A Note to Nawb Members and Partners: Stability Matters for the Workforce System

Posted on by Grace Moster

Yesterday, congressional leaders announced a bipartisan agreement on the FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill. For the public workforce system, the most important takeaway is a welcome one: WIOA Title I funding will remain very close to FY 2025 levels.
After a year marked by uncertainty, that stability matters.

Over the past several months, workforce boards across the country have been doing their level best to plan against the backdrop of an unusually volatile environment. We have navigated a President’s budget that proposed deep reductions to workforce investments, alongside House proposals that raised serious concerns about the future of core formula programs. Our system was not waiting to react to the potential for funding cuts as we noted in our November 2025 report A System Under Strain: New Survey Reveals the Impact of Funding Uncertainty on Workforce Boards, indeed boards were making sometimes difficult cuts proactively and finding efficiencies wherever possible. Against that backdrop, the decision to adopt the Senate’s funding levels provides much-needed certainty and preserves the foundation of the public workforce system.

At the national level, WIOA formula funding will be approximately $10 million lower than FY 2025. That modest reduction is limited to the Adult program, while Youth and Dislocated Worker funding remain level. While no reduction is ideal, particularly at a time when local systems are facing rising costs and growing demand, this outcome avoids far more disruptive cuts and maintains the core structure that our communities rely on.

In practical terms:
-Adult Activities will see a small decrease
-Youth Activities will remain flat-funded
-Dislocated Worker programs will remain flat-funded

This level of stability allows workforce boards to continue serving employers, supporting jobseekers, responding to rapidly changing labor market conditions and adapting to a technological environment that changes by the day. It preserves capacity at a moment when flexibility and responsiveness are essential.

It is also important to remember that national funding levels do not automatically translate into local allocations. Once the bill is enacted, the Department of Labor will apply statutory formulas using updated economic data to determine state allotments, followed by local allocations within each state. Because those formulas are driven by relative unemployment and disadvantaged population data, local impacts will vary.

That reality underscores why NAWB continues to emphasize two core principles: flexibility and local control.

Workforce boards operate closest to their communities. They understand local labor markets, regional employers, and the unique barriers facing jobseekers in their areas. Preserving flexibility in how funds are used, and ensuring decisions remain locally driven, is what allows the workforce system to deliver the most meaningful results.

We are grateful for the bipartisan agreement that provides stability after a challenging year, and we view this outcome as a solid foundation as conversations continue around FY 2027 funding and broader workforce policy. At the same time, NAWB will continue to advocate on behalf of our members for policies that strengthen, rather than constrain, the public workforce system.

Stability is not the finish line… but it is a necessary starting point.

As the bill continues to progress through the final steps of enactment, we will continue to monitor and keep you informed.

A Note to NAWB Members and Partners: Leading Together Into The Future of Workforce

Posted on by Grace Moster

I’m honored to step into the role of CEO of the National Association of Workforce Boards, and I want to start by saying thank you.

Thank you to the NAWB Board of Directors for the trust they’ve placed in me, and to our members and partners across the country for the work you do every day. Workforce boards are doing some of the most important work in our economy and our communities, and I don’t take lightly the responsibility of serving this network.

Many of you know me already. I’ve had the privilege of serving on the NAWB Board for more than a decade, including as Chair. I’ve also served on local workforce boards and on the Colorado Workforce Development Council, and I’ve spent time in the system as a consultant and one-stop operator.

For most of my career, I’ve also worked in the private sector leading corporate talent organizations with as many as 350 Recruiters, along the way partnering with dozens of workforce boards and local areas across the country to meet hiring needs in diverse fields from advanced manufacturing to healthcare and most recently in the Generative AI space. But I was lucky, after spending most of my career on the demand side of workforce, I was able to pivot and follow my passion for workforce, becoming a consultant to boards and ecosystem partners, helping design and execute strategies, study the culture of high-performing regions and become more involved in day-to-day operations of our AJCs. I’ve seen this system from a myriad of different angles—employer, board member, one-stop operator, strategy consultant—and that range of perspective shapes how I think about NAWB’s role and our opportunity.

When we are at our best, the workforce system is proactive and deeply connective. We bring employers, educators, community organizations, and workers together to solve real problems and create real opportunities. Workforce boards are uniquely positioned to do that work, not on the sidelines of economic and technological change, but right at the center of it.

