Workplace-Based eLearning Initiative

The Workforce Board is proud to announce the Request for Proposal for the Pilot Learning Laboratory Partnership Project,

More than one out of three Washington high school graduates enter the workforce armed only with their high school diploma, working in mostly low-wage, low-skill jobs with limited growth potential. Washington’s economy demands a more highly skilled workforce to keep our state’s businesses competitive and to meet the personal and financial needs of the workforce. Meeting these demands requires reaching out to individuals already in the workforce and engaging them in postsecondary education.

This initiative seeks to overcome obstacles to working adults receiving training and education by exploring workplace-based learning and eLearning solutions.

Milestones

• Legislation - The 2008 Washington legislature passed ESSB 6295 which directs the Workforce Board to identify and test additional workplace-based distance learning models tailored to make postsecondary education accessible to working adults and to report its findings back to the legislature. More on the Legislative Initiative.

• Stakeholder Work and Legislative Reports - The Workforce Board convened a steering committee of key industry and education stakeholders to review best practices and recommend methods to increase student access to postsecondary education. More on the reports.

• Federal Funding for Pilot Learning Laboratories-. In the summer of 2011, the Workforce Board received a federal Department of Labor grant of $850,000 to help drive the development, expansion, delivery and testing of workplace-based education and training for low-income adult workers. Original federal application.