SkillSPAN was born out of a vision for a united, state-led approach to meet the diverse workforce needs of our country. Today, this vision has become a reality as SkillSPAN leaders continue to drive efforts to create a more diverse talent pipeline and expand and sustain access to education and training for quality, in-demand jobs. 

Below, we celebrate selected achievements and milestones SkillSPAN has reached over the past five years across several key areas: coalition-building, digital equity, college access, training opportunities, and supportive services. 

Building and Strengthening Coalitions 

One of SkillSPAN’s most remarkable achievements is building coalitions that unify and amplify voices and ensure that workforce policies address local and regional needs. 

• California: Since 2019, the Skills for California Network has grown from 218 to 1,069 members. Members receive regular updates on state policies, budget developments, events, and advocacy opportunities aligned with the group’s policy goals. 

• Tennessee: Tennessee Skills Coalition launched a co-leadership model, integrating both Business Leaders United and SkillSPAN. This model brings together a wide range of stakeholders to meet Tennessee’s regional needs, with voices from community organizations, training providers, government agencies, and businesses. 

• North Carolina: North Carolina’s Digital Inclusion & Employment Equity Working Group has built strong agency relationships and guided the allocation of federal funds, despite limited state legislative progress. Their key accomplishment includes bringing diverse stakeholders together to form a Digital Inclusion Working Group, and their work has now expanded its focus to infrastructure and climate workforce policy. 

Closing the Digital Skill Divide: Advancing Skills and Equity in the Digital Age 

As digital skills and literacy become increasingly essential, SkillSPAN has made noteworthy progress in promoting digital equity. SkillSPAN coalitions across several states have championed policies and initiatives to increase access to digital resources and skills training: 

• Michigan: Michigan SkillSPAN partnered with the state’s High-Speed Internet Office to shape the implementation of the BEAD Program, aiming for high-speed internet access statewide. 

• Texas: Texas WORKS prioritized advancing digital literacy efforts which resulted in the legislature committing $3.75 million to digital inclusion and workforce initiatives. Additionally, Texas WORKS engaged with the Broadband Development Office, contributing to the inclusion of digital equity indicators in the state’s broadband plan. 

• Washington: Washington SkillSPAN made strides in the digital equity space by mapping the entities who are engaged in digital equity work, connecting people to resources, and using data to drive strategies, all with the aim of building an inclusive, resilient digital ecosystem.  

• Alabama: Alabama SkillSPAN coalition successfully advocated for Senate Bill 215, a landmark piece of legislation that addresses the critical need for broadband expansion across the state. This bill led to the creation of the Alabama Digital Expansion Authority (ADEA), tasked with overseeing the deployment of high-speed internet services to underserved areas. The coalition’s support of this bill was rooted in the understanding that reliable internet access is essential for accessing workforce training, education, and digital job opportunities. 

Making College Work: Higher Education Access and Support 

SkillSPAN has strategically advocated for improvements in college affordability and access, working to ensure that students and workers can overcome obstacles and pursue the education and training they need to thrive: 

• Georgia: Thanks to the advocacy of Georgia SkillSPAN, Georgia lawmakers voted to establish the Georgia College Completion Grant program in 2022, to address the needs of students with low incomes; a step in a long-term strategy to establish a needs-based financial aid program in the state.  

• Michigan: Michigan SkillSPAN advocates successfully advocated for a limited time expansion of the Michigan Reconnect program to cover those aged 21-24. The expansion was coupled with an expansion of wraparound supports to help with the costs of childcare and transportation.  

• Oregon: The Oregon Pathways to Opportunity Coalition continued to center the voices and needs of students which led to the passage of the landmark Benefits Navigator Bill. The bill funds a full-time Benefits Navigator position at every community college and public university to assist students in maximizing public benefits and resources such as SNAP food benefits, STEP (SNAP E&T program), housing assistance, and other basic need supports. 

• Maryland: Maryland SkillSPAN successfully advocated for the passage of the Maryland New Start Act of 2022, which allocates $500,000 annually to support training programs that assist returning citizens in gaining valuable skills and starting businesses. The funding enables training providers to offer specialized courses focused on business plan development, work readiness, and entrepreneurial management. In addition to skills training, the Act provides returning citizens with access to loans of up to $50,000 for launching their own businesses, empowering them to rebuild their lives and contribute economically. 

Advancing Training and Jobs for Opportunity Youth 

Expanding access to skills training and creating employment pathways is at the core of SkillSPAN’s mission. The network has introduced policies that address training needs and support workforce opportunities: 

• Connecticut: Connecticut SkillSPAN engaged community providers who support opportunity youth, bringing them into conversations for collective advocacy and policy development. 

• Louisiana: Louisiana Opportunity Youth Skills Coalition successfully advocated for the passage of Senate Resolution 47, which was passed unopposed in the Senate Labor Committee and on the Senate Floor. It created a task force charged with studying opportunity youth within the state to determine the best way to maximize resources offered by state agencies and community service organizations. The task force includes state agency leadership, community-based organizations and, most importantly, actual youth or former youth with lived experience. 

Unlocking Potential: The Critical Role of Supportive Services 

Access to supportive services plays a critical role in workforce stability and economic mobility. SkillSPAN has achieved notable wins in this area: 

• Colorado: Colorado SkillSPAN advocated for the passage of HB 1270, which allocated $3 million in state funding to the Department of Human Services to enhance SNAP employment and training (called Employment First in Colorado), creating innovative opportunities for recipients. The legislation achieved strong bipartisan support, and allowed greater flexibility in deploying these funds, which was emphasized through CCLP’s close work and collaboration with SNAP office staff. 

• Illinois: Following research with over 50 Illinois job training providers which found that funding limitations were a major obstacle to supporting clients, Illinois SkillSPAN collaborated with the Illinois Department of Human Services to create a Barrier Reduction Fund Pilot Program with $2 million from Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The fund seeks to address the barriers faced by job seekers, such as financial strain, childcare, mental health, and transportation challenges. 

• Indiana: Indiana Skills2Compete Coalition supported successful childcare legislation expanding eligibility including eligibility for childcare workers at 85 percent of state median income, establishing a childcare worker compensation study, and creating new licensure for employer micro-sites. 

• New York: New York SkillSPAN worked to include language in the state budget that established a six-month income disregard for individuals participating in state or federally subsidized employment programs. Participants of qualified work activities can now retain full public benefits for six months as a strategy to mitigate a benefits cliff. 

• Ohio: Ohio SkillSPAN released a report, “When Working Isn’t Enough,” revealing that many Ohioans working full-time still require benefit assistance to cover basic needs. This report has drawn attention to the need for stronger wage policies and access to support services. 

• Iowa: Iowa Skills2Compete Coalition successfully advocated for the expansion of Iowa’s SNAP Employment & Training (SNAP E&T) program to nonprofit training providers—a key win for skills-based training in the state. Their advocacy for supportive services like childcare has also improved access for Iowans, and they remain committed to addressing Iowa’s childcare crisis by supporting industry professionalization to ensure quality, affordable care for all. 

Looking to the Future 

SkillSPAN’s progress is a testament to the power of collaboration and advocacy. As we look ahead, National Skills Coalition is committed to breaking down barriers to education and training, advocating for equitable policies and inclusive pathways. Together, we are building a future where every worker has access to the skills, support, and opportunities they need to thrive.  

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Our organizational approach reflects these values: From our 2020 industry recovery panels to our most recent WIOA recommendations, NSC’s policy development and vetting process takes into account the voices of students and workers.  As the public overwhelmingly calls for policymakers to support skills training, the real-life experiences of these students and workers illuminate the policies needed to ensure a resilient, equitable workforce system.  

That’s why NSC recently held listening sessions with more than a dozen workers and students from 6 states, to ensure they can inform our policy recommendations, especially as we soon will welcome a new administration and Congress. 

In these sessions, we spoke to workers like Oklahoma City-born Denise*, who participated in a payroll training program nearly a decade ago.  

“[Participating in a job training program] is the most rewarding thing I’ve done for myself,” says Denise. “I wake up in awe because it has changed my life so much.”   

