With the recent passage of the Workforce Investment Act in Washington, states have more freedom than ever before to set their own objectives in job training policy and pursue creative new ways to reach their goals. While the new federal policy doesn't force states to comprehensively reform themselves, it does loosen the reigns so that states, who want to charge ahead of the pack, can. To help Massachusetts policy-makers seize this unique opportunity, MassINC commissioned three nationally-regarded experts to recommend how Massachusetts can best take advantage of the shift in federal job training policy.
The authors' unanimous recommendation: The state should abandon its outmoded approaches to workforce development. Instead, Massachusetts should join the vanguard of states that are integrating scattered programs into a true system that ordinary middle- and working-class citizens can use to get better paying jobs. By laying out a whole new set of principles and ideas that can guide government decision-making, Opportunity Knocks is a blueprint for systemic reform--an invaluable resource for elected officials, agency planners, community leaders, and concerned citizens.