Goodwill® Celebrates Congress for Passing Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
Goodwill Industries International, Inc. and local affiliate, Ohio Valley Goodwill applaud the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The long over-due bill modernizes and improves existing federal workforce development programs, helping put Americans back to work by revamping the nation’s outdated workforce development system and strengthening the economy.
” We congratulate the Senate and the House for passing this bill, which provides workers and taxpayers the job training solutions they need and deserve in order to prepare for jobs that are currently going unfilled,” said Jim Gibbons, Goodwill Industries International president and CEO. ” It is time to send this bill to the President’s desk for signature and help millions of Americans find and keep good jobs.”
Goodwill enhances the quality of life of individuals and families by helping people reach their full potential through skills training and the power of work. Locally, Ohio Valley Goodwill in Cincinnati provided services to more than 3,100 individuals last year and helped 947 to get jobs in the community. The organization offers an array of employment, skill training and life enriching services for individuals with disabilities, transition youth and our nation’s veterans. “We are very proud of our almost 100 year history of helping people to achieve personal success and employment goals,” said Joe Byrum, President and CEO, Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries.
” At Goodwill we are encouraged by the fact that the law will ensure that youth with disabilities are put on a pathway of services and training environments that provide choice–whether that’s ongoing skills training or a continuum of community based services,” said Jim Gibbons, Goodwill Industries International president and CEO. “What matters most, for all people, is that there is the opportunity for choice.”
Like Goodwill, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act provides access to training, education and work opportunity services that all of America’s workers need to compete in today’s global economy. Overall, the act maintains the nation’s core job training programs, increases accountability metrics, reduces bureaucracy, improves programs for people with disabilities, and strengthens ties between the state’s regional workforce development councils and employers. For more information about Ohio Valley Goodwill’s programs and services, visit www.cincinnatigoodwill.org/services.