She persevered through personal challenges to complete the program, building her English, digital, technical, and administrative skills along the way, and launched herself into a new career.  Today, Denise has built an 8-year career as a payroll analyst, and she’s aspiring to do more: Her future career goals include founding a nonprofit organization and becoming a public speaker. 

Listening to the experiences of workers is vital to ensure that public policies reflect and respond to real-life issues. 

Workers’ sacrifices should be matched by public investments  

The overarching theme from NSC’s recent listening sessions is this: Workers are sacrificing and taking personal risks to participate in training programs, and many have also carved out additional time to share their experiences and expertise in policy advocacy conversations. Public policies need to match students’ and workers’ level of commitment by investing boldly in them. 

Major themes that emerged from the listening sessions focused on the importance of: 

• Robust earn-while-you-learn models so people can afford to participate in skills training. 

• Clear, transparent career pathways that result in valuable postsecondary credentials and wage gains.  

• Meaningful holistic supports in areas such as childcare, transportation, and mental health that could otherwise undermine participants’ ability to succeed in training and on the job  

• Inclusive partnerships that tap into the expertise of community-based organizations to reach and serve jobseekers 

• Flexible skills training policies that see and respond to both the dreams and the vulnerabilities of their participants.  

• Intentional strategies to help people build the social capital and networks needed to succeed in their chosen occupation 

Below, we explore the first few of these themes in more depth. The additional themes will be further described in Part 2 of this blog post, coming soon.  

Earn and learn programs: Students and workers cited the stress of trying to balance holding down a job to make ends meet while simultaneously participating in a training program to further their career. Policymakers can ease this high-stress situation by investing in high-quality training programs that provide access to earn and learn opportunities. These programs allow people to apply the skills they are learning in real time while earning a meaningful wage. Models for this approach include paid internships, on-the job training, and apprenticeship programs.  

Clear career pathways: Students and workers in our listening sessions emphasized how valuable it is to have well-defined career pathways.  They want to be confident that the program in which they are investing their time and energy will result in a relevant credential and a real job with a local employer. And they want to know that their first job will provide stepping stones to further training and advancement.  They also fear the consequences when workforce programs are not aligned with local labor market needs. “There is a misalignment of what’s needed in the market versus what’s being taught to develop into a professional for this industry,” said one student.  Policymakers can fill this gap by investing in and standing up partnerships that bring industry and training providers together to meet hiring needs. 

Transparency and accountability: It’s hard to know what’s “too good to be true,” another student told us. Her skepticism reflects the hard-earned wisdom of many jobseekers who have seen friends and family fall victim to illusory promises or even predatory bad actors. Reassuring these students and workers means implementing policies that collect and publicly share data that clearly spell out training costs and benefits, job placement results, and demonstrated wage gains. One example is making sure that reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) strengthens the quality of the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) as an accountability tool that can reward results from training providers and ensure that programs are reflective of the needs and skills of both- workers and businesses. 

 What’s next?  

The feedback shared by our listening session participants like Denise is already helping to shape policy recommendations for the next President and administration. With major education and workforce legislation up for reauthorization in the new Congress, 2025 will provide numerous additional opportunities for students and workers to make their voices heard. Regardless of the type of funding, piece of legislation, or political party that controls Congress it is clear that we need nimble, actionable policies combined with robust investment to ensure that communities have the resources needed to serve workers and businesses effectively. 

*Last name omitted for privacy. 

Look for Part 2 of this blog post coming soon on NSC’s Skills Blog.  

The post How students’ and workers’ real-life experiences are shaping policy   appeared first on National Skills Coalition.

Jane Kunze, Alisha Small, and Rachel Wilkerson, members of NSC’s Student Advisory Council, spoke alongside NSC’s Director of Worker and Student Voices, Michael Richardson, at two events earlier this month. Through a panel at the National Council for Workforce Education (NCWE) conference and a virtual conversation with NSC’s Expanding College and Career Possibilities (ECCP) network, they shared their experiences with the Student Advisory Council, insights from their engagement in developing an upcoming policy brief, and what they hope to see from policymakers because of their advocacy.

Why and how is NSC putting students at the center of policy research and advocacy?

Policy research serves to better understand the effectiveness of current public policies and programs, inform the design of new programs and policies or modify existing ones, and identify promising programs and policies that can be replicated and scaled. When policy research is conducted without the input of those directly impacted, it risks missing the mark, replicating harm, or failing to address the real-world challenges faced by learners.

NSC has evolved and grown its student engagement efforts and subsequently aimed to create a space for student voice to be at the center of these research efforts. This year, NSC has done this throughout the development of an upcoming policy brief that will focus on holistic supports needs and policies for students, particularly those pursuing non-degree credentials or pathways. This research draws upon focus groups and interviews with members of the student advisory council and several other students pursuing non-degree programs and pathways, integrating quotes to center the voices and recommendations of those who are closest to and understand the system best.

This research process supports one of the key objectives of the Student Advisory Council’s work: developing policy recommendations to understand the experiences of learners pursuing career-focused credentials, hear what they want from their colleges and policymakers, and identify promising models for expanding their access to holistic supports for systems change.

Highlights from engaging students: What have we learned so far?

• The Student Advisory Council has empowered students to amplify their voices and recognize their own power as advocates for themselves and others. Students shared that participating in SAC has helped them realize they weren’t alone in their struggles and that, by raising their voices, they could influence policies to address these challenges. Advisory council members learned the mechanisms through which they can make change and that there are people willing to listen and respond. Alisha Small explained, “I learned the importance of my own voice and to be smack dab in the middle of policymaking.” Rachel Wilkerson shared, “I didn’t know that I could be an advocate – and that I already had been.” This realization of shared experience and collective advocacy has been a key takeaway for many participants who engaged in the development of NSC’s upcoming policy brief and through participation in the advisory council overall.

• Doing this work successfully requires intention, investment, trust, and flexibility. Meaningfully engaging students in policymaking isn’t just a matter of asking for input but requires careful planning and respect. This includes building resources and capacity to do the work and pay students for their contributions, staying flexible with participants’ time and capacity to engage -recognizing the realities of life that take priority, and building a community of trust and care that authentically values their stories and experiences. NSC’s approach has emphasized transparency, feedback, and consent throughout the research process. In developing the upcoming policy brief, this meant ensuring students understood the purpose and process of the research, transparently sharing expectations, creating feedback loops that allow their input to shape the final product, and ensuring consent and control for how their stories are shared at all stages of the process.

• To make college work for students, policymakers must recognize the whole student experience and address the root challenges that students face. For too long, education policies have focused narrowly on academic needs, neglecting the broader challenges students face. Student Advisory Council members have shared how central this point is time and time again, elevating their lived experiences and the ways that holistic supports policies from childcare to transportation to food security to mentorship can and have impacted their academic journey. These insights are the center of NSC’s upcoming policy brief, which particularly identifies additional barriers in accessing support services for students in non-degree programs and pathways and highlights students want to see from policymakers to remedy Alisha Small articulated the importance of including student voices and experiences in this research because it allows us to authentically ask, “How can we create a system that can consistently give support for students?”

These efforts are only the beginning

NSC’s work to center student voice in policy research and advocacy is ongoing and evolving. Engaging students in the process allows for the possibility to craft solutions that are informed by real-life challenges and experiences and lead to action by building buy-in and momentum for policy change through a greater connection to and understanding of students’ lives. The upcoming research brief will offer policy recommendations rooted in the lived experiences of students, providing actionable insights for policymakers who want to make a real difference in the lives of learners. By continuing to engage students in this work, NSC is learning, adapting, and evolving—ensuring that the voices of those most impacted by policy decisions remain at the heart of the process.

For more Making College Work updates and information on our Expanding College and Career Possibilities (ECCP) initiative and related efforts, follow our Making College Work Campaign to receive the newsletter and updates.

The post Centering Student Voice in Policymaking: Insights from Integrating Student Voice in Policy Research & Advocacy appeared first on National Skills Coalition.

Notably, Florida anticipates that a healthy chunk of its $1.1 billion in BEAD funding will be available for so-called “non-deployment” uses that can bolster the state’s broadband deployment projects. Fully $200 million in nondeployment funds is expected to be invested, with Florida explicitly prioritizing workforce development activities.

National Skills Coalition reviewed Florida’s publicly available plans for its broadband initiative and spoke with staff from the Florida Office of Broadband to learn more about their work.

Thinking broadly about broadband jobs

The phrase “broadband jobs” often brings to mind roles like fiber splicers or tower technicians. But Florida officials are also thinking about the occupations that will be needed over the longer term. State officials want to make sure that networks can be maintained after they are built, and so their plan also explicitly emphasizes the role of IT, cybersecurity, and customer service positions for long-term success.

This bigger-picture perspective is unusual among states, and is crucial to ensuring the long-term success of BEAD funding. By thinking holistically from the beginning, Florida is ensuring that its workforce planning takes into account the kinds of roles that will be essential to making sure that broadband is not only installed, but is widely adopted and effectively used.

The state’s BEAD proposal notes also notes that having a skilled workforce “is an important part of the ‘capital stack’ in Florida economic development [for other industries]. For most companies looking to [begin] or expand operations, the number-one factor affecting their ability is access to workforce talent and workforce training.”

Engaging industry and other stakeholders from the beginning  

By convening industry, education, and workforce partners early in the planning process, Florida was able to get a clear snapshot of the existing landscape (such as in-house training programs offered by a major employer) and identify potential opportunities for expansion (such as replicating an effective apprenticeship model from another industry via a local community college).

But state officials didn’t stop with a single convening. Over the past two years, they’ve held dozens of meetings across the state with more than 500 local stakeholders, and last month hosted a Florida Broadband Summit. The office is maintaining an ongoing connection to stakeholders: There are local technology planning teams for each of Florida’s 60-plus counties, who can serve as boots on the ground throughout the implementation process.

Using BEAD funds to support proven upskilling models

Taking advantage of federal flexibility, the state plans to select its subgrantees for nondeployment funds simultaneously with subgrantee selection for deployment funds, rather than waiting until deployment projects are underway.  Florida officials see a direct connection between having enough skilled workers and being able to meet the BEAD deployment mandate for getting high-speed internet to the places that need it most, noting:

[Our] approach of simultaneously selecting subgrantees for workforce-related initiatives will be imperative to expand [internet] coverage to remaining unserved and underserved locations. Without the proposed upskilling opportunities, Florida may encounter workforce shortages that hinder its ability to serve remaining locations.

Among the specific upskilling and reskilling activities the state expects to fund:

• Apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs
• Support services that can help individuals transition into and enter the broadband workforce
• Pathway programs that define the various pathways to pursue a career in broadband and successfully support on-ramps to broadband jobs

Blending additional workforce resources to support broadband training

Florida plans to braid BEAD funding with other public workforce investments such as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). This funding will go to state and local agencies, academic institutions, and community organizations with a track record of success.

The state anticipates using these other funds to support activities such as broadband apprenticeships: “[T]here are funds through CareerSource Florida and local workforce development boards to subsidize wages up to a year for an apprenticeship program and then expand to on-the-job training to defray some of the employer costs (such as labs and test gear).” 

Getting creative about finding job candidates

Florida officials have identified three potential populations of workers who may be a fit for broadband jobs, which they describe as:

1. Employed Floridians in need of hard skills;
2. Unemployed and job-seeking Floridians who likely need hard skills; and
3. Floridians who are not actively in the workforce (including students) but could be enticed if a clear pathway was presented to them.

Conversations with industry partners revealed that traditional word-of-mouth recruitment strategies for entry-level workers into the industry are no longer sufficient. Similarly, the “pay your dues” model by which workers were prepared for higher-level managerial roles is also not yielding sufficient numbers of candidates. This has opened the door to consider alternative approaches to recruitment and advancement, a vital need if the industry is to staff up in time to complete Florida’s ambitious plans.

As states around the country hurry to develop their talent pipelines and put new broadband workers to work, Florida stands out for its bold, holistic, and evidence-informed approach.

The post A bright plan for broadband workforce development in the Sunshine State appeared first on National Skills Coalition.

So, what does it take to push forward a policy agenda that champions both care work and family-friendly policies – one that acknowledges caregivers’ skills, recognizes the high value of their work, and contributes to building an inclusive economy through improved job quality and racial equity?  Let’s take a closer look:

The care workforce

The care workforce has been critical to families for generations. Direct care workers—home care workers and nursing assistants—ensure that older adults and people with disabilities receive necessary daily support, whether they live in their homes, a residential care setting (like assisted living), or a nursing home. Likewise, parents nationwide rely on childcare workers to provide the care they need in order to remain employed, as well as early learning for their children to promote healthy child development. Care workers—direct care and childcare workers—are the front line of support for millions of people and their families.

Despite their enormous value to our country and economy, these workers struggle with various challenges, from inadequate compensation and benefits, limited training and career advancement opportunities, unsupportive work environments, and a general lack of respect and recognition by policymakers and industry leaders for their critical roles. All these challenges are rooted in a long history of underfunding our care systems and depreciating the labor of women, people of color, and immigrants, who make up most of these workers. As a result, too many care workers struggle financially and often leave these fields for higher-paying ones, further shrinking the care support workers and families across the country deserve. Family caregivers and parents experience firsthand the lack of support that comes from undervaluing care work.

More work is needed to transform opportunities for care workers to access quality and affordable skills training, career pathways, and credentials that lead to high-quality care jobs—in addition to improving compensation and job quality. Ensuring our postsecondary and workforce systems are responding to the needs of U.S. families and workers requires a revisioning of the care economy and workforce. This new vision should involve strong state and federal investments in education and training to fill high-demand care jobs, while also working to transform the care industry into one that truly values its workers and reflects their importance to U.S. society.

Family-friendly policies

Work-family supports, like affordable childcare, direct care, paid family leave, sick leave, and access to public benefits, help working people—especially women and caregivers—achieve economic mobility and equity. They do this, in part, by making it possible for caregivers to pursue education and skills training, earn credentials, and enter good jobs. In the absence of policies that provide access to these supports, families—especially mothers and mothers of color—pay the price.

For example, mothers are less likely to participate in the labor force than women without children, given that they bear a disproportionate share of caregiving responsibilities within families. The high cost of childcare exacerbates this trend—the more expensive care is, the less likely women can afford to work when they have young children.

However, when policies explicitly provide families with adequate support for balancing work and family, they can empower women’s abilities to achieve their education and career goals. For example, parents living in states that chose to invest significant funding in childcare to mitigate the effects of the end of the ARPA Childcare Stabilization Funds were less likely to report lacking the childcare they needed, and mothers in those states were less likely to report forgoing work because of childcare needs. In addition, states with paid family leave policies see a twenty percent increase in mothers’ labor force participation in the year they gave birth as well as increases in the following years.

These supports also matter for parents who are interested in pursuing college and skills training to advance their careers. Roughly three million college students are parents of children under eighteen. (This estimate of undergraduate student parents is based on data from the 2019-2020 National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey, compared with total undergraduate enrollment from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.)

According to National Skills Coalition’s analysis, most parents in college are women, and many are single mothers. Over a third of Black women and more than two in five Indigenous women in college are mothers. Access to affordable childcare, as well as other support and resources that enable people to balance family, work, and school, could make a difference in their ability to enroll and complete education programs and earn credentials, advance racial equity in educational attainment, and bring a significant return on investment to states and the federal government.

Exploring a way forward

Given the urgent policy need to support care workers and families, how can we make meaningful progress in improving their circumstances? Here are a few directions.

Heightened attention to care workers. Society is increasingly recognizing the crucial role of direct care and childcare workers, especially as the demand for their services has surged in recent years, particularly among older adults. This growing awareness, driven by advocacy and narrative change organizations, creates an opportunity to push for stronger care work policies.

