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Metro North ABE ’ s current approach to meeting student and community needs , partnering with local agencies , and providing quality instruction fully align with WIOA .
“ not only aids individuals ’ success , but provides support to the postsecondary schools , and increases the number of qualified and needed employees .
WIOA will also provide local programs the ability to provide incumbent worker training . Those training opportunities will promote collaboration between the six core WIOA programs and other local programs . Metro North ABE , and other ABE programs , will be active is understanding how and when they can assist in these effort . in the development and implementation of career pathways ; promotions and referrals among providers ; access to services through the one-stop system , enhanced coordination with education providers ; understanding and awareness of local and regional economic conditions ; and participation in efforts to engage employers .
We are fortunate to be an ABE program in the state of Minnesota where we have ABE state funding and leadership that prior to WIOA supported activities now required in WIOA . For over 30 years Metro North ABE has had a representative on the local Anoka County Workforce Investment Board , now called the Anoka County Workforce Development Board . During this time Metro North ABE has been an active , contributing partner in developing strategic planning , responding to and supporting the economic needs of our local area . During this time Metro North ABE has participated in a strong , innovative partnership with the Anoka County Workforce Center , Anoka Technical College , and Anoka Ramsey Community College focusing on transitioning individuals into the workforce focusing on local in-demand career pathways , upgrading skills , and providing postsecondary training . Within those partnerships we have practiced required WIOA concepts , technical and academic instruction to support workforce and postsecondary efforts ; participated in grants that assist adults to prepare for local in-demand positions , actively promoted and referred students to partner services and programs leading to career pathway participation , and collaborated in client intake to streamline individual access to providers ’ services .
Those assets and activities mean that Metro North ABE is already implementing some of the changes outlined in WIOA . Metro North ABE ’ s current approach to meeting student and community needs , partnering with local agencies , and providing quality instruction fully align with WIOA . Fundamentally , the work we are doing does not change . We do have more accountability in demonstrating our implementation of WIOA ; we are required to continue to integrate standards into our instruction , and we do need to more closely align our student and program outcomes more deliberately with other WIOA partners . WIOA has influenced the data we are collecting on our students . Our state ABE student database ( SID ) is currently in a state of change as new reporting fields are added to align with WIOA .
This spring 2017 , all Minnesota ABE programs will participate in a new competitive grant process , required under WIOA . ABE programs will need to provide evidence of their proven success in adult literacy services and indicate how their programming aligns to and supports the thirteen service considerations outlined in WIOA . Many of the thirteen considerations have been part of the past Minnesota annual ABE grant application and five-year ABE Narrative . The thirteen areas require us to provide evidence we are serving our community ’ s needs ; our programming is effective , sufficient and of high quality , we are collaborative in our response to serving the community needs , our instruction is contextualized and done in coordination with other educational or training resources , we use technology to increase our quality of learning , and we maintain a high-quality information management system .
Metro North Adult Basic Education | Ph : 763-783-4870 | www . MetroNorthABE . org FEBRUARY 2017 5