Employment and Training Administration (ETA)

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is U.S. agency that provides a variety of labor-related services, such as training and layoff assistance. Existing under the U.S Department of Labor (DOL), the Employment and Training Administration helps individuals succeed in the labor market with grants, job-seeking activities, layoff support services and a variety of other programs and benefits. It also assists employers with staffing and human resources issues, provides advice on how to more efficiently manage a workforce, and provides advice and assistance with government incentives, tax credits and grants. As of mid-2018, the ETA's top administrative position, assistant secretary, was vacant.

The ETA is by far the most important U.S. agency in helping individuals find and retain meaningful work in the United States. Currently, the system is focused on providing employment for the country's highest growing and newest industries. Such a system requires a large investment in education and training for individuals just out of high school. For move, visit the ETA's website.

Some current ETA initiatives include the following:

• Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT): Provides grants to community colleges to address changes in the workforce.
• H-1B Technical Skills Training: Funds projects for training and related activities to assist workers in gaining skills needed to obtain or upgrade employment in high-growth industries or sectors.
• H-1B Jobs Accelerator and Innovation Challenge: Designed to help regions achieve the demonstrated benefits of collaborative, cluster-based regional development. 
• H-1B Make it in America: Designed to provide education, training, and job placement assistance in the occupations and industries for which employers are using H-1B visas to hire foreign workers, and related activities necessary to support such training.
• H-1B TechHire Partnership: provides grants to 39 partnerships providing services in 25 states which will provide employment and training assistance to train workers with the skills required for well-paying, middle- and high-skilled, and high-growth jobs across a diversity of H-1B industries.

The ETA also acts as a clearinghouse for a variety of job-finding, training, and job analysis resources, as well as employer guides and technical reports. They include: 

• ReEmployment Portal: Employment, training and financial help after a layoff.
• Workforce³One: An e-learning, knowledge sharing webspace for workforce professionals, employers, economic development, and education professionals. 
• Competency Models: A clearinghouse of models to help users address workforce challenges.
• O*Net: An occupational information resource.
• Career One-Stop: Career exploration resource featuring training, job search and advice opportunities.
• MySkills MyFuture: A tool that helps find new careers based on existing skills.
• Sustainability Toolkit: Support grantees awarded under the High Growth Job Training Initiative and Community-Based Job Training Grants.
• OJT Toolkit: Resources for on-the-job training.
• ETA Advisories: Searchable resource for policy and guidance letters.