A unique role for workforce development and postsecondary leaders. Given the critical role that labor and education departments play in shaping workers’ training, advancement, and credentialing needs, it will be essential to move the needle on their support for care workers. Direct care and childcare should also be good jobs, an important North Star in workforce development and workers’ rights principles. In addition, the postsecondary system, including community colleges and other higher education institutions, plays a significant role in educating early childhood professionals, alongside the workforce system, and should be a key part of the conversation about building up the care workforce.

A unified voice on skills, care work, and family-friendly policies. The care workforce is integral to ensuring people have the support they need to care for their families, pursue education and skills training, and participate in the labor force. When care workers themselves are underpaid and lack benefits, work-family supports, and opportunities for professional development and advancement, they are more likely to leave the profession. This trend means that other families that need care cannot get it because there are not enough workers in the field to fill open jobs.

A stronger narrative on linking care work to broader workforce needs. Research shows that the public needs to learn more about care work, including the skill level required and the extent to which these jobs should receive professional-level treatment. Our experience shows that care work policies related to skills training, credentials, family supports, and other workforce policies also need attention, particularly in how they impact the entire U.S. workforce.

Transforming care work into a high-quality industry that values its workers as professionals and pays them accordingly is intimately connected to promoting thriving local, state, and national economies. Now is the time to take a bold step forward and support working families everywhere

The post Why Care Workers and Families Need Better Policies Now appeared first on National Skills Coalition.

Advocates can borrow questions from these studies to use (with acknowledgement!) in their own data collection. Using storytelling frames developed by peer organizations and piggybacking on existing measures or question banks allows advocates to benefit from prior work while adding a local twist to illustrate the impact of these issues in their communities. Advocates can also juxtapose their findings with peers’ data to see how issues may be similar or different across jurisdictions.

The reports highlighted in this post are:

• Centering Digital Equity in Workforce Development, from the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County (WDC). This robust evaluation reviewed a $1 million publicly and privately funded digital navigator program serving 2,400 people. Data was collected via surveys, focus groups, and interviews in more than a half-dozen different languages.
• Statewide Assessment of Hawaii’s Digital Economy, from the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s Hawaii Broadband & Digital Equity Office (HBDEO). This study surveyed a broad sample of 1,000 Hawaii companies (including both for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations) about their participation in various digital economy activities.
• Conexus Indiana’s AI in Indiana and Industry 4.0 Technology Adoption Survey. The former document analyzed data about the use of artificial intelligence by Indiana employers, while the latter is based on a survey of advanced manufacturers in Indiana about a variety of types of technology usage.

Illustrating the pent-up demand for digital skills

The Seattle WDC report used a few vivid metrics to illustrate the demand for digital skills among several thousand mostly low-income residents, including many multilingual individuals. The pre-survey administered to program participants showed:

• At intake, just 7% of people reported that they were “not at all comfortable” using a smartphone, but fully 27% weren’t comfortable using a [desktop or laptop] computer, and 40% weren’t comfortable searching for or applying for jobs online.
• The single most popular reason for why people wanted to learn to use technology was to “get more education” (78%). And 63% said they wanted to “get a job or a better job.”

These simple findings upend the assumption that just because people own smartphones, they must also be adept using other common types of technology. Similarly, the findings illuminate the strong demand for learning and economic mobility among adults with low digital skills.

The report also affirms earlier research that having a working computer at home is correlated with people being more comfortable performing technology-related tasks. While this may seem like common sense, collecting this data helps advocates to illustrate how the different elements of digital inclusion (internet access, devices, and skills) reinforce each other.

Highlighting how employers see new technology as connected to worker upskilling

The Indiana survey of advanced manufacturers found that in general, businesses report that adopting Industry 4.0 technologies such as cobots (collaborative robots), sensor technology, and Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) is leading to worker upskilling rather than layoffs.

• Specifically, 61% of businesses said the adoption of new technologies will minimize repetitive human tasks.
• 52% said technology adoption will upskill their workforce.

By contrast, just 12% said technology adoption would reduce payroll and eliminate positions.

When asked about their motivations for implementing new technologies, the top answer (from 86% percent of employers) was to increase efficiency and lower costs. But notably, 52% of employers said that “shifting the workforce to higher-value functions/tasks” was a motivation.

Digging into which artificial intelligence technologies are being adopted

The Indiana AI survey is useful in highlighting exactly what kinds of artificial intelligence technologies manufacturers are adopting. The report notes:

Of survey respondents that have adopted AI in at least one or more business units, most have implemented computer vision systems or physical robotics These are AI capabilities that directly and immediately impact a manufacturers’ shopfloor production efficiency and productivity.

This kind of data shows how advocates can go beyond the AI hype to gather specific data on what AI adoption looks like among local businesses, and what that might mean for workers and learners.

Describing business participation in the digital economy

Hawaii’s digital economy survey has fascinating insights for advocates trying to understand how businesses are using technology, and the implications for workers and economic development. The Hawaii data illustrates how local economic revenue can be impacted when internet services go down, and how many businesses employ workers who work remotely from other states.

Hawaii used definitions from the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis to inquire about several areas of digital economy activity:

• Digital services such as cloud services, cybersecurity, and digital content creation.
• E-commerce via business-to-business sales (B2B) and/or business-to-consumer sales (B2C).
• Infrastructure products or servicing, such as computer equipment manufacturing, software publishing, and custom computer programming services

Overall, the survey found that half (51%) of private businesses surveyed engaged in digital activities to generate revenue. Notably, 11% of businesses had employees who work remotely from outside Hawaii, and a startling 67% of businesses experienced interruptions of internet accessibility, with average internet downtime of nearly 9.8 hours per month, or more than a full day.

Understanding business and worker concerns about cybersecurity and scams

A notable finding from both the Indiana employer survey and the Seattle individual survey is that people are deeply concerned about scams, fraud, and cybersecurity attacks.

For businesses, cybersecurity was far and away the top risk that manufacturers voiced about the adoption of AI technologies. For individuals, being afraid of scams and identity theft was the number two reason given for not using technology.

Advocates can use these findings to dig deeper into the real-life experiences that may lie behind these concerns and identify areas for future advocacy and policy change.

The post Using data to advocate for digital skills appeared first on National Skills Coalition.

Many employers are looking to skills-based hiring because they’ve unnecessarily narrowed their talent pipelines. In recent decades, employers have used the bachelor’s degree as a proxy for specific skills, shutting workers without these degrees out of jobs that traditionally offered a pathway to economic mobility.   

As a first step toward skills-based hiring, many companies and states have removed bachelor’s degree requirements from many job postings. Since 2014, there has been an almost four-fold increase in the annual number of roles from which employers dropped degree requirements.  

Removing degree requirements from job postings, however, doesn’t necessarily result in increased hiring of people who have specialized skills without a bachelor’s degree. A recent analysis by Burning Glass Institute found that “for all its fanfare, the increased opportunity promised by skills-based hiring was borne out in not even 1 in 700 hires last year.”  

Degrees can signal skills, to be sure, and the debate pitting skills vs. degrees is a false one. At the same time, if skills-based hiring is to expand the pool of candidates for in-demand positions and build a more diverse talent pipeline simultaneously, states should implement a more comprehensive set of policies. 

State Policies to Make Skills-Based Hiring Work for Potential Employees and for Employers 

As a plenary panel at NSC’s 2024 Skills Summit discussed, for skills-based hiring to meet its true potential, particularly for working people and small-to-mid sized-businesses, states can start by establishing: 

1. A framework for assessing the quality of nondegree credentials and related skills training programs;
2. Data systems that allow for more informed decision making by potential students and employers; and 
3. Policies that enable people to pursue quality in-demand credentials, such as short-term Pell and support services 

First, for skills-based hiring to scale up and work, particularly for people and for small-and mid-size employers, they need a common and recognizable way to validate people’s skills and competencies.  There are currently hundreds of thousands of non-degree credentials offered in the U.S. including certificates, industry-based certifications, apprenticeships, and occupational licenses. Quality assurance frameworks can help people and employers differentiate among these credentials and certify that people with a credential have a specific set of skills and competencies aligned with an occupation’s requirements and validated by industry leaders. 

