Home > Projects > Work & Economic Support > Policy Recommendations

Work & Economic Support Policy Recommendations

A rapidly-changing economy has placed new skill and education demands on Wisconsin workers. The shift from a manufacturing, goods-producing economy to a service and knowledge-based one has meant that more workers need to return to the classroom or shop to improve their skills and earn post-high school credentials in order to earn a decent wage. This is a daunting task for many working parents who have to balance the demands of work and schooling with family obligations. The current economic downturn is only making employment progress that much harder.

Recent wage and employment data illustrate the impact of our changing economy and the struggle that many Wisconsin families find themselves in. Median wages are down for the second year in a row – something that had not happened since the early 1980s. Wisconsin’s per capita income – a good measure of our overall economic strength – lags the nation’s by $2,500 per year. Unemployment is on the rise, and is much higher for minority populations (for example, 5.0 percent in 2007 for all, and 11.4 percent for African-Americans). The share of Wisconsin workers who earn poverty wages is still higher than it was before the previous recession (19.2 percent in 2000 to 21.6 percent in 2007). The result is that over 588,000 Wisconsinites – including 187,000 children – live in poverty.

The surest route to sustained family economic success is for our workers to be able to match their skills with the emerging needs of the state’s employers – needs which are trending toward higher skill levels. The following recommendations will help more of our hard-working residents do just that.

Increase Family Economic Security by Ensuring All Wisconsin Parents Have Access to Jobs, Training and Income Supports

Increase need-based financial aid for Technical College students through the Wisconsin Higher Education Grant (WHEG) program.
Programs at the state’s Technical Colleges, with their flexibility, focus on vocational training and close connections to local employers, are often the most accessible to many working parents. Financial aid for these students has lagged that for students at other postsecondary institutions, however, and Technical College students now have significantly higher unmet financial need levels. What’s more, thousands of eligible Technical College students will not receive financial aid this year because the funds have already run out. We recommend at least a ten percent increase in WHEG funding for Technical College students over the coming biennium as a way to stem rising unmet financial need levels and to ensure that all eligible students are able to receive an aid award. To learn more about this issue, read, Aiding Success. http://www.wccf.org/pdf/aiding_success.pdf

Create need-based financial aid opportunities for working adults by funding Opportunity Grants.
Financial aid is critical to many working adults who are trying to return to the educational system in order to become more employable. Unfortunately, several barriers exist within our traditionally-designed financial aid tools which make it hard for working adults to qualify for aid. The earnings of working adults may disqualify them for aid right from the start, despite the fact that their earnings may not be sufficient to produce enough disposable income to pay for tuition, books, and other costs of attending school. They may not be able to take a half-time course load – something currently required in Wisconsin. Other barriers exist for working parents as well. We recommend passage of Opportunity Grants; a new financial aid tool for those who would otherwise not qualify for aid, and which are targeted to in-demand occupational programs. Read, Willing and Able, But Not Eligible, for more information. http://www.wccf.org/pdf/willing_able_not_eligible.pdf

Improve access to postsecondary programs for more residents in the state by implementing Skills Jump Start Pilots.
About 400,000 Wisconsin adults (25 and older) have no high school diploma or equivalent. Another 1.3 million do, but are without any postsecondary experience or credential. Many of these adults who decide to reenter the educational pipeline in response to the lack of employment opportunities available to them are placed in adult basic education or remedial education courses because their skill levels are too low to directly qualify them for postsecondary programs. We recommend implementation of “bridge” programs – such as the Skills Jump Start Pilots recently proposed by the Governor and the Department of Workforce Development. Bridge programs are a distinct approach to providing basic and remedial education that has been very successful in a number of other states.