Workforce Development Legislation and Practice Literature Review, Maryland, 2007-2017

Workforce Development Legislation and Practice Literature Review 

Maryland, 2007-2017 

Prepared By: Lawrence Grandpre, 

Director of Research, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle 

The state of Maryland is sometimes referred to as “America in miniature”, a reference to the 

diversity of geographic and human environments. That geographic diversity creates a variety of 

working environments, and that combined with the turbulent economic and political shifts over the 

past decade, make the states workforce development landscape almost as complex as its physical 

landscape. 

This document attempts to create an overview of the literature around the legislative and political 

dynamics around workforce development theory and practice in Maryland through the years 2007 

through 2017. This period includes three different gubernatorial regimes, three presidents, a 

massive shift in federal workforce development policy, and the largest economic contraction in the 

United States since the great recession. While the tumultuous circumstances this time period 

encompasses adds an additional layer of complexity to an already diverse state workforce 

environment, over time general trends can be observed and evaluated. 

Methodology 

Legislative records were gathered for legislation coded as related to “job training” in the Maryland 

general assembly database for the years 2007- through 2017. This data was cross-referenced with 

literature related to Maryland’s workforce development efforts from a variety of sources, including 

government documents at the state, local and federal levels, non-profit organizations in the state 

of Maryland, and national workforce development related non-profits. An expansive view of 

workforce development was applied, including literature and legislation designed to remove 

barriers from employment, but the focus was centered on efforts to train, educate or provided 

professional certificates for Marylanders, especially those with barriers to employment. 

Overview (Background information, 2007-2008) 

Maryland, a state of approximately 5,775,000 residents, has a total non-farm workforce of 

2,729,000 as of 2017. 1 This has increased from 2,546,000 in 2007. 2 An analysis of reference to 

the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board (soon to be renamed the governor's workforce 

development board or GWDB) State Workforce Indicators from 2008 gives an overview of the 

1 

“Maryland Seasonally Adjusted CES Data.” Current Employment Statistics (CES) - Workforce Information & Performance, 

State of Maryland- Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation, 2017, www.dllr.state.md.us/lmi/ces/. 

2 

“MARYLAND AT A GLANCE.” Maryland Employment - Workforce, 8 Nov. 2017, 

msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/economy/html/labor.html. 

4151 Park Heights Avenue, Suite 207, Baltimore, MD 21215 • www.lbsbaltimore.com • (410) 374-7683

state’s workforce environment in 2007. The report outlines some of the foundational dynamics 

around workforce development in Maryland over the past decade. The report outlines some of the 

relative advantages Maryland has had as a state when it comes to workforce development. As of 

2006, the workforce participation rate, a figure which measures the percentage of working-age 

persons (typically 16-64) either employed or looking for employment, was 78.4%, four points 

higher than the national average and the 11th highest in the nation. The report goes on to outline 

some of the dynamics which might contribute to this fact, including the states above average 

percentage of workers with at least a bachelor's degree, 35% versus the national average of 27%. 

15% of Maryland’s workers are foreign-born and Maryland’s foreign-born population has a higher 

ratio of educated immigrants (43% having a bachelor's degree versus 34% nationally). Maryland’s 

workforce diversification is also on display, with double-digit growth in aerospace industries and 

biotechnology over 2002-2006 displacing the state’s loss in manufacturing employment. 

The report outlines issues related to workforce development in Maryland which future legislation 

would attempt to address. According to the report, many of the educated non-native born 

individuals in the state have been found to be working in low skilled jobs not commensurate with 

their educational attainment. The report also outlines projected workforce needs from 2007 to 

2014, including a projected 5.6% growth in home health aides. The report also notes completions 

of apprenticeships fell 18% from 2005-2007. The report raises concerns about an aging workforce 

in the state, with multiple industries (including educational services, public administration, and 

manufacturing) reporting over 20% of the workforce over the age of 55. Finally, while the report 

notes growth statewide, it shows concern about the state losing population to lower cost states like 

Pennsylvania and unequal distribution of opportunity between the I-95 corridor and the state’s 

more rural counties. 

The legislation from 2007 reflects some of the concerns laid out in the report. Under newly elected 

governor O'Malley, several bond bills were granted for workforce development related projects to 

Anne Arundel County, including the Opportunity Builders program and the Mount Olive 

Community Life Center. Additionally, the 2007 legislation on transit services for low-income 

individuals can be read within the context of allowing workers to more easily access jobs. The 

literature from this time continues to focus on addressing the perceived “demographic time bomb” 

which is baby boomers aging out of the state’s workforce, with the Governor's workforce 

investment board producing a 2-page report outlining the challenges which come with an aging 

workforce, including issues of losing institutional knowledge. 3 

In 2008, with the onset of the great recession, and development of the O'Malley administration, 

the state’s legislative priorities around workforce development reflect a focus on technology and 

streamlining and/or reorganizing existing workforce development engines. SB203 attempts to 

consolidate the educational functions within state correctional facilities within one agency for 

better efficiency, while HB 704 attempts to create workforce development in correctional facilities 

3 

“Maryland's Aging Workforce.” Archive, About the Governor's Workforce Development Board (GWDB), 1 July 2016, 

gwib.maryland.gov/pub/pubarchive.shtml. 


for construction to be done on correctional facilities. While the previous term’s bond bills focused 

on construction oriented workforce programs, in 2008 Prince George’s County's Suitland 

Technology Center was slated to receive a $100,000 bond for its facilities. Moreover, the governor 

begins to outline his “Bio 2020” initiative, a framework for the state to invest in its biotechnology 

sector through tax breaks and the construction of new facilities through the governor’s budget. 4 

2009 

In 2009, the impact of Maryland’s proximity to Washington D.C. plays out in the literature in 

many ways. First, as the GWIB’s report on “Untapped Workforce” states: 

“Maryland has a demonstrated need for additional sources of labor. Despite the 

recent downturn in the national and world economy, Maryland enjoys a relatively 

healthy, diverse economy, largely dependent on the availability of a highly skilled 

and educated workforce. Even with this downturn, several forces are merging to 

create much greater pressure on workforce availability, and tighten the supply of 

workers in Maryland including 1.) impending baby-boomer retirements; 2.) a 

limited supply of replacement workers, 3.) demographics changes within the state 

and 4.) the job growth expected as a result of the Base Re-Alignment and Closure 

(BRAC).” 5 

The report relay’s that Maryland’s proximity to relatively stable federal government jobs helped 

buffer it in some ways from the impacts of the great recession, so much so that the report would 

show concern about a tightening labor force as opposed to an expected focus on retraining 

employees. Additionally, with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 

the literature comments on how Maryland might effectively utilize the funds allocated in the 

federal act for workforce development. The Job Opportunities Task Force published issue brief, 

explaining how the federal legislation impacted the workforce development landscape 

statewide. 

“The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is the primary national funding stream for 

workforce development, including employment services through One-Step 

Centers and hard-skill training funds. In recent years, WIA funds have been 

declining, making it difficult for states to provide a broad range of services and 

meet increasing demand. The Recovery Act will provide Maryland with an 

additional $29 million in WIA formula grants. 5 Most of this money will be passed 

through to local workforce investment boards, though 15% can be used for 

4 

Balog, Jason E. “Balog's Biotech Dissecting O'Malley's Bio 2020 Initiative.” The Frederick News-Post, Myron W. Randall Jr., 

11 Mar. 2016, www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/balog-s-biotech-dissecting-o-malley-s-bio-initiative/article_969d8f56-46ae- 

543a-ba61-b1b08f27deb2.html. 

5 

“Untapped Workforce Committee.” Publications - Governor's Workforce Development Board, 1 July 2016, 

gwib.maryland.gov/pub/pdf/untappedreport.pdf. 


statewide programs.” 6 

The brief goes on to argue that, while these workforce funds can be spent on administrative costs, 

the bulk of these funds should be spent specifically on the job training. 7 While the funds could not 

be spent until the 2010 fiscal year (and thus legislation around administering the fund isn’t passed 

until 2010, the 2009 session does include meaningful steps toward increase job training, including 

HB268, which focuses specifically on getting individuals receiving welfare to receiving training 

on green jobs and construction, as well as HB 644, which creates a state apprenticeship training 

program to be housed in the state's Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (DLLR). 

Perhaps not surprisingly, the GWIB had its most prolific year when it comes to producing 

publications, with nearly as many reports and briefs in 2009 as 2008, 2010 and 2011 combined. It 

published a letter from then GWIB chair Bill Robertson and co-chair Eric Seleznow sets out 

various “recommendations” to the governors and the heads of local workforce investment boards 

on how to spend some of the $35 million dollars in federal workforce development dollars the state 

would receive (slightly more than what the JOTF brief estimated). The letter states that, while not 

intended to be a “all-encompassing set of policy directives”, the governor advised localities to use 

these funds to continue in pursuit of the objectives previously laid out by the administration; green 

jobs, post-secondary education, and connecting with job creators to train new employees and “upskilling” 

those already trained. 8 The GWIB in 2009 to produce reports on the state of workforce 

development many of the state’s most prominent fields, energy, youth employment, construction, 

Information technology, and biotechnology. 9 This reflected the impetus of Governor's STEM task 

force, which advocated for an increased focus on alignment with higher education institutions and 

STEM job creators to meet the states latent STEM workforce needs. 10 

2010 

In 2010, the state begins to climb out of the job declines which marked the height of the great 

recession and continued to focus on targeted workforce development. There continued to be 

developments in the state promotion of higher education workforce development. The governor 

continued to fund his “Bio 2020” initiative through the budget, and the Community College of 

Baltimore County received a federal grant to develop health information technology training, 

focusing on six specific positions: 

1. “Management Redesign Specialist 

6 

“The Facts on the Federal Recovery Act: The Impact on Low-Wage Marylanders & Principles for Implementation.” Issue 

Briefs, Job Opportunity Task Force, 23 Mar. 2009, jotf.org/Portals/0/JOTF%20Issue%20Brief%20- 

%20Facts%20on%20the%20Federal%20Recovery%20Act[.pdf. 

7 

ibid 

8 “Policy Framework for Implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009: Maryland's Workforce 

Priorities (P.” Publications, gwib.maryland.gov/pub/pdf/arrapolicyguide.pdf. 

9 

“Maryland’s Energy Industry Workforce Report: Preparing Today’s Workers for Tomorrow’s Opportunities.” Publications, 

Governor's Workforce Development Board, 1 July 2016, gwib.maryland.gov/pub/pdf/energyworkforce.pdf. 

10 

“Investing in STEM to Secure Maryland’s Future.” The Maryland Business Roundtable, www.mbrt.org/wpcontent/uploads/2009/stem-task-force-report.pdf. 


2. Clinician/Practitioner Consultant 

3. Implementation Support Specialist 

4. Implementation Manager 

5. Technical/Software Support Staff 

6. Trainer” 11 

Despite the continued focus on higher skilled workforce development, one of the clearest 

articulates of direction in workforce development was a focus on middle-skill jobs. In March the 

National Skills Coalition published a report called Maryland’s Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs, which 

denotes a potential gap in Maryland’s workforce development strategy in that, while the state had 

success in promoting highly educated worker development, 42% of future job growth was to come 

in “middle skill” jobs, which require post-secondary education (certificates or associate's degrees) 

but not a full four year degree. The GWIB passed a motion which denoted the institutional 

commitments to the campaign, including: 

● Adopting an S2C Maryland campaign led by the Governor; 

● Appointing the GWIB to serve as the advisory board to provide oversight of, and advocacy 

for, the S2CMaryland campaign; and 

● Encouraging every working Marylander to develop a career pathway that includes 

at least two years of education or training past high school – leading to a 

technical credential, industry certification, or one’s first year of college. 12 

The Governor’s Workforce Investment Board produces a report which denotes the gradual change 

in the job market throughout the year, the transition to net job growth in July 2010 after losing over 

150,000 seasonally adjusted jobs in the first 8 months of the year. 13 The report shows some of the 

long-term gaps in workforce development outlined in the National Skills Coalition report and 

previous reports, including denoting the flat/ declining number of internships completed in the 

state from 2007-2010 (around 1000 per year mostly in construction linked trades). 14 Job 

Opportunities Task Force did a joint report with Associated Black Charities called Expanding 

Baltimore's Black Middle Class advocating for increased financial aid for remedial and vocational 

training via state financial aid, citing Washington’s I-BEST program as a model. 15 

Perhaps because of the status of this year as an election year, the legislative output related to 

workforce development is lower this year compared to previous years, with only 3 bills coded as 

11 

“Maryland’s Health Information Technology Workforce Task Force Report and Findings.” Publications, Governor's 

Workforce Development Board, 1 July 2016, gwib.maryland.gov/board/bdmeet/june162010hcitsum.pdf. 

12 

“Governor’s Workforce Investment Board - 2009 Annual Report.” Annual Reports, - Governor's Workforce Development 

Board (GWDB), 2017, gwib.maryland.gov/lib/pdf/annualreport2009.pdf. 

13 

“Maryland’s Workforce Indicators: 2010.” Publications, Governor's Workforce Investment Board (GWIB), 1 July 2016, 

gwib.maryland.gov/pub/pdf/gwibindicators2010.pdf. 

14 

ibid 

15 

“Expanding Black Baltimore's Middle Class- Workforce Strategies for Advancing Prosperity.” Issue Briefs, Job Opportunity 

Task Force/Associated Black Charities, June 2010, jotf.org/Publications/IssueBriefs/tabid/68/Default.aspx. 


elated to “job training” passed. 

2011 

2011 can be seen as a year where, fresh off of re-election, the O’Malley administration sought to 

refine its approach by adding more detail and definition to previously existing programs and 

respond to development on the federal level. With the impending implementation of the Affordable 

Care Act, Maryland received federal support for workforce planning, which it used to create its 

Health Care 2020 plan. The GWIB received a $150,000 to plan for the state to effectively expand 

its health care capacity in the face of an impending increase in healthcare demand. Two of their 

short-term recommendation relate directly to traditional “workforce development programs”: 

1. Revisit Maryland Loan Assistance - Repayment Program Funding- Providing financial 

assistance incentives through a state-funded loan assistance repayment program for 

physicians with an interest in primary care; expanding loan repayment programs 

beyond physicians to other health care professional students; exploring the use of 

licensure fees as additional sources of funding for these programs. 

2. Comprehensive Workforce Planning. Expanding the focus of healthcare workforce 

needs assessments beyond specific categories of health professionals or geographic 

areas; provide data on the numbers, types and diversity of health professionals 

currently employed, where they are employed, and in what roles and what types of 

activities they perform; provide data on the numbers, types and diversity of health 

professional students in the educational pipeline, including allied health training 

programs. 16 

This push toward workforce development makes its way into general assembly legislation, as HB 

807 sought to create a personal training fund for health care workers. 

Beyond the specific focus on healthcare workforce development, the state’s legislative and 

executive branches both sought to deepen its work on previously outline workforce objectives. The 

executive branch put a more clear and definitive frame on its Skills2Compete initiative creating a 

goal of increasing Maryland’s skills 20% by 2012. 17 The report goes into in-depth detail about how 

the different stakeholders in the post-secondary employment training space can achieve this goal, 

outlining a variety of strategies, ranging from targeting specific demographic groups such as 

veterans to the disabled to improved data collection and promotion of existing programs. 18 

16 

“Preparing Maryland's Workforce for Reform: Healthcare 2020 Report.” Publications, Governor's Workforce Investment 

Board (GWIB), 1 July 2016, gwib.maryland.gov/pub/healthreformcare2020.pdf. 

17 Unruh, Rachel, and Eric Seleznow. “Beyond Degrees-Lessons Learned from Skills2Compete-Maryland.” National Skills 

Coalition, 1 Aug. 2011, www.nationalskillscoalition.org/resources/publications/file/NSC_BeyondDegrees_2011-08-FINAL- 

WEB.pdf. 

18 ibid 


Figure 1- Skills2Compete Interagency 

Workforce Committee. The wheel depicts the 

Skills2Compete initiative as a hub for connecting the variety of agencies which impacts workforce development. 

Source- National Skills Initiative Beyond Degrees Report 19 

19 ibid 


Figure 2- Enrollments and Completions in Maryland’s Workforce Development System- Sample input and outputs of 

the Skills2Compete-Maryland Plan- Source- National Skills Coalition Beyond Degrees Report 

Two of the focuses outlined in the Beyond Degrees report are reflected in legislation which passed in the 

2011 session. HB 81 relates directly to workforce training and education for veterans, focusing on tracking 

them into construction jobs, while HB 104 created tuition waivers for individuals with disabilities to take 

vocational training at community colleges. The legislature also passed HB 757, which empowered the 

GWIB to establish an advisory committee on the development of educational programs to aid unemployed 

state residents. 

2012 

2012 appears to be less active years in workforce development legislation and research, yet nevertheless, 

important events which helped shaped future actions can be observed. The only two bills coded in the 

Maryland General Assembly legislative database as relevant to job training are both related to construction 

workforce development; HB 457 is related to capital transit workforce training and HB 493 focuses on 

creating a task force to study workforce development for construction apprenticeships. A report from The 

Maryland Center for Construction Education and Innovation (MCCEI) helps to elucidate why these efforts 

may have been deemed necessary. 

The MCCEI report, done in conjunction with Sage Policy Group, Inc. and Regional Economic Studies 

Institute, (RESI) of Towson University, published a report called The Critical Path, which was the 

culmination of over a year of interviews with 30 companies throughout the state of Maryland around their 

hiring practices, attritions rates, and perceived developing trends in the state’s construction area which, 

according to the report, was still struggling to recover from the great recession, with construction sector 

unemployment reaching a high of 27.1% in February 2012. 20 The report notes that 70% of the employees 

20 

“The Critical Path: Positioning Maryland as an Innovation Leader in the Global Construction Industry.” Board Meeting 

Schedule and Materials, Governor's Workforce Development Board, 20 Mar. 2013, gwib.maryland.gov/board/bdmeet/. 


hired for the firm's surveys came from out of state construction programs, and over 40% of the companies 

surveyed expected 20-40% of their workforce to retire before 2020. 21 

The report concludes by giving six policy recommendations for improving workforce readiness for 

construction careers, the most notable of which being the creation or expansion of construction education 

programs at Maryland four-year colleges, with over 65% of those surveyed saying they support the 

creation of this program to help perceived unmet need in the construction workforce pipelines, a lack of 

specifically skilled craftspeople with field experience and knowledge of computer programs used in 

construction. 22 There also were recommendations around the need for an internship pipeline for a 

construction job, the creation of a new, elite construction management program at a Maryland university 

(the existing programs are at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore and Morgan State University) and 

an outreach campaign to bring in traditionally underrepresented groups into the construction field. 

In addition to construction, the literature shows a continued focus on medical sector workforce 

development. The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning produced a report entitled “Innovation in 

Maryland Nursing Education to Meet Anticipated Demand” which essentially outlines recommendations 

around workforce development for the state’s healthcare industry given the great recession (which eased 

some of the demand on the states medical workforce by causing some of the state’s older medical 

employees to delay retirement) and the rollout of the affordable care act, which would continue to put 

upward demand pressure on the states medical infrastructure. 23 The addition to general recommendations 

around increasing race/gender diversity in the state disproportionately white and female nursing 

workforce, it gives note specific examples of innovation such as a Montgomery College program in 

Montgomery County which is designed to transition foreign-trained nurses and military medics/corpsmen 

into the nursing profession. 24 

On a national level, In The Center for the Study of Social Policy produced a report called Results Based 

Public Policy Strategies for Promoting Workforce Strategies for Reintegrating Ex-Offenders, which cites 

Maryland’s work in creating Green Jobs opportunities for the formerly incarcerated and locating “onestop” 

job centers in Baltimore neighborhoods where they reach returning citizens as useful strategies for 