For the past five years, National Skills Coalition has worked with several states to define, measure, and track what makes a credential high quality. NSC and our state partners have determined that quality non-degree credentials should satisfy the following criteria: 

• There are substantial job opportunities associated with the credential.  

• The education and training program associated with the credential must include clearly defined competencies that align with skills requirements of associated job opportunities.  

• There is evidence that people have improved employment and earnings outcomes after getting the credential. Additional indicators of job quality like health or retirement benefits, sick leave, and regular, dependable hours also matter.   

• The credential is stackable to additional education or training through mechanisms like career pathway programs, credit articulation and transfer agreements, and credit for prior learning.  

• The credential is portable to a range of job opportunities and employers, providing the credential holder with more agency and career options among multiple firms. 

Concurrently, for skills-based hiring to scale up and work, states should also invest in capable data systems. Good data are essential to determining the quality of non-degree credentials and, as Blair Corcoran de Castillo of Opportunity @ Work mentioned at NSC’s 2024 Skills Summit, make credential quality and skill needs more transparent to workers and learners, businesses, and policymakers.  

Disaggregated data on outcomes like employment and earnings by race/ethnicity and gender is key to ensuring that non-degree credentials promote racial and gender equity instead of intensifying inequities.  

There is strong public support for such data – 91 percent of voters support policies that ensure that people have access to data that tell them which training programs and credentials will help them reach their employment goals. 

Beyond a framework for assessing quality and data to inform decision making, states also need to establish policies that enable people to attain quality credentials. As we all know, information and transparency can only go so far in helping people attain the quality credentials that certify their skills to employers. States should: 

• Cover the costs of postsecondary skills training: increase equitable access to financial aid and debt-free postsecondary pathways leading to economic mobility – including for high-quality, short-term programs and pathways  

• As my fellow panelist Dane Linn of Business Roundtable commented at our 2024 Skills Summit, federal support for a Short-Term Pell Grant is a key piece of covering these costs. 

• Additionally, 82 percent of voters support increasing government funding for skills training. 

• Provide supportive services: ensure all people have the support they need to access and complete skills training– including access to public benefits, childcare, transportation, coaching, and navigation services. 

Because of many historical factors and current factors creating the racial wealth gap, people of color have been left with fewer resources to put toward educational attainment, making these policies especially important if skills-based hiring is truly going to build a more racially diverse talent pipeline.  Moreover, students – both current and potential – can play a huge rule in designing effective policies that increase credential attainment, and states can support these efforts (NSC has suggested a similar role for workers’ voices in shaping the workforce development system.)  

For Skills-Based Hiring to Truly Deliver on its Promise, Employers Must Examine How They Hire Through an Equity Lens, and State Policy can Support This 

However, even if states establish frameworks and policies in these three key areas, there is still more work to do, particularly by employers. Removing degree requirements in job postings is a useful first step, but employers also need to think about and change equitable talent and recruiting practices, as my fellow Skills Summit panelist Michael Collins of Jobs for the Future’s Center for Racial Economic Equity has written. For example, by now, you’ve likely heard about research showing how names associated with Black people receive fewer callbacks than those associated with White people. Employers must collect data, evaluate and adjust their routines to avoid outcomes like these.  

Employers – including public sector employers – should consider the resources available to aid in changing their hiring practices. Opportunity @ Work has created the STARs Public Sector Hub for public sector employers with data about STARs (workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes instead of a bachelor’s degree), narratives, support and best practices, and a community for government leaders to share experiences and crowdsource solutions. Business Roundtable also has example company actions, guides, principles, success stories, and working groups on skills-based talent practices as part of its Multiple Pathways Initiative.  

Furthermore, once employees are hired, employers must take care to ensure that skills-based hiring is not letting more people of color in the door only to create a career ceiling for them because they do not have degrees. Employers should evaluate degree requirements for positions at all levels and promotion practices to ensure to help mitigate this ‘ceiling effect.’  

At the center of all these employer changes should be an understanding of the humanity of employees and their learning styles as they seek to advance. Employers should, for example, engage their employees in shaping practices that allow for more employee participation and advancement, as my fellow Skills Summit panelist Michael O’Bryan of Humanature has championed. 

State policy can also support these employee recruiting and advancement efforts. States can map and support the design of career pathways with onramps and off-ramps that enable people to attain stackable credentials and degrees to further their careers at their own pace. States can also support equitable employee recruiting and advancement through targeted investments and technical assistance in sector partnerships – regional collaboratives that bring together multiple employers within an industry to collaborate with community colleges, schools, labor, workforce agencies, community organizations, and other community stakeholders to align training with industry-needed skills. States can incentivize sector partnerships to engage in equity-advancing practices, like modifying recruiting processes to attract and engage specific populations of color. 

Ultimately, for skills-based hiring to build a diverse talent pipeline and meet industry demand, state governments and employers need to implement a full suite of policies that remove barriers and promote inclusion in credentialing, hiring, and career advancement.  

The post Skills Based Hiring: Why states & employers must act now to build a stronger more diverse workforce appeared first on National Skills Coalition.

While many states are increasingly recognizing the value of holistic supports in higher education, there are still gaps in access, especially for students in non-degree programs not eligible for federal or state financial aid. Yet ensuring these students have the supports and financial resources they need has tremendous equity implications. Community college certificate students, for example, are more likely to be working adults and first-time college students, as well as Black, Latinx, and parenting, compared with their associate degree-seeking peers.1 They are also likely to experience financial insecurity: half live with incomes that are at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Line. Building more equitable pathways requires policymakers to continue to invest in the expansion of evidence-based holistic supports that are explicitly designed to meet the needs of students of color and students who are adults, working, parenting, immigrants, and justice impacted. 

With this context in mind, National Skills Coalition hosted a Policy Action Lab in Chicago focused on expanding holistic supports for students pursuing quality non-degree pathways. Part of NSC’s Expanding College and Career Possibilities Initiative, the event brought together more than sixty postsecondary, workforce, human services, and advocacy leaders from twenty states to examine state progress, innovations, and promising strategies tied to providing holistic supports to students pursuing quality, career-oriented non-degree programs and pathways at community and technical colleges. 

What’s happening in states?  

States and colleges are working to enhance access to holistic supports to better serve students and promote equity in postsecondary education. While some of these policy and program strategies may be inaccessible to learners pursuing non-degree programs, others smartly leverage available federal and state funding to support people in a range of education and training pathways.  

At the event, Carrie Welton, Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy: Anti-Poverty and Basic Needs at The Institute of College Access and Success (TICAS), provided an overview of opportunities for leveraging state and federal investments for holistic supports, including a range of ways in which states are connecting public benefits programs to postsecondary education. For example: 

• Washington Basic Food Employment & Training (BFET) leverages Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment & Training (SNAP E&T) to support education and training and holistic support access for SNAP recipients. 

• Kentucky Ready to Work, a partnership between the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and the KY Cabinet for Health & Family Services, leverages TANF dollars to provide supports for parents that include employment skills training, daycare and transportation assistance, and mentoring support.  

Other states are investing in skill attainment and career advancement opportunities for learners that integrate holistic supports throughout their educational journeys. Leaders from Connecticut, Illinois, and Rhode Island shared their efforts to support students pursuing non-degree education and training: 

• Jennifer Foster, Deputy Executive Director of the Illinois Community College Board, discussed the Illinois Workforce Equity Initiative, which funds the provision of accelerated programs in high demand, high wage industries across eighteen community colleges, with a focus on serving Black students in at-risk communities. Grants can be used to provide wraparound services to reduce student barriers, including rental and transportation assistance, emergency aid, food, and child care. So far, nearly three quarters of students served have been African American and 69% of completers have found employment.   

• Omar Reyes, Director of Adult Programs and Student Success at the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner, shared insights about Rhode Island Reconnect, a wraparound services program for learners pursuing degrees or workforce credentials of value in the state. The program connects participants with educational navigators who provide guidance for their educational and career journeys and help students identify nontuition financial barriers to finishing their degree or certificate. In the first year, the program saw completion increase by 13% among participants.  

