By: Eoghan Olkeriil Ngirudelsang
Koror, Palau – WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act) development boards are dissolved and consolidated into a single State Workforce Development Board.
President Surangel Whipps Jr. signed Executive Order No. 490 on March 4, dissolving Palau’s State and Local Workforce Development Boards and consolidating them into a Single-State Workforce Development Board. The move, guided by the U.S. Department of Labor, aims to improve efficiency, ensure compliance with federal representation requirements, and secure continued funding for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) programs. The restructuring reflects Palau’s evolving fiscal oversight mechanisms and aligns with its national government structure.
Since taking office, President Whipps had twice reconstituted both the State and Local boards overseeing the funding’s, staff, and programs of WIOA. Whipps signed EO No. 453 on June 22, 2021 and EO No. 489 on September 29, 2023 establishing members of both boards. Executive Order # 489 also amended the boards’ membership 2 years ago.
U.S. Public Law113-128, mandates that “Palau’s chief executive establish both state and local development boards and appoint members to carry out the functions of the boards to support the development and implementation of WIOA policies, programs and strategies and to promote hiring and retention of Palauan citizens in coordination with national and state entities”.
However, this creation of a Single-State board was done under the guidance of U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). This latest EO states that while the last EO #485 which reconstituted both boards was done under the guidance and advice from U.S. DOL aimed at “creating separate boards with the purpose of maximizing fiscal oversight”;
This most recent EO outlined that:
“the guidance from DOL has shifted since the enactment of Executive Order No. 485, and DOL now advises that the current Board compositions do not meet the minimum requirements of federal law, particularly regarding representation from the private sector, and funding for WIOA programs is therefore jeopardized”.
The new order further states that two separate boards were necessary during the time when there were no fiscal safeguards in place in Palau yet it was receiving an influx of funds during the COVID era.
It summed up noting that:
“increased flexibility is now advisable as Palau has adopted routine grant monitoring practices and improved compliance mechanisms”;
It further declared that this change is reflective of Palau’s population size and the organizational structure of its national government.
Effective on the day it was signed, this newly established board known as Single – State Workforce Development Board will have a membership of namely: The President of the Republic, An appointee each from the Senate and the House of Delegates, Director of WIOA, and Presidential appointees specifically 2 small business owners, and a member each representing the industries of: Tourism, Hospitality, Agriculture, Fisheries or Aquaculture, Construction or Infrastructure, Banking, Palau chapter of society for human resource SHRM (qualifying as representative of enterprises employing veterans,returning citizens, or persons with disabilities), and the Chamber of Commerce.
The board will also include 1 or more representative(s) of organizations addressing employment, training or education of youth, representative of the governor’s association, a lead official of the Adult Education and Family Literacy program (program authorized under title II of WIOA), and the president or the dean of Continuing Education of Palau Community College.
The board is also mandated to have not less than 51% membership representing the private sector and not less than 20% presenting community based organizations addressing employment, training or education of youth and people with barriers to employment including organizations supporting veterans or integrated employment for people with disabilities.