21 

Ibid 

22 

Ibid 

23 

Cael. “Innovation in Maryland Nursing Education to Meet Anticipated Demand.” Public Policy-Publication, Council for Adult 

and Experiential Learning, 2012, cta-service-cms2.hubspot.com/ctas/v2/public/cs/c/?cta_guid=af4f5c64-7edb-4030-bec9- 

2f65b43df106&placement_guid=be58634e-5b14-4a4e-ba31- 

a6f65a5ecbbb&portal_id=617695&redirect_url=APefjpHUaMWVwkSz73q53d1PhLcpy3iVvvmCMbco- 

KZPNPaFv7X7Wyie98PAKl0QhPHxPKdGW1aCQ5tR9SBzj8Pl9xQuw-8JxPgne2Ij2fHeKNBwYCQhqYsPfp8evLP- 

VGF_T0liHhE2Uz62REJ0aTOrt0LBvvDwqjR0zJHkyu98AD_o8CBgoaVekNpB6bRfF_2GtkSJpoOOll1U_4brVeQmcM8NVYt 

CHdex-_Oq2QVBKOl5bfDAD- 

4&hsutk=c7a000001d761e0d13a8016263ca2c90&canon=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cael.org%2Fpublic-policypublication&click=6f2acb19-7481-4022-b79f-5bbfa40cdc34&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cael.org%2Fworkforceand-economic-development%2Fpublications%3FhsCtaTracking%3Dd03430b5-440e-4ee1-98ce-ae6f62609c33%7C418c940a- 

9911-46b4-967d-f61debed49a1&pageId=4015083498. 

24 

ibid 


eintegrating returning citizens into the workforce. 25 

2013 

2013 saw the continued development of the state’s policy architecture around workforce development 

which can be seen as the work of previous years beginning to culminate in change. HB0227 created the 

Employment Advancement Right Now (EARN) program. Through it, industries engage in a competitive 

process where they present proposals for collaborative workforce development efforts. The program is 

designed to prioritize data-driven approaches to expanding the skilled workforce to meet the needs of the 

industry. Additionally, many of the bills passed related to expanding educational opportunity to 

traditionally excluded demographics, including HB0698, which create a workgroup to study its 

entrepreneurial opportunities for individuals who have had experience with the criminal justice system, 

HB1012 which established conditional tuition waivers for individuals who have had experience with the 

foster care system for state schools. 

The literature from this year supports the idea that 2013 was a year for taking stock and reflecting on 

experience. The Job Opportunities Tasks Force (JOTF) produced two documents attempting to expand 

workforce development and legislative advocacy conversations. First, JOTF published a report relaying 

the lessons they have learned engaging in legislative advocacy on behalf of individuals with criminal 

records. The report, entitled Advocating for the Successful Reentry of Individuals with Criminal Records, 

attempts to outline some of the strategies and lessons from the experience JOTF had over the course of 

years advocating for policy change to increase access to workforce development and employment 

opportunity for returning citizens. 26 This is a rare report in the literature which attempts to give some 

“how to” advice for institutions seeking to engage in legislative advocacy for people with criminal records, 

and the report seeks to give examples related to strategy, building coalitions, choosing the scope of your 

policy reforms (discussing the relative merits of the “low hanging fruit” approach versus the “going bold” 

approach) and even the relative value of making “unlikely allies” and using state fiscal impact as a 

mechanism to generate support for a particular policy. One example of an advocacy strategy relating to 

increasing support for workforce development involves a discussion around expanding the conversation 

around SNAP benefits to individuals convicted of drug offenses: 

“Many states remain in fiscal crisis and proposals that increase revenue or reduce 

expenditures are likely to capture the attention of the administration and legislators. Like 

many states, Maryland opted to ban SNAP benefits (food stamps) for single people and 

noncustodial parents with drug convictions. Previous attempts to change this policy based 

on the need for food assistance were ineffective, but the governor’s office became 

interested when JOTF, in 2005, explained that lifting the ban would make Maryland 

25 

“Results Based Public Policy Strategies for Promoting Workforce Strategies for Reintegrating Ex-Offenders.” Papers, Center 

for the Study of Social Policy, Apr. 2012, www.cssp.org/policy/papers/Promoting-Workforce-Strategies-for-Reintegrating-Ex- 

Offenders.pdf. 

26 

“Advocating for the Successful Reentry of Individuals with Criminal Records: Lessons Learned from Maryland.” Latest 

Publications, Job Opportunity Task Force- Prepared for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Nov. 2013, 

jotf.org/Portals/0/jotf/publications/JOTF%20Lessons%20Learned%20FINAL.pdf. 


eligible for millions of dollars in Food Stamps Employment and Training program 

funds.” 27 

The document goes on to discuss the importance centering impacting individuals in advocacy and 

discussing the racialized impact of criminal justice policy on workforce development. 

The second report, entitled “Obstacles & Opportunities: The Workforce Development Landscape in 

Prince George’s County, Maryland”, is one of the first looks in the literature at workforce development 

from a local/regional perspective. The report gives statistical breakdowns of current and projected future 

workforce data for the county, which reveals that despite the counties, relative affluence (with the presence 

of relatively stable federal and local government jobs) the county has serious issues with unemployment 

and mass incarceration separating residents from the workforce. 28 Additionally, the report elucidates how 

some of the fundamental dynamics of the economy are impacting the earning potential of PG County 

residents, with the data showing the disproportionate amount of projected future job growth is 

concentrated in lower waged service economy jobs. The report is rare in the literature in that it specifically 

focuses on an under-discussed element of the states workforce development infrastructure, the local 

workforce development boards. While every county has a distinct workforce development entity which 

implements workforce development programming at a county level. The JOTF report is one of the first in 

the literature which takes local workforce development as a topic of inquiry, identifying their leadership 

structure, programming, funding sources and some of the organizations who have received workforce 

development grants from the local board. A brief sample from the report shows the detail the report gives 

on the workings of this as to now under-discussed workforce development entity. 

“In 2011, Maryland Nonprofits released a report finding that Prince George’s County 

government makes only minimal local investment in health and human services. The county 

relies heavily on federal and state funding. The same holds true for workforce development, 

where services through the county One-Stops rely almost exclusively on federal WIA funds. 

PGC-WSD does not receive general fund support from the county… 

In addition to [Summer Youth Enrichment Programming] SYEP, the county supports 

workforce development through grants to local nonprofits. The county granted about half 

a million dollars to local nonprofits that provide at least some workforce services in FY 

2013. Some grant recipients have an explicit focus on employment – such as the Training 

Source and the CASA de Maryland Prince George’s Welcome Center – while others 

received general support for a range of services, of which employment assistance is only 

one.” 29 

27 

ibid 

28 

“Obstacles & Opportunities: The Workforce Development Landscape in Prince George's County, Maryland.” Latest 

Publications, Job Opportunity Task Force, Sept. 2013, 

jotf.org/Portals/0/jotf/publications/JOTF%20Lessons%20Learned%20FINAL.pdf. 

