Expanding workforce opportunities

With workforce development needs becoming more challenging for roofing industry employers, NRCA continues to advocate for expanded workforce development opportunities through reform of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

WIOA was approved by Congress in 2014 to consolidate workforce programs operating at state and local levels to help Americans with employment barriers obtain high-quality jobs and assist employers with hiring and retaining such individuals.

The bipartisan law improved the public workforce system, but more than a decade later, further reform is needed to provide more effective strategies to help close the skills gap in the workforce.

Advocacy efforts

Given the need to expand workforce development opportunities, NRCA has made this issue a priority in recent years by working with lawmakers in Congress to develop legislation to reform and improve WIOA. For several years, these advocacy efforts have been a key focus of Roofing Day in D.C., the roofing industry’s premier annual advocacy event, and have yielded substantial progress.

In late 2023, bipartisan legislation entitled “A Stronger Workforce for America Act” (H.R. 6655) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), who was the chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and Workforce at that time, and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the committee.

This legislation contains numerous reforms to streamline the WIOA bureaucracy and provide more flexibility within the system to improve accessibility for employers, most notably small businesses. These reforms are designed to spur more innovation in WIOA programs so they respond more effectively to workforce shortages on a regional basis and expand opportunities for collaboration between educational institutions and industry sector partnerships.

The bill also requires restructuring state and local workforce boards to make them more responsive to employer needs and provides for greater recognition of competency-based training and certification programs as well as more funding dedicated to incumbent worker training.

NRCA strongly supports H.R. 6655; the bill was approved by the House in April 2024 with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 378-26.

Better legislation

In the wake of House passage, NRCA and allied groups urged key lawmakers in the Senate to move forward with developing similar workforce reform legislation. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the committee’s ranking member, released draft legislation during summer 2024. This Senate proposal contained many reforms similar to those in the House bill along with additional innovative concepts that have proven successful at the state level; however, it also included a problematic provision to disqualify employers accused of labor law violations from participation in workforce programs without due process. NRCA and other stakeholders submitted detailed feedback based on member input on the draft bill.

After months of continued negotiations between House and Senate lawmakers and their staffs, a bipartisan and bicameral agreement was agreed to and released in November 2024. The final product tracked closely with H.R. 6655 with the inclusion of positive components of the Senate proposal while dropping the provision of concern to the business community, thus garnering NRCA’s enthusiastic support.

Given the widespread bipartisan support on both sides of the Capitol and the short amount of time before Congress adjourned for the year, the text of the final agreement was added to must-pass budget legislation in December 2024, putting it in position to gain final approval by Congress.

However, after procedural concerns were raised about extraneous provisions being added to budgetary legislation, the amended version of H.R. 6655, along with many other provisions, were left out of the final package approved at the end of the 118th Congress. NRCA and other supporters of WIOA reform were disappointed the reform bill did not achieve final passage but are greatly encouraged by the progress made.

Given the strong bipartisan support for the new version of A Stronger Workforce for America Act that emerged in 2024, NRCA is committed to pursuing this and similar legislation in the new 119th Congress.

To the finish line

Advocacy for this legislation will again be a major focus of Roofing Day in D.C. held April 8-9. NRCA will continue working with lawmakers on this initiative to get it enacted in 2025. Once in place, these reforms will provide new opportunities for members to adopt innovative workforce development solutions and help expand access to rewarding careers in the industry.

DUANE L. MUSSER is NRCA’s vice president of government relations in Washington, D.C.