{"id":23673,"date":"2020-09-30T13:54:57","date_gmt":"2020-09-30T17:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/?p=23673"},"modified":"2020-09-30T13:54:59","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T17:54:59","slug":"h1b-visas-workforce-training-fail-immigrationreform-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2020\/09\/30\/h1b-visas-workforce-training-fail-immigrationreform-com\/","title":{"rendered":"The Scam of Federal Workforce Training Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An article<\/a> headline in the tech industry magazine Dice Insights sounds like great news for unemployed or underemployed Americans \u2013 a Department of Labor (DOL) \u201cworkforce grant program could eliminate H-1B workers.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Described by the writer as \u201cdesigned to replace H-1B\nworkers sourced from overseas with homegrown equivalents,\u201d the H-1B One\nWorkforce Grant Program sales pitch might be better than its future performance\nrecord. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur goal is to create seamless community partnerships to build career pathways for local job seekers to enter middle- to high-skilled occupations in cyber security, advanced manufacturing, and transportation sectors,\u201d said John Pallasch, Assistant Secretary for DOL\u2019s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) in announcing<\/a> last week that $150 million would be made available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The One Workforce Grant program is part of the larger H-1B Skills Training Grants<\/a> that were authorized by Section 414(c) of the American Competitiveness and Improvement Act of 1998. The mere fact that the funding is still needed more than two decades later is the most obvious sign that these retraining initiatives should be subject to far greater scrutiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aim of the One Workforce program is to \u201cupskill the\npresent workforce and train a new generation of workers to grow the future\nworkforce,\u201d particularly in H-1B occupations. At first blush, it makes sense,\nbut upon closer examination, several weaknesses become visible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, the effort feeds the ongoing myth<\/a> of a skills shortage<\/a> that necessitates importing foreign labor. Certainly, workers in industries like hospitality<\/a> are facing long-term layoffs, but retraining will only help if the flow of H-1B and other foreign workers is stopped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, the funding comes from H-1B user fees, so financing\nis directly tied to the much-abused visa program\u2019s survival. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, the DOL\u2019s own Office of Inspector General (OIG) has\nissued several reports documenting poor results for workers and little success\nreducing reliance on H-1B visa holders.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its 2002 Semi-Annual Report to Congress<\/a>, DOL\u2019s OIG noted that performance audits of several H-1B technical skills grants found some grantees \u201cfailed to achieve their intended employment outcomes,\u201d while others \u201chad questionable expenditures that could have been avoided had detailed subcontractor program and budget information been provided.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, Labor\u2019s inspector general began a more\ncomprehensive review to technical skills training (TST) programs to determine\nif their 2002 findings remained true. The audit also followed up on a 2002\nreport from the Government Accountability Office that also found misspending\nand inefficiencies in the training programs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the September 2019 report<\/a>, little had changed since 2002, except of course a growth in H-1B usage. The Employment and Training Administration failed to \u201cprovide reasonable assurance TST grantees provided training that resulted in participants obtaining and retaining jobs in H-1B occupations\u201d as the program is intended to achieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSystemic weaknesses in the grant award processes, grant\noversight, and performance measurement indicated ETA did not design the program\nto ensure non H-1B training provided had a clear pathway to H-1B jobs as required\nby the grant solicitation,\u201d said the OIG. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, two grantees\u2019 proposals \u201cdid not clearly\nexplain how the non H-1B training they proposed would lead to H-1B jobs, and\none grantee did not cite evidence that the targeted industry and\/or occupations\nwere ones that employers currently used H-1B visas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For decades, Americans have been told foreign workers have\ntheir jobs because they lack the necessary skills. For decades, politicians\nhave run campaigns on the pledge to prepare the nation\u2019s workers for the future\nand to reduce dependence on cheap labor. It is time for a serious discussion\nabout ending the H-1B program, as well as feel-good programs that fail to\ndeliver, and give every American what they need and want \u2013 an opportunity to improve\ntheir standing. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An article headline in the tech industry magazine Dice Insights sounds like great news for unemployed or underemployed Americans \u2013 a Department of Labor (DOL) \u201cworkforce grant program could eliminate H-1B workers.\u201d Described by the writer as \u201cdesigned to replace H-1B workers sourced from overseas with homegrown equivalents,\u201d the H-1B One Workforce Grant Program sales<\/p>\n

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