29 

ibid 


The report goes on to detail the over half million dollars the county disseminated to workforce-related 

programming in the county, with the activities funded ranging from office training to youth to “soft skills” 

work for vulnerable populations, including the homeless and victims of domestic violence. 

2014 

The 2013 JOTF finding that local workforce investment boards depend on federal government funding 

would prove relevant in 2014, as the Obama administration set out to revamp the federal workforce 

development infrastructure, causing states across the country, including Maryland, to scramble to 

understand how their state workforce systems would be impacted. 

Much of the thinking behind the State of Maryland’s response to this federal legislation is documented on 

GWIB’s website, which chronicles some of the conversations state workforce development officials were 

having at the time. A report from the National Association of Workforce, which was included in the notes 

for the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board’s September meeting, details some of the key difference 

between the previous law, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and the 2014 legislation which replaced 

it, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). While the report goes into granular detail 

about the specific differences between the two laws, in a nutshell the WIOA appears to condition increased 

flexibility in how local workforce development boards can use money (shifting it between different 

buckets without the previously needed waivers) and fundraise (empowering local workforce development 

board to get non-government grants and donations as 501c3s) in exchange for increased application of 

performance metrics and make federal funding conditional upon showing satisfactory performance. 30 The 

GWIB also posted a list of over 50 questions related to the new law that their organization wanted to 

address. Grouped into 10 categories, the list attempts to isolate questions about how the state may most 

effectively transition from the current WIA regime to the incoming WIOA law and was lumped into the 

following areas: 

“A. Governance 

B. Performance Accountability 

C. One-Stop System / Wagner-Peyser 

D. Eligible Training Provider List (State Only) 

E. Adult and Dislocated Worker Formula Programs 

F. Youth Program 

G. Adult Ed/Literacy 

H. Voc Rehab 

I. Admin Provisions – Waivers 

J. Miscellaneous” 31 

30 

Copus, Josh, et al. “The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) ‘Driving Innovation, Collaboration, and 

Performance.’” Publications, National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB), 28 Mar. 2016, nawb.org/publications.asp. 

31 

“Board Meeting Schedule and Materials-2014.” Board Information, Governor's Workforce Development Board, 15 June 2015, 

www.mdworkforce.com/board/bdmeet/sept172014wioatool.pdf. 


While the process of interrogating the changes demanded by the WIOA began in 2014, it is a process 

which continues throughout the time period examined. 

While the WIOA would dominate the GWIB’s conversations around workforce development, the 

legislative work related to workforce development picked up substantially in 2014 from a relative lull in 

2013. The Department of Legislative services released its report on apprenticeships in the state, arguing 

that there is substantial workforce needs being unmet by the states limited system of apprenticeships and 

argues for tax credits for employers who create internships and increased oversight and curriculum 

development for the states youth internships efforts. 32 The impact of the continual push toward internships 

can be seen in SB0054, which sought to increased coordination between the states labor-related 

bureaucracy and its internship development organizations. Additionally, the state continued to pass 

legislation around the education-related job training, passing HB1164, creating a workgroup on how to 

implement statewide PARCC testing, and HB 0811, which creates a summer career academy pilot 

program. Finally, the state passed HB0856, creating a workgroup to study how best to advance workforce 

development for community health workers. 

2015 

In 2015, the discussion around implementation of the WIOA continued, but under new circumstances 

locally. With a new governor, the workforce investment board was largely reconstituted under governor 

Larry Hogan, with a new executive director Francis Chaney II. The GWIB minutes show that in March 

2015 the roundtable discussed a report entitled “Putting WIOA to Work: An Action Plan for CEOs To 

Leverage the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act”. The report includes conversations around 

opportunities presented by the bill for businesses to leverage the WIOA, including gaining representation 

on local workforce boards and integrating their workforce needs with community colleges. 33 While the 

report came out in 2014, it helped shape the 2015 debate around the continued implementation of the 

WIOA. Additionally, the GWIB website links to a U.S. Department of Labor document, a Training 

Employment Guidance Letter on the implementation on WIOA. In an attempt to guide states on 

implementation of WIOA, most of which the provisions kicked in July 2015, the document gives states 

outlines on changing board composition, transitioning into new forms of youth programming, and 

addressing new federal law conflicting with existing state law (with the document noting that federal law 

takes precedence). 34 Finally, the GWIB had a rare “policy issuance” where it laid directive for local 

workforce management boards on how to implement new requirements from WIOA. While many of the 

32 

“TASK FORCE TO STUDY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & APPRENTICESHIPS- FINAL REPORT.” Maryland Task 

Force to Study Economic Development & Apprenticeships, Maryland Department of Legislative Services, Website Updated - 

Published February 2014- Website Updated - 25 Sept. 2015, 

msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/26excom/defunct/html/13economicdev.html. 

33 

“Putting WIOA to Work: An Action Plan for CEOs to Leverage the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.” An Action 

Plan for CEOs to Leverage the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Business Roundtable, 18 Sept. 2014, 

www.businessroundtable.org/resources/putting-wioa-work. 

34 

WU, PORTIA. “TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER No. 19-14.” TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT 

GUIDANCE LETTER No. 19-14, Employment & Training Administration (ETA) - U.S. Department of Labor, United States 

Department of Labor, 19 Feb. 2015, wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?docn=7353. 


directives from the GWIB cite the WIOA, some appear to be the board attempting to lay down “best 

practices” for the local boards to follow. One interesting area elucidated by this policy issuance is around 

the composition of local workforce boards, which states that while it is mandatory to have a certain 

representative from particular organizations on the board, local workforce management boards may opt 

to include representatives from: 

“A community-based organization that has demonstrated experience and expertise in 

addressing the employment, training or education needs of individuals with barriers to 

employment…” 

Or 

“An organization that demonstrated experience and expertise in addressing the 

employment, 

training, or education needs of WIOA eligible youth, including representatives of 

organizations that serve out-of-school youth.” 35 

As well as the development of the state’s legislative efforts to expand its diversity in its workforce 

repertoire. With a newly elected governor, the legislature continued to advance a workforce agenda which 

targeted specific demographics. The state received its report on Community Health Workers, which it 

commissioned in 2015. In it, concerns are relayed around a variety of issues around the state of community 

health worker training, including the importance of local cultural knowledge for different groups who 

have difficulty accessing health services. 36 In a deviation from standard practice, the state passed various 

employment licensing regulations, relating to midwifery and barbering, in a state attempt to set standards 

for the industry. This push for licensing and certification legislation also extended to mental health 

professionals, with HB0805 stating that applicants for a therapist license can be asked to submit proof of 

mental or physical competence. Continuing on the issue of licensure, the state legislature also passed 

HB0846, designed in this case to facilitate former armed forces members in the acquisition of commercial 

truck driver’s licenses. 