• Kristina Testa-Buzzee, Grant Performance Manager at the Connecticut Office of Workforce Strategy, discussed her office’s work to bring together diverse stakeholders including private and public higher education, employers, K-12 representatives, community-based organizations and more to build Career ConneCT, which provides training for high-demand careers, alongside a career coach and access to holistic supports. The program has a goal of achieving an 85% employment rate for completers of short-term training and it is currently being evaluated to better understand the outcomes and implications of the program.  

Panelists shared how they are collaborating with stakeholders across the state, leveraging flexible funding sources to reduce barriers, integrating student voice into policy and program development, engaging employers, and centering equity in their work.  

Key themes and considerations  

Throughout the day, attendees met within and across states to reflect on progress, identify challenges, and exchange ideas. Several common themes arose: 

• Centering student voice. Students should be centered in the design and delivery of policies and programs intended to support their educational and career journeys. Many states are integrating student voice directly into their policy and advocacy work. For example, in Rhode Island, students testified at the statehouse to advocate for additional funding to expand credential programs and services and Connecticut has included parents on their state’s 2Gen Advisory Council. 

• Importance of flexible and responsive funding. Flexible funding, especially ARPA dollars, have been critical in allowing states to adapt to the evolving needs of students and workforce programs and provide new and innovative supports. Flexible funding enables programs to tailor support to students’ individual needs, rather limiting support options that may or may not help students overcome roadblocks. At the same time, many states emphasize the challenges around finding sustainable funding to continue these programs when current sources run out.  

• Leveraging partnerships for impact. Partnerships with diverse stakeholders, including higher education, community-based organizations, employers, and government agencies can better align efforts and resources in support of students. States and institutions should prioritize building and sustaining strong partnerships to expand the reach and impact of their support services, ensuring students have access to the full range resources they need.  

• Bridging siloes between workforce, higher education, and human services. Better coordination and collaboration within and across higher education, workforce, and human services systems can improve support access for students and their families, yet siloes and competition can hamper efforts to partner effectively. Leveraging respective strengths to maximize capacity and focusing on shared goals will more effectively advance credential attainment, employment, and family economic mobility. 

While states are dealing with many similar challenges in providing adequate support to students, there is also ample opportunity for learning, innovation, and action taking. As investments in quality non-degree programs continue, increased emphasis on embedding holistic supports will help ensure that these programs lead to equitable education and employment outcomes so students and workers can thrive.  

For more Making College Work updates and information on our Expanding College and Career Possibilities (ECCP) initiative and related efforts, follow our Making College Work Campaign to receive the newsletter and updates. For questions or to learn more, reach out to Lindsey Reichlin Cruse at lindseyrc@nationalskillscoalition.org. 

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The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is the primary law governing our nation’s workforce system, Congress has never fully funded this crucial law, nor has it invested in the workforce strategies necessary to advance workers’ careers, support small businesses’ talent needs, or promote racial equity and pathways to quality jobs. Most workforce programs do not provide direct funding for childcare for their participants, despite it being a major unmet need. Additionally, many workforce and adult education programs lack the resources to offer these services.     

Increasing investments in support services is crucial for workers balancing parenthood, multiple jobs, and other responsibilities while pursuing career goals. A supportive workforce system must address not only training but also essential needs like food, childcare, and holistic coaching and navigation services. This strategy is vital for racial equity, benefiting Latino/a, Black, and other people of color who could benefit from access to quality job training and advancement opportunities. 

Our recent public opinion poll shows that 82% of voters support increased funding for support services like career navigation, childcare, housing, and transportation assistance to help people finish skills training programs. 

Expand Skills Training Through ITAs, Benefits Access, Career Navigation, and Childcare for Equitable Job Pathways  

WIOA lacks sufficient funding for essential supportive services like childcare and transportation, which are crucial for workers to access skills training. Although WIOA funding could support these services, chronic underfunding means that less than 15 percent of 2021 participants received them. 

In  New Ideas for WIOA– NSC calls for the need to expand access to high-quality skills training and supportive services by making any worker with income under a certain level eligible for a Skills Training Grant that covers the cost of tuition and supportive services.  Grants would provide e workers up to $10,000 in in public funding to pursue occupational skills training programs (including registered apprenticeship programs) to pay for tuition and services such as childcare, equipment, physicals, exam costs, etc. to aid in the completion of these high-quality training programs.  

Funding for Skills Training Isn’t Enough- Investments in Holistic Supports Are Essential  

A growing body of evidence sheds light on the extent of basic needs insecurity among college students—especially parents, students of color, and others that don’t fit the traditional mold—and the importance of supporting students holistically to effectively promote equitable enrollment, persistence, and completion of postsecondary education and training. This evidence undergirds evidence of how life circumstances—such as having children, being the first in one’s family to go to college, or facing significant financial strain—and the ability to meet basic needs—such as food and housing security—fundamentally affect people’s ability to pursue and complete programs and earn credentials 

 Over the years NSC has convened multiple stakeholders to understand the programmatic, systemic, and administrative complexities of moving the economic needle for individuals and families, particularly those of color who have historically been excluded from mobility investments and advancement opportunities. What we’ve learned is that tuition simply isn’t enough. The costs of child/adult care, transportation, and food require attention and must be addressed to enable workers to fully commit to and successfully complete a high-quality skills training program. This includes access to public benefits such as food and nutrition assistance, Medicaid, cash assistance, and coaching and navigation services. 

Childcare is also especially important, particularly for parents with young children who are Black, have low incomes, and/or are single mothers. But in many cases, parents must choose between attending college or job training and caring for their families, given the high cost of child care, limited access to childcare assistance and services that meet their needs, and complexities of both the workforce development and child care systems. States have learned that “free college tuition only gets you so far” and are working to develop cross agency and community-based partnerships to offer a comprehensive approach for students.  

Ninety-one percent (91%) of voters support policies that create closer partnerships between training providers and businesses to train people for available jobs.  

Policymakers need to support people holistically to ensure they can access and complete training and education programs, including short-term noncredit workforce programs, and that they show up career-ready on day one with job retention services. Comprehensive supports include simple things like gas cards and bus passes, but extend to  family-friendly policies, career and academic coaching, direct opportunities for paid work experiences, networking within their industries to build relationships and social capital, and/or direct access to medical and dental services. In our State Financial Aid for Non-Degree Credential Report, we call for the need to integrate holistic supports into the design of financial aid programs that support non-degree credentials.   States like Virginia, Iowa, and Washington have made progress in this area by recognizing that providing holistic support alongside financial resources is crucial to achieving access and equity goals. 

Centering the Voices of Students and Workers is a Priority for Inclusive and Equitable Policy Solutions  

Stories are data points with soul. Incorporating student and worker voices in policy design and implementation ensures that policies are responsive to the actual challenges faced by students. This inclusion advances greater buy-in, as people are more likely to support policies they helped shape. Additionally, it enhances the effectiveness of programs by drawing on the lived experiences and insights of diverse stakeholders, leading to more equitable and sustainable outcomes. Identifying ways to incorporate qualitative data and student voice is an important component when designing inclusive programs for workers. It helps us understand the role training providers, institutions, community partners, practitioner, and industry partners while being attentive to real-time student needs. NSC advocates for incorporating experiences directly on state and local workforce development boards, elevating recommendations into local and state workforce strategic plans, and creating leadership platforms like our Making College Work Student Advisory Council.  

