Governors & State Workforce Systems: Building More Inclusive and Prosperous Economies

The Project on Workforce is collaborating with the National Governors Association to gain insight into how states are advancing workforce program quality and accountability through new performance metrics, organizational structures, and state-level investments. The project will map the landscape of state policies across those domains and analyze the strategies states are deploying to improve workforce outcomes–especially those tied to WIOA Eligible Training Provider Lists. 

The project builds on prior research focused on the ways Governors exercise their authority over state workforce systems to meet regional talent needs and build stronger economies. Our recent report, Governors Reshaping Workforce Development: Turning WIOA Challenges into Workforce Solutions, highlights how Governors leverage WIOA and other policies to design, fund, and implement workforce development strategies in an evolving economic landscape. An earlier paper, Workforce Strategies for New Industrial Policies: Governors’ Emerging Solutions, reveals how Governors leverage industrial policy opportunities to strengthen workforce development and meet labor market needs. 

Stay tuned by following our newsletter and LinkedIn page as we share insights, promising practices, and policy recommendations over the next year. 

Project on Workforce Team

Joe Fuller

Kerry McKittrick

Ariel Higuchi

National Governors Association Team

Jack Porter 

Sophia Yager 

Malena Dailey

We thank Arnold Ventures for supporting this research. We are also grateful to Strada Education Foundation for supporting the research that led to the first two papers.