(1) The employment security department shall report to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2016, and every five years thereafter, on the status of the training benefits program and the resulting outcomes. The report shall include a survey based assessment of the employment outcomes for program participants within the previous three years. The department shall also include in its report:
(a) A demographic analysis of participants in the training benefits program under this section including the number of claimants per North American industry classification system code and the gender, race, age, and geographic representation of participants;
(b) The duration of training benefits claimed per claimant;
(c) An analysis of the training provided to participants including the occupational category supported by the training, whether the training received would lead to employment in a high-demand occupation, whether a degree or certificate is required in that occupational category to obtain employment, those participants who complete training in relationship to those that do not, the number of participants who take courses in basic language, reading, or writing skills to improve their employability, and the reasons for noncompletion of approved training programs;
(d) The employment and wage history of participants, including the pretraining and posttraining wage, the type of work participants were engaged in prior to unemployment, and whether those participating in training return to their previous employer within two years of receiving training, or are employed in a field for which they were retrained;
(e) An identification and analysis of administrative costs at both the local and state level for administering this program;
(f) A projection of program costs for the next fiscal year; and
(g) The total funds obligated for training benefits, and the net balance remaining to be obligated subject to the restrictions of RCW
50.22.140.
(2) The joint legislative audit and review committee is directed to conduct a thorough review and evaluation of the training benefits program on the following schedule:
(a) Three years after the implementation of the training benefits portion of chapter 4, Laws of 2011 and every five years thereafter; and
(b) In any year in which the employment security department is required to suspend obligation of training benefits funds pursuant to RCW
50.22.140(2), or total expenditures exceed twenty-five million dollars.
(3) As part of the review conducted under subsection (2) of this section, the joint legislative audit and review committee shall:
(a) Assess whether the program is complying with legislative intent;
(b) Assess whether the program is effective;
(c) Assess whether the program is operating in an efficient and economical manner which results in optimum performance; and
(d) Make recommendations on how to improve the training benefits program.
(4) After a review of the training benefits program has been completed by the joint legislative audit and review committee, the appropriate committees of the legislature must hold a public hearing on the review and consider potential changes to improve the program.