Insights from our Student Advisory Council  

• “One of the things that I noticed was the lack of equitable access that workforce development students [have]…or noncredit versus credit students. So, I would like to see that. What if they do have childcare services? Or if they did have resources as far as childcare is concerned, or even paying for childcare, that noncredit students have that same access to those resources.”​ – Alisha Small​ Montgomery College, Maryland 

• “I feel like it [should] be mandatory for ​every politician to participate in a poverty simulation, because trying to navigate…​federal systems—food stamps, housing—Navigating the housing system, I’ve never been more frustrated in my entire life… ​I still haven’t received it…They comb through every aspect of your life. There is zero privacy…​There’s got to be a better way to do it.”- ​ Lynne Hamblin​ Rogue Community College, Oregon​ 

• “…becoming a single mother myself…with no family support…I was like, ‘Oh, I get it now. This is what we need in order to survive’… ​I had to stop pursuing my dream of becoming a nurse to work because I had a baby to take care of, and there were so many other additional resources that I needed that I didn’t have access to…” – Anonymous SAC member 

Key Considerations for Policymakers When Investing in High-Quality Skills Training Programs 

NSC’s network, has emphasized the need for a range of improvements to how our workforce development, postsecondary, and social welfare systems support people in skills training 

• Expand access to quality skills training programs and holistic supports by adjusting individual training account (ITA) spending limits to support the entire cost of quality training, including the expansion of supportive services limits to ensure workers and learners are supported holistically. 

• Integrate and align federal and state resources across systems to increase holistic support access, including for workers and learners in noncredit and other non-degree credential programs, working across higher education, labor, workforce, human services, and community-based organizations and incorporating holistic supports in training program design. 

• Expand resources to provide career coaching and navigation services that help workers and learners make informed education and career choices, disrupt patterns of educational and occupational tracking, and connect students to resources that support their ability to achieve economic mobility.  

• Expand access to affordable childcare and childcare assistance for people pursuing job training and/or college credentials by leveraging federal programs such as TANF and SNAP E&T, and federal transportation grants, as well as ensuring people in all types of postsecondary pathways are eligible to receive for state childcare subsidy programs. 

• Center the voices and lived experiences of those directly impacted by engaging them in policy development, program design and implementation while offering leadership opportunities such as local and workforce board member nominations and seats. 

The post The Case for Investing in Holistic Support Services and Skills Training appeared first on National Skills Coalition.

We are at a jump ball moment when it comes to AI’s impact on the labor market. We can either use AI to foster economic opportunity for people without a bachelor’s degree and grow the middle class, or we can let it widen existing inequalities and leave workers sitting on the bench.

The trajectory is up to us as a nation. Most experts predict that AI will create new jobs, augment existing ones, and eliminate others. But how and to what extent depends on decisions that leaders make now. With the right set of public policies, workforce policies included, our nation can ensure humans and AI are playing fair together and creating outsized impact for working people and businesses.

The American public is looking for elected officials to get in the game and take action. Two out of every three voters believe that AI is a serious or very serious problem facing American workers, and nearly the same number (64%) are concerned that workers have limited opportunities to access skills training that could help them adapt to AI in the workplace. These concerns cut across race, political party, age, and job type, but are particularly pronounced among voters without a bachelor’s degree.

So what can policymakers do now to address these concerns and ensure that working people and the businesses that employ them can thrive in the age of AI?

To start, policymakers can make sure that everyone has access to digital skills, including skills required to use AI.  Research by National Skills Coalition and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta finds that while 92 percent of jobs require digital skills, one-third of workers don’t have the foundational digital skills necessary to enter and thrive in today’s jobs. The digital skill divide disproportionately impacts people of color, rural residents, and people with low incomes due to historic underinvestment and structural inequities. Without expanded access to digital and AI skills, AI will only exacerbate the digital divide.

Policymakers can immediately expand people’s access to AI skills by investing in high-quality training programs so that workers can build and upgrade the digital skills necessary to work alongside AI and digital technology. The bipartisan Digital Skills for Today’s Workforce Act introduced in Congress earlier this year is one such example of proposals being put forward.

Policymakers can also take action to ensure that people most familiar with the work – workers themselves – are able to provide input on how AI is developed and deployed. Workers have valuable knowledge about the nature of their jobs, and their expertise can inform how technology is used so that it complements human talent, increases productivity, and mitigates harm. The more inclusive the development of AI is, the less likely it is to reproduce biases.

Policymakers can help people have a say in how AI is used in the workplace by protecting workers’ rights to organize. Research shows that job standards and safeguards championed by labor yield advantages for all working people, not just those in unions. In the age of AI, honoring workers’ rights and voices can also help companies safely and equitably unlock innovation and maximize the benefits of new technology. Just look at the first of its kind tech-labor partnership on AI between Microsoft and the AFL-CIO.

Workers’ perspectives should also shape AI training and upskilling programs so they are responsive to their needs. To support this, policymakers can invest in industry partnerships that bring together local businesses, unions and workers, education and training providers, and community-based organizations to develop comprehensive workforce strategies for a local industry. Through these partnerships, workers can give input on training and curriculum so that it is most relevant to their day-to-day work. The California High Road Training Partnership program and Real Jobs Rhode Island are two examples of how states have invested in industry partnerships that benefit workers and businesses. Other states, along with the federal government, can do the same.

Finally, we need better policies to support workers who are displaced from their jobs due to AI, or other structural changes to the economy. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shined a light on the need for the U.S. to have a better system for supporting workers who lose their jobs and need to reskill and move into a new career. While Congress’ response to pandemic-related job loss demonstrated the value of a stronger safety net for displaced workers, their actions were time-limited. Programs serving dislocated workers are underfunded, provide inconsistent benefits, have complicated eligibility, and respond to cyclical rather than structural unemployment.

Policymakers can modernize these programs to make sure they meet the needs of the 21^st century workforce. Workers displaced by AI will need economic supports to continue paying rent and accessing childcare as they prepare for a new career, training and education for in-demand jobs, and job retention services to thrive in new careers. In surveys of unemployed workers, these supports and services are most cited as key to preparing for, training for, and keeping a new job.  AI could even be used to streamline benefit eligibility determination and administration so that it’s just as easy to access transformative re-employment services as it is to order groceries online.

Taken together, these policy actions could be a gamechanger and help level the playing field for both workers and businesses.

The post AI in the labor market: A Jump Ball Moment for the Middle Class appeared first on National Skills Coalition.

The council will be composed by more than 20 members from 13 different states and two tribal nations, representing state and local WIOA programs, workforce development boards, community-based organizations, business chambers, and other local business organizations. By hearing and learning from a diverse range of perspectives, we can ensure NSC and our network advocate for solutions that modernize the public workforce system for all workers, not just a select few. 

As part of our “Creating an Equitable and Resilient Workforce” campaign, this council will work with our team to understand how existing public workforce structures and systems serve practitioners, administrators, and workers. Our previous work has pointed out that administrative barriers—among other obstacles—can make these systems difficult to navigate and less responsive to workers’ needs. This council will provide current perspectives on these systems and offer concrete recommendations for how to improve them. 

Additionally, the council will explore how legislative reform could enhance access to high-quality skill training programs that lead to good jobs for all workers—particularly for Black and brown workers. In the public workforce system, our team has found that Black and brown workers face fewer career choices, limited opportunities for upward mobility, and are often directed towards lower-wage occupations. With the right solutions, we can create an equitable workforce system that works for all. 

Participants in the WIOA Advisory Council will:  

1. Share their experiences and advise NSC and our network on key aspects of WIOA reauthorization work.
2. Inform specific policy proposals related to WIOA reauthorization as needed.
3. Act as champions who can educate new agency leaders and members of Congress in 2025. 

“We’re thrilled to join the WIOA Advisory Council as it represents a crucial opportunity to inform the future of our workforce system,” said council participant Jenny Taylor, Vice President of Career Services and Chief Mission Officer at Goodwill of North Georgia. “This council brings together a diverse group of voices from across the country, and as the largest Goodwill in the nation for putting people to work, we’re eager to contribute our perspective to ensure that the WIOA reauthorization truly meets the needs of every worker. By working together, we can build a more equitable public workforce system.” 

“Joining the WIOA Advisory Council is a timely opportunity to directly influence the future of workforce policy,” said council participant Kenneth Smith, President at Grace-Mar, a non-profit based in Charlotte, NC. “We’re excited to collaborate with diverse stakeholders to propose solutions that are innovative, inclusive, and impactful. Together, we can drive meaningful change and address the evolving needs of our workforce.” 

