION 1: THE SYSTEM FOR ADULT BASIC ... - SABES

COMMON ABBREVIATIONS IN ADULT EDUCATION: (Continued)
USDOE: The mission of the US Department of Education is mission is to strengthen the
Federal commitment to assuring access to equal educational opportunity for every individual;
encourage the increased involvement of the public, parents, and students in Federal education
programs and to promote improvements in the quality and usefulness of education through
Federally supported research, evaluation, and sharing of information.
VESL: Vocational English as a Second Language
VISTA: Volunteers in Service to America
WE: Workforce Development. Also “WfD”.
WE: Workplace Education
WEI: Workplace Education Initiative
WIA: (The Workforce Investment Act) The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 represents
a national consensus to consolidate and coordinate all of the workforce preparation and
development programs into a unified workforce investment system.
WIB: (State or SWIB) State Workforce Investment Board is a 65 member Board composed of a
diverse group of business, government, youth, and community leaders whose mission is to
advise and help the Governor develop a strategic plan for the commonwealth's workforce
development system. The Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board serves as the
Governor's principal advisory board on workforce development.
WIB: (Continued) The Board fulfills this mandate in three ways: linking workforce development
to economic development, mobilizing the private sector, and continuously improving the state
delivery
system. The Board is comprised of private sector employers, agency heads, legislators, and
representatives from state and local workforce development entities. For the current
membership, go to http://www.mass.gov/dlwd/swib.html.
WIB: Continued:
As required by WIA, a majority of the board and its chair must be from the private sector. This
requirement helps ensure that employer and business interests throughout the
Commonwealth play a key role in advising the Governor about the needs of Massachusetts
workforce system, and helping make the system "demand driven."
WTF: The Workforce Training Fund is an employer-funded program that provides grant funds
to MA employers to upgrade the skills of their current or newly hired employees.
Western Massachusetts Profiles of Regional Adult Literacy Programs, summer 2009 edition 193