House Resolution 16 identified several problems plaguing Pennsylvania’s educational needs and workforce. The Commission felt that too many of Pennsylvania’s recent graduates were leaving the state, and this “brain drain” was not allowing Pennsylvania to be economically competitive with other states and nations, that Pennsylvania's secondary and postsecondary schools must graduate students who can immediately enter and benefit the workplace, and lastly to make Pennsylvanian’s more qualified for new high-technology positions.

In HR 16, the Commission outlined areas to investigate and to groups to partner with to solve some these problems. The commission worked in cooperation with the Department of Labor and Industry and the Pennsylvania State Workforce Investment Board, the State's business and labor communities, the State's current vocational-technical educators, and many other groups. The Commission was to report its findings and make recommendations, to include a suggested timetable, for the establishment of a comprehensive strategic plan for better linking education and the workplace for the Commonwealth no later than December 31, 2001.