(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that the Connecticut Department of Labor has been awarded $823,791 in federal funding that will be used to continue efforts to build a database linking workforce and education data.

The Workforce Data Quality Initiative (WDQI) grant, awarded by the US Department of Labor, will allow the state to continue work on a longitudinal database that will allow the state to conduct research and analysis to better determine the effectiveness of workforce and education programs and to develop tools that better inform customers about the benefits of the publicly-funded workforce system.

“This grant will help us improve upon the quality and availability of workforce data,” said Governor Malloy.  “In building a database that connects workforce and educational data, Connecticut will have access to high-quality information that will provide more accurate analysis when determining in-demand jobs and developing educational curriculum to match the needs of the business community.  This will serve as an essential tool in ensuring our workforce is trained and educated for jobs that need to be filled, and to identify those jobs that will build our economy.”

Connecticut is one of six states awarded the funds that will be used to develop or expand longitudinal databases. Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska and New Jersey also received grants.

Grantees are expected to achieve multiple goals during the three-year grant period.  These include:

• Developing or improving state workforce longitudinal data systems with individual-level information
• Enabling workforce data to be matched with education data to create longitudinal data systems
• Improving the quality of the data in the workforce data systems
• Using longitudinal data to provide useful information about program operations
• Analyzing the performance of education and employment training programs
• Providing user-friendly information to consumers – in the form of scorecards or integrated digital platforms – to help them select the training and education programs that best suit their needs

According to the USDOL, the initiative is linked to the Department of Education’s Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems grants to build longitudinal education databases.  While the WDQI is being implemented to support a collaborative partnership at the federal level between the departments of Labor and of Education, grant recipients are expected to demonstrate similarly established partnerships between state educational and workforce agencies.