To provide ETA grant award recipients and stakeholders with information about how a temporary suspension of Federal Government services impacts the execution of ETA-funded programs and services.

This Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) provides updated Program Year (PY) 2025 Planning Instructions and Allotments for the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) National Grantees. This Change 1 and the materials and forms it discusses are in addition to the guidance outlined in TEGL No. 16-24, Program Year 2025 Planning Instructions and Allotments for the Senior Opportunity Service Employment Program State and Territorial Grantees.

To provide information to states about Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Unemployment Insurance (UI) State Administration base resource allocations, general guidelines for resource planning, above-base funding, and Supplemental Budget Requests (SBRs).

To provide program guidance for the development, management, and delivery of workforce and labor market information (WLMI) funded through the Workforce and Labor Market Information Grants to States (WIGS). 

To transmit the subject computation for State Workforce Agency usage in computing minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) amounts for all major disasters declared from October 1 – December 31, 2025 (first quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2026).

To encourage the state and local workforce development systems to use Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding to help youth and adults develop artificial intelligence (AI) skills.

To provide states with information about preliminary FY 2026 UI State Administration base resource planning targets, with general guidelines for resource planning, and an explanation of how the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) allocates base resources among the states.

To provide State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) with advance notice of the upcoming permanent transition of the UIR and BAM applications from UIDBMS to UIRS; to provide instructions to SWAs on how to submit data to UIRS; and to advise SWAs that effective December 6, 2025, all states must transmit their UIR data only through UIRS and BAM data only through UIRS starting December 27, 2025.

To announce the availability of approximately $30 million for an initial round of the Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund (“Training Fund”) grants, with award amounts of up to $8 million. Pending the availability of funds, there may be additional rounds of this grant program. These grants will address critical workforce needs for in-demand skilled trade careers and in high-growth and emerging industries, in support of Executive Order 14278,  Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future and America’s AI Action Plan, and at least $5 million of the total available funding will be awarded to support training in the shipbuilding industry.

To initiate the FY 2026 SQSP process and define additional requirements relevant to the FY.
 

To remind states of procedural requirements when funds are returned by a bank or financial institution and to provide guidance to states regarding the methodology states must use to allocate returned funds across Unemployment Compensation (UC) programs when no identifying claim information is available. This Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) also provides additional information and clarification regarding the reporting of overpayment activities on Unemployment Insurance (UI) Required Reports.

To advise State Workforce Agencies, or agencies designated by Governors as “Cooperating State Agencies” (CSAs) (also jointly referred to as “states”) of the “by request” process and associated deadlines for receiving FY 2025 TAA Program TaOA funds.

Consistent with Joint WIOA Final Rule requirements, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education (the Departments) have determined it is appropriate and reasonable in PY 2024 for the:

• U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to assess performance for five performance indicators under WIOA title I core programs and three performance indicators under the Employment Service (referred to as “WIOA title III”) core program;

• U.S. Department of Education (ED) to assess performance for five performance indicators under the Vocational Rehabilitation (“WIOA title IV”) core program; 

• U.S. Department of Education (ED) to assess performance for two performance indicators under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (“WIOA title II”) core program; and

• Departments to delay assessing performance for the purpose of imposing sanctions for the remaining performance indicators in the WIOA title II core program to provide for the orderly transition from the requirements of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) to those of WIOA, as permitted under section 503(a) of WIOA.

The Departments’ determinations, as will be described more fully herein, are consistent with the phased-in approach to performance assessments described in Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 11-19, Change 2 issued on January 6, 2025.

This guidance updates Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 26-16, issued June 1, 2017, and developed jointly by the U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL) and Education (ED) (collectively, the Departments). Within ED, the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) will update Program Memorandum (PM) 17-6 and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) will update Technical Assistance Circular(TAC) 17-04 to be consistent with the changes reflected herein.

This guidance provides direction regarding work authorization verification for grant programs administered by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA).

This guidance provides information to States and grantees of the U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL) and Education (ED) (collectively “the Departments”) on the performance accountability system requirements set forth in section 116 of WIOA. The guidance provides information about the guidelines States must use in developing procedures for ensuring the data submitted are valid and reliable, as required by section 116(d)(5) of WIOA. 

To inform states, local areas, and other recipients of Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) funds that ETA Federal financial assistance awards cannot fund or reimburse the costs of voter registration activities conducted within the American Job Center (AJC) network.

To provide guidance to Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) state grantees regarding the content of the WIOA Annual Statewide Performance Report Narrative for Titles I and III and the procedures for submission to the Employment and Training Administration (ETA). 

This Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) provides Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) state and territory grantees with Program Year (PY) 2025 SCSEP allotments and the application instructions for PY 2025 grant submissions.

This notice reminds States and grantees of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) deadlines for submission of the performance reporting requirements set forth in section 116 of WIOA.