While much of the literature from this year can be seen as influencing WIOA implementation or state law, 

two important reports which fit neither category were published in 2015. The first, a report published by 

Associated Black Charities, in association with the Greater Baltimore Committee, on middle-skill STEM 

jobs. While science, technology, engineering, and math are often seen as higher skills jobs, there are a 

bevy of opportunities in the STEM field which don’t require advanced degrees, but professional 

certification and specific skills, the report seeks to find ways to create job training pipelines to give a 

wider swath of individuals’ access to the opportunities. Finally, the state government produced its first 

report on the state of the previously existing EARN internship program, stating that after a year of planning 

and a year of implementation the program was successful at both training existing employees and bringing 

new employees into the workforce. The report citing that, in 40 programs which had received EARN 

35 

“GWIB POLICY ISSUANCE 2015-01-Maryland’s Local Workforce Development Boards under WIOA.” Policy Issuances, 

Governor's Workforce Development Board (GWDB), 1 July 2015, mdworkforce.com/policy/gwibpi1-15.pdf. 

36 

“Workgroup on Workforce Development for Community Health Workers- Final Report.” Maryland Department of Health and 

Mental Hygiene, Workgroup on Workforce Development for Community Health Workers, June 2015, 

insurance.maryland.gov/Documents/newscenter/legislativeinformation/workgroup-on-workforce-development-for-communityhealth-workers-dhmh-and-mia-june-2015.pdf. 


grants, over 1,500 previously employed individuals receiving new credentials and 644 individuals (or 78% 

of those who went through apprenticeship training) obtained employment. 37 

2016 

In 2016, the logistics of Maryland’s WIOA implementation began to be revealed, and there is a bevy of 

literature related to the state of Maryland's implementation of the bill. The now renamed Governor’s 

Workforce Development Board produced a new policy issuance to denote how resources might be shared 

between different organizations involved in workforce development and the mechanisms of accountability 

involved. 38 As part of the development of the state-wide WIOA strategy, local workforce development 

boards published their own individual plans for how their jurisdiction would comply with the new law. 39 

These reports can span for hundreds of pages and include a lot of technical details, but nonetheless a 

general tendency throughout the documents of citing WIOA and attempting to outline general plans for 

compliance from the local development boards. Additionally, the GWDB issued an annual report on the 

state of statewide workforce development which showed a shift in style and focuses on how the 

organization portrayed itself to the public. While previous reports read more like advertisements for the 

organization and its partners, this report reads more like a research document, attempting to quantify 

projected growth in key sectors and advocate for expanding the frame for workforce development. 40 It 

also reveals a bevy of new members added to the board, a move which perhaps can be read as related to 

a new gubernatorial regime attempting to put their stamp on this institution. Finally, the Job Opportunity 

Task Force produced a report entitled Connecting Baltimore's Youth to Opportunity, focused on analyzing 

the current landscape for youth opportunity in Baltimore and observes that: 

“Baltimore has built a reasonably large infrastructure of organizations that serve 

opportunity 

youth, but collectively, these organizations have not been able to connect a large portion 

of 

Baltimore’s opportunity youth to careers.” 

Using the term “opportunity youth” denotes the population aged 16-24 whom typically experience barriers 

to education or employment. The report notes that Baltimore’s population of “opportunity youth” is one 

of the highest in the country, and requires targeted workforce development to address the myriad of factors 

which are barriers to employment, including labor market dynamics, experience with the criminal justice 

37 

“EARN Maryland - 2015 Annual Report to the Maryland General Assembly.” Resources - EARN Maryland, Division of 

Workforce Development and Adult Learning- A Subsection of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR), Dec. 

2015, dllr.state.md.us/earn/earnannrep2015.pdf. 

38 

“POLICY ISSUANCE 2016-09- WIOA Memoranda of Understanding & Resource Sharing Agreements.” Policy Issuances, 

Governor's Workforce Development Board (GWDB), 27 Sept. 2016, www.dllr.maryland.gov/employment/mpi/mpi9-16.pdf. 

39 

“Local Area Workforce Plans (WIOA).” Workforce Development & Adult Learning, Department of Labor, Licensing and 

Regulation, 2016, dllr.state.md.us/wdplan/wioalocalplans.shtml. 

40 

“Developing Maryland's Futures- Annual Report 2016.” Annual Reports, Governor's Workforce Development Board (GWDB), 

2016, mdworkforce.com/lib/pdf/annualreport2016.pdf. 


system, and trauma. 41 After noting that workforce development for youth is often more expensive and 

complex than workforce development for adults and that adult-centric programs are failing to adequately 

meet the needs of youth, the report goes on to list 7 recommendations based upon observed “best 

practices” in the field, the most notable of which is using WIOA funding to create youth specific industry 

based workforce development programming, noting that changes in the federal law allow up a $3,000,000 

increase in funding for youth-centric workforce programming. Finally, in July 2016, the state issued its 

comprehensive state WIOA compliance plan. At over 300 pages, it is an attempt to synthesize the local 

WIOA plans into a document which expresses the state’s priorities around WIOA under governor Hogan, 

and includes an overview of the state’s demographics and employment data, and goes on to outline 

performance objectives for the state’s workforce performance and the budgets available for different 

aspects of the plan. 42 

2016 also included the largest amount of job training related state legislation of any year within the 

research window. SB0098 is a largely technical bill designed to update obsolete references in old law to 

the WIA and replace them with references to the WIOA. Besides that, most of the laws sought to either 

establish new programs or to build upon existing infrastructure. HB 1488 sought to create a Maryland 

Corp, creating a vehicle for young people to be paid for engaging for different forms of public services 

including wetlands restoration efforts. Similarly, HB 1162 sought to create a pilot program for foster youth 

summer internships. The state passed three bills to further its legal infrastructure around apprenticeships, 

HB0676 requiring Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council to give a yearly report to the General 

Assembly. SB0092 moved the Youth Apprenticeship Advisory Committee from the Division of Labor 

and Industry inside the DLLR to the Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning and 

requiring the membership of the Council and its consultants to reflect the geographic, racial, ethnic, 

cultural, and gender diversity of the State. Also, HB0290, establishing the Apprenticeship Career Training 

in Our Neighborhoods (ACTION) Program designed to set up a state entity to encourage employers to 

hire specified apprentices and to help employers offset costs associated with hiring apprentices through a 

grant program. In an attempt to address minority entrepreneurial opportunity as a function of workforce 

development, HB0788 moved responsibility for maintaining the Small Business Reserve Program to the 

Governor's Office of Minority Affairs from the Department of General Services. In one of the unique 

forces of workforce-related legislation recorded, HB1494, which gives income tax credits for community 

health workers who live in "areas of the State with health care workforce shortages". Finally, SB1005, the 

Justice Reinvestment Act passed a mixture of expungement and re-sentencing provisions to eliminate 

potential barriers to employment, but moreover set up a commission to attempt to reinvest money saved 

from incarcerating fewer people into programs for returning citizens, including potential workforce 

development. Indeed, the bill states that among the individuals on the coordinating council who will make 

decisions on how to reinvest the money the state saves is mandated for two of the slots to go to individuals 

with: 

41 

“Connecting Baltimore's Opportunity Youth to Careers.” Latest Publications, Job Opportunity Task Force, Feb. 2016, 

jotf.org/Portals/0/Connecting%20Baltimore%20Opportunity%20Youth%20to%20Careers_022316.pdf. 

42 

“Maryland Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act State Plan.” Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) 

Resource Page - Workforce Development & Adult Learning, Governor's Workforce Development Board (GWDB), July 2016, 

www.dllr.maryland.gov/wdplan/wdstateplan.pdf. 


a high 

And 

“direct experience teaching inmates in academic programs intended to achieve the goal of 

school diploma or general educational development certification.” 

“A representative of an organization whose mission is to develop and advocate for 

policies and programs to increase the skills, job opportunities, and incomes of low– 

skill, low–income workers and job seekers”. 43 

While this list is not exhaustive, it demonstrates the breadth of the legislative efforts taken to engage 

questions around workforce development in just one year in the General Assembly. 

2017 

2017 sees a lull in the literature but continued the themes of WIOA implementation focus and broader 

analysis of the state’s economy. The JOTF did a joint report with a variety of regional workforce 

development entities, including the greater Washington Workforce Development Collaborative, 

comparing Maryland’s WIOA implementation plan to other regional entities (The District of Columbia 

and Virginia). While the state earned high marks for its EARN program, the report asked for the program 

to be expanded and asked for more specificity on the state’s plan for youth, returning citizens (including 

statewide ban the box) and increased child care for WIOA. 44 Additionally, the Governor's Workforce 

Development Board posted two policy issuances, one on the provisions for the American Job Centers 45 

and another for outlining the governance of local workforce development boards. 46 Finally, a coalition of 

organizations, including the Maryland Department of Commerce and the Economic Alliance of Greater 

Baltimore produced a map of cybersecurity assets throughout the state and seeks to promote the state as a 

center of technological innovation. 47 Finally, the national skills coalition on December 18 of 2017 

published a report entitled “Middle-Skill Credentials and Immigrant Workers: Maryland’s Untapped 

Assets”. The report restates previous observations that Maryland’s foreign-born workforce is more skilled 

43 

“Practitioner Guide to SB1005.” Governor's Office of Crime Control & Prevention in Maryland, Maryland Justice 

Reinvestment Coordinating Council, Jan. 2017, 

www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjt8L_Kwp7aAhWpdN8K 

HS7qDFIQFghfMAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.harcobar.org%2Fsite%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F09%2FMD- 

Practitioners-Guide-FINAL.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1jLzh5DmfOpx9fmU4Z-3eB. 

44 

Duncombe, Chris, et al. “MAXIMIZING WIOA’S POTENTIAL: A Regional Analysis of the State Plans of Maryland, 

Virginia, and Washington, DC.” Latest Publications, The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis ¡ DC Appleseed DC Fiscal 

Policy Institute ¡ Job Opportunities Task Force Maryland Center on Economic Policy- Sponsored by Greater Washington 

Workforce Development Collaborative, Mar. 2017, www.workingpoorfamilies.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Maryland- 

WIOA_full-report_final_web-copy.pdf. 

45 

“POLICY ISSUANCE 2017-02-Maryland American Job Center Certification Policy.” Policy Issuances - Governor's 

Workforce Development Board (GWDB), 14 Aug. 2017, mdworkforce.com/policy/gwibpi2-17.doc. 

46 

“POLICY ISSUANCE 2017-01 - Local Workforce Development Board Certification Policy.” Policy Issuances, Governor's 

Workforce Development Board (GWDB), 1 July 2017, mdworkforce.com/policy/gwibpi1-17.pdf. 

47 

“Maryland Cybersecurity Asset Map.” Story Map Series, Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore- Maryland Department of 

Commerce, 2017, eagb.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=f1480443ee5d4fbabd710890431a5af4. 


than the national average, and promotes the economic contributions of these higher educated immigrants 

while also arguing that, for the state to maximize the potential of this demographic, it must expand its 

work around increasing middle-skill education to its non-native workforce. 48 

In 2017, the state appeared to take steps forward defining the institutions which will take the lead for its 

future when it comes to workforce development. The state passed two more bills relating to 

apprenticeships. The first, HB0810, was a technical bill designed to designate the Division of Workforce 

Development and Adult Learning is the designated State Apprenticeship Agency under federal law. The 

second, HB0467, was a more substantive bill designed to create a more robust infrastructure in the state 

of internships. The bill dubbed the Providing Our Workers Education and Readiness (POWER) - 

Apprenticeship Act, created a requirement that construction projects receiving state dollars either use 

apprentices who have come through the DLLR registered apprenticeship program or in lieu of this pay 

money the state apprenticeship fund or some other registered apprenticeship program. The bill stands out 

in the literature for being one of the few workforces relate bill which places a mandate on employers and, 

perhaps related to this fact, which passed not with unanimous or near unanimous support, as many of the 

bill analyzed in the literature, but on a party-line vote in the house and senate. HB1275 focused on creating 

better information flow to veterans about services, including those related to integrating them into the 

civilian workforce. HB1595 sought to begin to the process of revamping Baltimore City Community 

College, requiring the chairmen of the board to be appointed by the state legislative chairs and authorizing 

a study of the challenges and assets related to the institution. Finally, the state passed SB317, Requiring 

the Governor to appropriate at least $1,000,000 each fiscal year for the Partnership for Workforce Quality 

Program and establishing the More Jobs for Marylanders Program in the Department of Commerce to 

provide manufacturing business entities tax credits. 

