Module 5: WIBs Can Work Wonders

Module 5: WIBs Can Work Wonders
“One mark of a strong workforce board . . . is its ability to convene partners: the
education entities, the community colleges, the nonprofits, and the transportation
providers for the area. ”
— Bryan Rogers, Executive Director
Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network
Long Beach, California
Remarks at CTAA Conference, May 2010
In the previous modules, we’ve talked about actions WIBs can take to influence decisions for improved
employment transportation options by
� Communicating labor market data and information on business and worker transportation
needs,
� Convening transportation partnerships of equally committed leaders to identify needs and
mutual goals, and
� Collaborating with partners to explore transportation solutions and pursue funding
opportunities to initiate and sustain services.
Each of these actions supports the WIBs’ taking a leadership role in ensuring that, within their
communities, job seekers can connect to training, and low-income and other workers can reliably
commute to their jobs.
Because transportation is a regional and economic development issue, WIBs will find it valuable to
� Join forces with other WIBs to pursue regional efforts, especially those that respond to the
needs of sector-based initiatives.
� Seek to ensure that job seeker mobility is considered in decisions to site companies and
campuses off existing transit routes
� Continue to strengthen their ties with regional economic development colleagues as well as
local transportation professionals: the united approach of this three-pronged partnership will
put the community in a strong position for future economic growth.

Finally, within their own network, WIBs can take actions to help One-Stops manage customer
transportation challenges, by encouraging their One-Stop workforce directors and staff to facilitate
transportation solutions for business and job-seeking customers. Here are a few of the opportunities
employment and training agencies might pursue. They could
� Take advantage of cross-marketing opportunities: For example, information about available jobs
can be posted on transit vehicles serving those job routes and throughout the transit network,
just as transit options are promoted in conjunction with job announcements and to customers
of the public workforce system.
� Invite transportation partners to speak at a short in-service training so One-Stop staff know
what transportation services are available for their customers.
� Develop a “transportation center” bulletin board within its customer resource area where
transportation and ridesharing information can be posted.
They could also
� Encourage staff to discuss transportation with each customer during intake and assessment, to
begin meeting transportation challenges before they become a barrier to a job or training
opportunity.
� Encourage business service representatives to inquire about any transportation challenges
employers or their employees are experiencing
� Request One-Stop Career Center staff to collect data on job-seekers’ mobility gaps and share it
with WIB members, so they can feed that information into transportation plans for expanded
services
On both a local and regional level, more and more WIBs are recognizing the vital role transportation
plays in economic and workforce development. Community decisions regarding the location of new and
expanding businesses and training sites all impact the ability of individuals to access these opportunities.
In becoming a part of efforts to create transportation strategies, WIBs will reap dividends from their
investment of time, resources, and leadership.
Exercises
Continue the good work you have begun with transportation and other partners in your community
through the following exercises:
Exercise 1: Have a discussion within your workforce board about steps you would like to encourage your
One Stop service providers to take in assisting job-seeking and business customers with transportation
issues. Be sure to identify those that respond to the greatest needs you have uncovered. For example,
the most effective action might be to ensure WIA participants know about all the available

transportation resources in the community. For businesses, it might be ensuring they are familiar with
how the Commuter Tax Benefit could help both them and their employees.
Exercise 2: Review the tool provided with this module to assist One Stop staff in collecting data on
unmet transportation needs. Talk with your One Stop executive staff to see how this tool could be
included in daily activities at the One Stop; for example, would it be most time-efficient to create an
easy-to-use on-line survey tool, which allows the results to be automatically collated and then shared
with community transportation professionals?
Exercise 3: Review the U.S. Department of Labor’s Training and Employment Notice No. 21-11,
published January 3, 2012, “Strategies to Meet One-Stop Career Centers’ Business and Job-Seeker
Customer Needs for Employment-Related Transportation Services”
(http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=6293) for additional actions you can take within
your WIB and One Stop. Record those potential actions.
Thank you for joining us for the WIBs and Transportation: Getting People to Work training. We hope
that, through this training, you were able to implement some practical steps that will increase the
success of your WIA participants, other job seekers, and workers throughout your community. Please
contact the Joblinks staff at any point to inquire about additional information or for assistance in
improving employment transportation options in your region.