DOL Releases Five-Year Strategic Plan Focusing on Job Training and Creation

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released its Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2018-2022 with an emphasis on "jobs, more jobs and even more jobs," in the words of Secretary Alexander Acosta. Labor Secretary Acosta In his "Secretary's Message" prefacing the document, Acosta writes: "Our nation’s greatest resource is the American workforce. The strategic plan outlines how we will increase employment opportunities for Americans of all abilities; enforce safe and healthy workplaces; bring commonsense to regulations; and use our resources efficiently and effectively." He then goes on to elaborate on his vision for the department:

Supporting our workforce includes maximizing our flexibility towards innovation and the dynamics of our workforce. We must focus on outputs rather than inputs. Maximizing flexibility for our state partners to administer resources efficiently and effectively with appropriate oversight yet, without unnecessary strings attached from Washington D.C. has proven to deliver results. We must also work with our state partners to reduce the barriers created by occupational licensing. Licensing that is unnecessary and burdensome affects our military families and we must reduce, streamline, and eliminate licenses that unnecessarily bar the entry of Americans into the workforce.

The lengthy document then goes on to list what it calls "Strategic Goals":

• Strategic Goal One is "Support the Ability of All Americans to Find Good Jobs."
• Strategic Goal Two is "Safe Jobs and Fair Workplaces for All Americans."
• Strategic Goal Three is "Promote Strong Workers’ Compensation and Benefits Programs."

Finally, the plan envisions a "Management Goal" to foster "An Efficient and Effective Department of Labor." The strategic goals are each broken down into specific goals for individual administrations within the Department of Labor, including the Education and Training Administration (ETA), the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS), the Women's Bureau (WB), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), the Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS), the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP), the Employee Benefits and Security Administration (EBSA), the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM), the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO).