Iowa Workforce Development was originally comprised of 15 regions across the state. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) was signed into law on July 22, 2014. It was designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training and support services to succeed in the labor market, along with matching employers to skilled workers. One of the key parts of WIOA was realigning the Local Workforce Development Areas.
This realignment has led to the creation of the Western Iowa Local Workforce Development Area (WILWA) which combined regions 8, 12, 13. The new area is comprised of 18 counties including Audubon, Carroll, Cass, Cherokee, Crawford, Fremont, Greene, Guthrie, Harrison, Ida, Mills, Monona, Page, Plymouth, Pottawattamie, Sac, Shelby and Woodbury. The Western Iowa Workforce Development (WIWD) has has two boards. The Local Workforce Development Board is made up of leaders from business, labor, economic development, government, public assistance, education, youth and community-based organizations. This board works collaboratively with the Chief Local Elected Officials (CLEO) board comprised of one supervisor from each county. Together, they oversee the public workforce system in these counties.