NSC and our network have long advocated for a modernized WIOA that supports an inclusive economy. Last year, we released our “New Ideas for the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act” publication, offering a set of proposals for changing WIOA based on feedback from over 160 stakeholders representing approximately 140 organizations from forty states as well as several tribal nations. Most recently, NSC and our network partners worked to influence the legislation to better reflect workforce stakeholders’ needs, through Summit advocacy and providing testimony at a recent Senate hearing. 

Voters also agree they want leaders to take initiative on skills training for workers. Our most recent polling shows that 8 out of 10 voters support increasing government funding for skills training in America. Additionally, over two thirds of voters are looking to support leaders and candidates who will invest in skills training. Across the political spectrum, there is recognition that investing in skills training programs will empower workers of all backgrounds and help our economy thrive. 

To make sure you’re keeping up with the latest news on the WIOA Advisory Council, sign up to the “Creating an Equitable, Resilient Workforce System” campaign newsletter. 

The post NSC Launches WIOA Advisory Council to Inform America’s Most Important Workforce Program appeared first on National Skills Coalition.

NSC’s new report Charting a Course to Quality guides states in developing robust data ecosystems for evaluating NDCs. The publication outlines key elements of a robust data ecosystem, actions policymakers can take, and real-world examples. State policymakers and advocates can use this publication to chart a course to a robust NDC data ecosystem – one that can measure and provide information on the quality of NDCs and whether they are leading to positive and equitable outcomes for people. 

States Have Further to Go and Opportunities to Learn from Each Other 

NSC’s engagement with state higher ed, workforce, data, and college leaders have revealed a set of common challenges tied to NDC data:  

• Many states do not collect comprehensive data on non-degree programs, especially noncredit ones offered by higher education institutions or providers like professional associations, licensing bodies, bootcamps, and corporate trainers. 

• Gaps in data infrastructure can make it hard for states to compile, analyze, and report comprehensively on NDC attainment and related outcomes. For example, not all states have data systems that can talk to one another, appropriate data sharing agreements, standardized data definitions, and data sharing across state lines.  

• Public reporting on NDC outcomes varies widely. States that invest in programs to give more people access to NDC training (such as financial aid programs) often have required annual reports on those investments — though this is not always the case. Some states use online dashboards for public information on training and education, though these often provide limited NDC data. 

State leaders also affirmed that as states increasingly invest in NDCs and pathways, it is essential to equip decision makers with comprehensive data to understand the impact of those credentials and the outcomes for students and workers who earn them.  

Examples of State Progress towards Quality Non-Degree Credentials  

Many states around the country are progressing towards expanding their investments in and capacity for data collection, analysis, and reporting related to NDC quality and learner outcomes. The main report and the appendix of state examples sample what twelve states are doing and are informed by NSC’s engagement with more than fifteen states. The examples don’t represent the full extent of the work states are doing to develop data ecosystems, they show how states are approaching this work, providing a model for others aiming for a more systematized and transparent NDC ecosystem. 

State Spotlight: Arkansas 

Starting in September 2024, the Arkansas Division of Higher Education (ADHE) will begin collecting more robust noncredit data from Arkansas colleges and universities. 

Making the Case for Investing in Quality Non-Degree Credentials and the Data Ecosystem 

Over the past two years, key stakeholders in Arkansas have been building a case for enhancing noncredit data collection by identifying data gaps which were hampering the state’s ability to understand its noncredit education and training system. These gaps made it difficult to understand which programs and students were eligible for a state grant program called the Arkansas Workforce Challenge (which provides up to $800 for students in eligible programs in health care, IT, and manufacturing). Efforts to increase the scholarship amount were stalled due to the inability to fully describe award recipients pursuing noncredit programs. To address this, ADHE, ARData, Arkansas Community Colleges, and institutional leaders are collaborating to improve noncredit data collection statewide. 

Developing a Strategic Vision and Plan for Expanding Non-Degree Credential Data Access and Use 

Additionally, Arkansas developed a data-driven strategic plan to inform workforce development and career education goals, which are outlined in Executive Order 23-16, signed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and coordinated by the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet and the chief workforce officer.  

The Chief Data Officer’s Office (ARData) is responsible for maintaining a longitudinal data system that helps state leaders and service providers develop an improved understanding of individual outcomes resulting from education-to-workforce pipelines, identify opportunities for improvement by using real-time information, and continuously align programs and resources to the evolving economy.  

The goal of improving the collection and management of noncredit student data is aligned with broader state goals to expand the State Longitudinal Data System to include noncredit and other nontraditional postsecondary education data, so that all postsecondary pathways are fully represented, and to enable greater research and consumer data access via publishing to a credential registry. It is also motivated by the desire for changes to the state community college funding formula, which currently does not account for noncredit education and training. 

Using Data to Inform Decision Making on Non-Degree Credential Programs and Pathways 

ARData also has responsibility for collecting and reporting on various types of non-degree and noncredit postsecondary education and training data, including through a public interactive reporting tool MyARDashboard. Most data can be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and gender, with ongoing efforts for further disaggregation.  ARData has responsibility under the Arkansas Workforce Strategy for the implementation and support of Learning and Employment Records (LERs). Since 2020, Arkansas has been establishing an ecosystem that will support the issuance of LERs, leveraging governance and interoperable data infrastructure foundation, which includes streamlined data-sharing agreements and a Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) credential registry. 

Waypoints for State Action: Policy and System Considerations 

 Governors, state agency cabinet officials, and legislators can take specific actions to develop each element of a robust state NDC data ecosystem. Depending on where they sit in state government, state policymakers can use legislation, executive orders, state budgets, and official agency policies or interagency memoranda of understanding to codify and direct resources toward the creation of a data ecosystem. Some important policy and system development steps include: 

• Adoption of criteria for quality NDCs. States need to set criteria for what makes a credential high quality and a framework for using those criteria to assess credentials. Seeking input from stakeholders who most want and need credential quality assurance is essential, including working people and students, education and training programs, local businesses, and state agencies.  

• Support for state agencies to improve and expand data collection, disaggregation, and analytical practices. States need the right data to measure the quality of NDCs and whether they advance equity. State policymakers can direct relevant state agencies to take steps to improve and expand data collection and analytical practices. 

• Investment in data infrastructure. States need data infrastructure to build, operate, and use credential data ecosystems to their fullest capacity. State policymakers with decision-making authority in the state budget process, should invest resources in the data tools and staffing necessary to build and sustain a robust credential data ecosystem. 

• Setting policies to govern the collection, use, and sharing of data. To have a robust credential data ecosystem, states must collect personally identifiable information about people pursuing credentials and ensure that people know what data is being collected about them and how it will be used. State policymakers must also adopt data governance policies that set out strong data ethics principles, data privacy protections, principles of use, and guidance for data sharing agreements between agencies. 

• Requiring and investing in public reporting of data that supports its use. States must provide public information on NDC quality and equity so stakeholders can make informed decisions. State policymakers should require and fund strategies to ensure that data are analyzed, and findings are reported in a responsible and transparent manner. 

 Building a robust credential data ecosystem is a journey, and each state will progress differently based on their policy landscape and data capacity and unique context. These policy development and ecosystem building actions are a good starting point for what policymakers, state agencies, and advocates should keep in mind. 

Charting a Course to Quality: A Navigator’s Handbook to a Robust Non-Degree Credential Data Ecosystem, is the third publication in a series that lays the groundwork for understanding and improving access to high-quality NDCs. Along with The Non-Degree Credential Quality Imperative and State Financial Aid for Non-degree Credentials: Models and Considerations for Policy and Program Design, this series offers a comprehensive plan for states committed to advancing educational opportunities for all. 

For more Making College Work updates and information on our Expanding College and Career Possibilities (ECCP) initiative and related efforts, follow our Making College Work Campaign to receive the newsletter and updates. For questions or to learn more, reach out to Lindsey Reichlin Cruse at lindseyrc@nationalskillscoalition.org. 

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