We’re living through a period of real change. Technology, demographics, geopolitics, and shifting expectations about work are all reshaping how jobs are created, how skills are valued, and how people move through careers. These changes aren’t abstract — they’re already showing up in your communities and in conversations you’re having every day.

NAWB’s role at this moment is clear: to help ensure workforce boards aren’t just navigating change but helping shape what comes next.

That means continuing to elevate the voice and value of workforce boards nationally. It means strengthening NAWB as a place for shared learning, influence, and innovation. And it means making sure policy, practice, and investment decisions reflect what actually works on the ground.

In the near term, my focus is on listening and learning and turning that into action. I want to hear from members about what’s working well, where things feel hard, and where NAWB can be more helpful. I want to deepen relationships with our partners across government, industry, education, and philanthropy. And I want NAWB to continue showing up as a trusted, practical, and forward-looking leader in the workforce ecosystem.

A big part of that is our annual Forum. It’s our flagship convening and one of the places where the NAWB community really comes together. I want it to continue to be a space where people connect, learn from one another, and help set direction for where the system is headed.

Looking a bit further ahead, I’ll work closely with our Board to take what we’re hearing from members, partners, funders, policymakers, and employers and turn it into a clearer, longer-term strategy for NAWB, especially as we head toward our 50th anniversary in 2029.

As always, the strength of NAWB comes from its members. My commitment is to lead in partnership with you, to be honest about the challenges ahead, ambitious about what’s possible, and grounded in what it takes to make things work. A core part of that commitment is being a strong, consistent voice for workforce boards in Washington and beyond.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve, and I’m energized by the work ahead. I’m looking forward to building the next chapter of NAWB — and the future of our workforce system — together. And I look forward to meeting you at the Forum in Las Vegas this March.

Andrew Bercich
Chief Executive Officer
National Association of Workforce Boards

LERs Gain Bipartisan Traction in Congress: Key Takeaways from the Talent Marketplace Hearing

Posted on by Grace Moster

Learning & Employment Records (LERs) arrived this week at the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development for a formal hearing entitled Building a Talent Marketplace: How LERs Empower Workers and Expand Opportunity. The hearing demonstrated significant bipartisan interest and potential support for LER adoption.

A distinguished panel addressed the committee emphasizing the importance of skills data measurement and collection. Alex Kaplan, American Association of College Registrars and Admission Officers, concisely stated the current situation, “I can’t overemphasize the importance of arriving at a set of standards and protocols that allow for the interoperability to occur—this will reduce the cost for everybody, and it will accelerate the adoption of them [LERs].” Providing a specific example, Scott Pulsipher, President, Western Governors University, spoke of WGU’s prototype that evolved into the Indiana Achievement Wallet, “Now available to nearly 2.5 million students, alumni, and employees, our LER platform is designed to be student-centric, skills-rich, and provide pathfinding and career exploration from day one!”

For 43 million Americans with some college, Greg DiDonato, EBSCO Information Services, shared the potential impact “…with effective LERs, these individuals can demonstrate the skills they already have, even without completing a degree. Workers in declining industries can identify transferable skills that may allow them to enter a growing sector.”

Scott Cheney, Credential Engine, summed up his view on LinkedIn following the hearing, “This is a very bi-partisan issue, and I’m excited to see whatever legislation will be introduced as a result.” Scott thanked Chairman Owens for holding the hearing and being a visionary champion on this issue. He specifically acknowledged Chairman Owens for championing the issue, as well as the participation of full committee Chairman Walberg and Ranking Member Scott.

Where are Workforce Boards in this conversation? NAWB has been on this journey for several years, sharing resources with our members. We appreciate the contributions of our funder, community of practice, skills advisory group, and contractors. We hope this momentum will enhance coordination and progress. Most importantly, we urge workforce boards to embrace LERs and actively join this critical national dialogue!

Full written testimonies can be found on the committee website.  https://edworkforce.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=412861

Building Capacity, Expanding Opportunity: The Workforce System’s Next Step in the Age of AI 

Posted on by Grace Moster

by Andrew Bercich, SummitWorX Solutions and Erica Greeley, National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) 

A Moment of Transformation 

The pace of technological change has never been faster, and few innovations have reshaped our world as quickly as generative artificial intelligence (AI). From automating complex data analysis to producing text, images, and code, generative AI is transforming how people learn, communicate, and create. 

For the workforce development system, this transformation presents both profound challenges and once-in-a-generation opportunities. As a system, we look to balance concerns about labor arbitrage and privacy, with the advantages of having the knowledge of the best professionals in every field at our fingertips.  

As workforce boards navigate declining funding, increasing demand for services, greater policy uncertainty and a labor market undergoing structural change, generative AI offers not just new tools but a new way of thinking about how we serve communities, employers, and jobseekers. 

Disruption and the Entry Level Challenge 

The impacts of AI are already being felt across the labor market, particularly in entry-level and routine roles that once served as critical gateways for young workers. 

A 2025 study from the Brookings Institution found that 85% of the U.S. workforce could see at least 10% of their tasks affected by generative AI, and 30% of workers could have 50% or more of their tasks affected.  

While these shifts raise understandable concern about job loss, they also point to a larger evolution in how work is done. The U.S. Census Bureau’s Business Trends and Outlooks Survey (BTOS) shows that 12% of businesses expect that generative AI will impact employment numbers, but interestingly, slightly more of those businesses expect employment to increase more than decrease. New opportunities are emerging in AI quality assurance, data annotation, prompt design, model training, and digital content management all of which depend on human judgment and creativity. But any change in employment, either increased reductions in staff or changing skills requirements, puts additional pressure on our system. 

Entry-level work has long been the foundation for skill development, social capital, and career mobility. A recent study by Stanford University found that employment declined ~13% for workers aged 22 – 25 in “AI-exposed” occupations. If those entry points decrease and training providers must find new ways to prepare individuals for the roles that AI will augment, not replace.  Boards will need to find new ways of engaging with these less experienced workers that need early-career opportunities to develop not just technical skills, but the core employability skills needed to be an effective worker in any organization or environment. 

The challenge—and opportunity—is to ensure that equitable access, inclusion, and skill relevance remain at the center of this change. 

For workforce boards themselves, generative AI offers an unexpected silver lining, a lifeline amid tightening budgets, growing demand for services, and an evolving labor market that increasingly values skills-based hiring. The productivity impact is measurable. PwC’s 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer found that industries most exposed to AI experienced a fourfold increase in productivity growth, jumping from roughly 7% to 27% as adoption accelerated. Likewise, Goldman Sachs estimates that AI could increase global GDP by 7% while transforming or augmenting about 300 million jobs worldwide. 

Generative AI As a Strategic Lifeline 

AI tools can streamline administrative work by speeding up reporting and documentation. They can support data-driven decision-making by modeling the impact of a proposed board policy change, and they can enhance communication with both employers and job seekers by allowing more personalization and contextualization in messaging.  

Boards that are further on their AI journey are using it to assist with program design, grant writing and supporting One-Stop compliance and monitoring. Generative AI can draft outreach materials, summarize case notes, aid in interview preparation, and even help tailor resumes or job recommendations for participants. Nearly every aspect of a workforce operation has the capability to receive a productivity boost from AI if we have the right mindset to adopt and implement the technology in the right way. 

“AI is not a tool, but a whole new way of working. It’s one of the most important things that leaders need to think about in this AI transformation… a mind shift.” – Matthew Duncan, Head of Thought Leadership on the Future of Work,  Microsoft 

For boards facing tough tradeoffs, generative AI represents a way to do more with less, without compromising mission or impact and potentially delivering deeper impact when used effectively and responsibly. By leveraging AI strategically and ethically, workforce boards can shift capacity from routine tasks to higher-value human services: coaching, relationship-building, and program innovation. 

Building Capacity: A New Commitment from NAWB 

Recognizing this critical juncture, NAWB is taking bold steps to help the system not just adapt to AI but lead in its responsible use. 

In the coming months, NAWB will launch a suite of initiatives designed to build AI capacity across the national workforce system, including: 

  • AI-focused programming at The Forum, NAWB’s annual gathering of workforce professionals, featuring case studies, demonstrations, and conversations on the future of technology-enabled workforce delivery. 
  • Hands-on learning and technical assistance opportunities throughout 2026, including virtual events, regional workshops, and peer learning networks focused on real-world applications of AI in workforce operations. 
  • Advocating for policy that keeps workers, businesses, and funding at the forefront of lawmakers’ minds. As policies impact the direction of the labor market, NAWB will continue to sound the call that our communities and labor markets need funding to adapt to changing conditions. 

These initiatives will help workforce leaders understand what AI can do and how to do it right. Together with SummitWorX Solutions, NAWB is committed to ensuring that this evolution strengthens local boards’ capacity, rather than widening existing resource divides. 

A Call to Action for Workforce Leaders 

This is a defining moment for the public workforce system. Generative AI will not wait for us to catch up, and the cost of inaction is high. 

Workforce boards are uniquely positioned to translate innovation into inclusion. By combining their deep community connections with the transformative potential of generative AI, they can redesign service delivery, improve equity, and equip America’s workers for an economy where human and digital collaboration define success. 

As we began this post, the pace of change has never been faster, and the truth is, it will never be this slow again. By embracing this moment with purpose, strategy, and ethical commitment, workforce boards can ensure that AI becomes not a threat, but a tool for renewal, resilience, growth, and expanded opportunity. 

About the Authors 

SummitWorX Solutions partners with workforce boards, educational institutions, and public agencies to design forward-looking strategies for talent, technology, and community impact. SummitWorX Solutions’ Founder and CEO, Andrew Bercich, is the former Head of Talent Acquisition for Amazon’s Alexa and Artificial General Intelligence (Gen AI) organizations and is Past–Chair of NAWB. 

The National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) represents and advocates for more than 550 workforce development boards nationwide.  Under the leadership of Acting CEO, Erica Greeley, who previously served as Vice President of Economic Mobility at Feeding America, and earlier held nonprofit leadership roles supporting networks, systems-change and economic opportunity, NAWB is deepening its focus on innovation, collaboration, and the responsible use of technology to strengthen the nation’s workforce ecosystem. 

Advancing Economic Mobility: How Workforce Boards Are Using Data to Better Support Parents

Posted on by Grace Moster

Since 2016, The National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) and Innovate+Educate have partnered on the Family Centered Employment (FCE) initiative, recognizing that supporting parents is a powerful lever for community economic growth. This strategic partnership has revealed that when workforce systems identify and address parents’ unique needs—particularly through childcare access and coordinated support services—they have the potential to unlock greater workforce participation and career advancement opportunities that benefit entire families.  

In the fall of 2024, thanks to support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, NAWB collaborated with Social Policy Research Associates (SPR) to explore how workforce boards collect and use parent data in practice. Our national survey brought to light a critical insight: while many workforce boards recognize the importance of parent-centered approaches, gaps remain between intention and implementation. These findings not only highlight current challenges but also present compelling opportunities to transform how the workforce system serves parents—potentially impacting thousands of families nationwide. 

Key Findings 

  • 86% of survey respondents collect data on parental status, mostly for WIOA eligibility, yet 60% don’t clearly define “parent.” 
  • Over 70% use parental data to inform or update local WIOA plans. 
  • 88% partner with parent-serving organizations, but only 59% formally reflect those partnerships in their plans. 
  • Most WDBs want to collect more data, especially around childcare needs and benefit eligibility, to improve services. 

Why It Matters

Knowing that a jobseeker is a parent helps WDBs tailor services—from scheduling to supportive programs. But without consistent definitions, better data systems, and formal sharing agreements, WDBs face barriers to fully leverage this information. 

Looking Ahead 

While the survey provides a foundation for understanding the current parental data collected in the workforce system, it only scratches the surface. Further exploration with a diverse sample of WDB respondents from varying geographic locations, size, and staff roles could inform program design and systemic solutions. Topics may include:  

  • How WDBs define “parent” and collect related data 
  • Challenges and solutions in data collection 
  • Opportunities to streamline efforts through partnerships and shared tools 
  • Identifying promising practices to focus on for future data collection 

By improving how parental data is collected and used, WDBs can strengthen pathways to economic mobility—not just for individuals, but for entire families. NAWB will continue to share data and best practices to support family-centered employment strategies as the field evolves.  

Learn more about the survey and read the full report.