Insights 

After evaluating the literature around workforce development in Baltimore, some preliminary conclusions 

can be made. First, while state legislation was the initial frame of the research, it is clear that the legal 

infrastructure of the state’s workforce development efforts is deeply embedded into the executive branch, 

local workforce development boards, and even the federal government, with the WIOA being a critical 

funding source for the states workforce development programming. While the state appears to be 

developing its apprenticeship infrastructure, and has even received independent recognition for their work 

here compared to other entities in the region, the fact that it took multiple years of continuous legislative 

efforts on this issue of apprenticeships shows just how difficult it is to steer the ship of workforce 

development from the state legislature. However, there appear to be potential strategic points of influence 

within the state workforce bureaucracy which could be open to influence, including local workforce 

development boards (which may be more open to some forms of community participation under WIOA) 

and even entities like the justice reinvestment coordinating council. In many ways, the state government 

appears sandwiched between the federal government and the “on the ground” local workforce 

48 

“Middle-Skill Credentials and Immigrant Workers: Maryland’s Untapped Assets.” State Policy - In the States -Maryland - 

Publications, National Skills Coalition, 18 Dec. 2017, nationalskillscoalition.org/resources/publications/file/Middle-Skill- 

Credentials-and-Immigrant-Workers-Marylands-Untapped-Assets-1.pdf. 


development boards, with the GWDB being one of the few entities able to span across all these levels. 

The literature reveals the importance of adopting a holistic view of the states workforce efforts in order to 

properly understand how workforce development functions. 

The literature also reveals some of the limitations of the state’s current efforts around workforce 

development. While the efforts appear to be in a period of flux given the continued implementation of the 

new federal law, the literature reveals that certain aspects of how workforce developments appear to 

happen in practice are difficult to discern from the literature. In the only directly comparative document 

in the literature, the joint report done comparing regional WIOA implementation plans, a constant refrain 

noted throughout the report was that, while Maryland’s plan was generally given credit for being solid, is 

was also noted for being relatively vague, lacking specific are critical areas in implementation. Indeed, 

some of the essential information about how workforce development boards operate in practice, 

information for example related to the curriculum used in workforce development programming, and 

participant evaluations of their experience in workforce development programs, was beyond the scope of 

this literature review and largely unavailable in this time period. 

Correcting this lack of information becomes especially critical when the literature around Maryland 

workforce development is analyzed from a racial equity standpoint. While there is a consistent discussion 

of including marginalized populations and those excluded from traditional pipelines to employment, the 

vast majority of the literature fails to address the root causes behind the exclusion of vulnerable 

populations from the workforce. With notable exceptions, the literature fails to ask fundamental questions 

about racial equity. This is perhaps most clearly exemplified by the GWIB’s list of questions discussion 

around WIOA implementation. While the institution presented over 50 very specific questions about the 

transition in federal law with 10 distinct subgroups, questions specific to the law's impact from an equity 

perspective are notable in their absence. When the literature is examined from an equity perspective, 

efforts which appear to be perfectly rational and perhaps even progressive are questionable in terms of 

their equity impact. For example, when the state legislature expands licensure requirements to barber 

services, this appears to be another opportunity for workforce development, with services being deployed 

to get individuals certified in their fields. Yet growing bodies of equity-based literature around licensure 

regimes show that in many cases these licensure regimes create a bottleneck where individuals are forced 

to go through lengthy and potentially expensive training programs for employment opportunities where 

the very need for licensure is questionable, a burden found to disproportionately impact people of color. 49 

As such, the Skills2Compete initiatives focus on middle-skill jobs where professional licensure rather 

than a four-year degree may need to analyzed more deeply to ensure that the licensure regimes themselves 

are not barriers to employment. Additionally, one of the recommendations of MCCEI report, around the 

development of a new construction management program at a Maryland university, risks duplicating 

existing programs at one of the state’s historically Black colleges, a practice which is against state law 

49 

Rodriguez, Michelle Natividad, and Beth Avery. “Unlicensed & Untapped: Removing Barriers to State Occupational Licenses 

for People with Records.” Report, National Employment Law Project, 26 Apr. 2016, www.nelp.org/publication/unlicenseduntapped-removing-barriers-state-occupational-licenses/. 


and was deemed an unconstitutional violation of the state’s mandate to support these schools. 50 

A recent addition to the literature gives some insight into what one equity approach to workforce 

development might look like. The Annie E Casey foundation produced a report entitled Reshaping 

Workforce Development in Baltimore, which brought together a team of young, black consultants together 

to interview youth and research ways to better connect black youth with the workforce. While the state 

has increasingly deferred to employers to design the workforce development programming, the reports 

premise of starting from the bottom-up, with the people who would be serviced by the program, led to 

some unique insights. The young people surveyed showed an intense interest in entrepreneurship, as the 

report notes: 

crave 

free 

to 

a life 

“Many teens and young adults —more than a third of those the consultants interviewed — 

entrepreneurship and resources to build businesses that benefit their communities, and that 

them from the discriminatory practices, policies and workplace cultures that participants 

reported facing in traditional employment settings. For them, a career is not only a means 

escape financial woes, but to create an opportunity for the people around them and build 

free from violence and poverty.” 51 

While the MCCEI report advocated for an advertising campaign to change the perception of construction 

work, the Casey report advocated for a campaign to change the perception of youth worker among 

employers, as young people constantly felt they were being perceived as unreliable employees. The 

report’s analysis argues that the scope of workforce development services may need to address the needs 

of the most vulnerable, concluding: 

“Youth and young adults face a multitude of barriers — including unreliable 

transportation, mental health and substance abuse issues and unstable housing 

arrangements — that hinder their participation in workforce development programs. 

50 

Douglas-Gabriel, Danielle. “Courts Side with Maryland HBCUs in Long-Standing Case over Disparities in State Higher 

Education.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 9 Nov. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/gradepoint/wp/2017/11/09/courts-side-with-maryland-hbcus-in-longstanding-case-over-disparities-in-state-highereducation/?utm_term=.78baaf053e1c. 

51 

“Reshaping Workforce Development in Baltimore.” Resources, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 3 Jan. 2018, 

www.aecf.org/resources/reshaping-workforce-development-in-baltimore/. 


Providers can help mitigate these challenges by intentionally partnering with other 

community-based organizations to ensure young people can access housing, child care, 

transportation, legal, financial coaching and other related services in addition to job 

training.” 52 

By revealing that the barriers to employment are also barriers to access to workforce development 

programs themselves, the Casey report reveals that an equity lens may be essential not just ethically for 

workforce development to be done fairly, but from a pragmatic standpoint, essential to workforce 

development programs very success. 

While the Casey report is specific to youth in Baltimore, the methodology represented is useful when 

theorizing potential interventions to how workforce development is conceived statewide. Its method of 

centering on impacted communities, viewing them as experts in their own conditions and designing 

interventions based on their feedback is critical to an equity-based workforce development policy and 

practice. With turmoil at a federal government level, continued rollout of federal legislation like WIOA 

and statewide legislation like the justice reinvestment act, the landscape for workforce development in 

Maryland is perpetually shifting, but by centering equity and a vision of progressive policymaking, the 

state can help ensure a successful development of opportunity despite an uncertain future. 

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