Welcome to Merit’s Blog.

The United States Congress passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) in 2014 with wide bipartisan support, to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support in order to succeed in the labor market. WOIA is responsible for reforming and injecting funding into many key programs that are critical to getting citizens ready for work.

Merit is complementary to these efforts, as our platform helps states unlock their workforce’s potential by providing a single, secure platform to issue, track, and verify credentials earned and trainings completed. As our team meets with labor and workforce partners and key stakeholders across the country, it is increasingly clear that Merit addresses many components of the WOIA.

Here are three specific ways in which Merit is complementary to the WIOA.

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation will undoubtedly impact the future of America’s workforce by making many jobs easier, and others completely obsolete. However, these technologies will have an uneven impact across each industry. Occupations in professional services (legal, science, academics), and “deskless” industries such as architecture, construction, plumbing, childcare, medical services, social work, and more, are more likely to see an increase in the number of available jobs.

This fall, Merit has had the opportunity to support three of Virginia’s premier professional organizations at various conferences and trainings: the Virginia Builders Summit and Expo, the Virginia ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture, the Virginia Association of Professional Soil Scientists' Fall Conference, and the 2019 VOWRA Conference and Trade Show. While these conferences drew professionals from different industries, there was one thing in common between all of the organizers we worked with and attendees we met: checking into the various sessions, classes, and trainings was a smooth process, thanks to the Merit Check-in app.