Workforce Development & Economic Policy

Governors are working to expand economic opportunity and advance the nation’s global competitiveness by developing the skilled workforce and economic environment required for individuals, businesses and communities to thrive.

As the chief executive officers of their states, Governors set strategic priorities to align workforce and economic development activities to build a shared vision of societal and economic well-being. The NGA Workforce Development & Economic Policy program supports Governors and their appointees in developing and executing on these priorities.

NGA Workforce Development Technical Assistance Program

NGA provides advisors and other Governor-appointed state workforce system leaders with technical assistance on a broad range of workforce development policy issues through policy memoranda; in-state site visits and presentations, and facilitated connections with subject matter experts. The team also holds biannual convenings and monthly briefings and issues a weekly newsletter.

Workforce Strategic Planning Collaborative

The NGA Center’s joint project with the U.S. Department of Labor supports Governors and their advisors as they develop and implement their federally required four-year strategic plans for workforce development. Technical assistance offerings include an emphasis on implementation of federal investments that passed during the 117th Congress, namely the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act.

NGA Economic Policy Advisors and Economic Policy Technical Assistance

NGA provides Governor-appointed state economic development leaders and advisors with highly responsive and customized best practice research, strategic planning facilitation, timely information from federal partners and subject matter experts, and other support on a broad range of economic policy priorities. This includes an upcoming virtual event series as well as a bi-weekly newsletter.

Meet The Team

  • Jack Porter, Program Director
  • Sophia Yager, Senior Policy Analyst
  • Eric Aboodi, Policy Analyst
  • Malena Dailey, Policy Analyst

Focus Areas

  • Apprenticeship and youth apprenticeship
  • Sector-focused workforce and economic development strategies
  • Workforce development financing, governance, and innovation
  • Outdoor recreation & economic development  
  • Service-to-career pathways and public sector employment
  • IIJA, CHIPS and IRA implementation Future of work, digital transformation and digital skills
  • Disability inclusive workforce policy

Services Available

  • Strategic planning facilitation and best practice guidance on workforce and economic development topics or initiatives
  • Strategic guidance, feedback and meeting facilitation services for Governor-appointed state workforce development boards
  • Convenings for workforce and economic development advisors and state leaders on emerging issues
  • Regular newsletters for state workforce and economic development leaders
  • Customized research briefs and best practice presentations upon request

Workforce Development Library

Learning and Employment Records – States And The Infrastructure Of Opportunity

Learning and Employment Records – States And The Infrastructure Of Opportunity

Governors and other state leaders are concerned about the current labor shortage, occurring during a time when many skilled workers are underemployed or even unemployed. Skills-based approaches to hiring and ...
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Strategies to Address Engineering Workforce Challenges

Strategies to Address Engineering Workforce Challenges

Public and private sector practitioners highlight best practices to meet generational infrastructure moment. (Download) Passage of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in late 2021 was a ...
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Regional Workshops Explore Healthcare Workforce Solutions

Regional Workshops Explore Healthcare Workforce Solutions

During the past three months, NGA's Healthcare Delivery and Postsecondary Education teams convened teams from 20 states and territories in a series of regional workshops as part of the Next ...
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NGA Holds Summer Workforce Symposium in Fargo

NGA Holds Summer Workforce Symposium in Fargo

With Governors focused on aligning workforce and economic development activities across their states, NGA’s Summer Workforce Symposium brought together state leaders, including North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, to focus on ...
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NGA and US DOL Launch the Workforce Strategic Planning Collaborative

NGA and US DOL Launch the Workforce Strategic Planning Collaborative

Today, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) launched the Workforce Strategic Planning Collaborative. Through this joint effort, the NGA ...
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Workforce Strategic Planning Collaborative

Workforce Strategic Planning Collaborative

Today’s tight labor market, coupled with historic federal investments through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), make the 2024 Workforce ...
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Preparing the Next Generation of the Healthcare Workforce: State Strategies for Recruitment and Retention

Preparing the Next Generation of the Healthcare Workforce: State Strategies for Recruitment and Retention

Through their work together, states have learned ways to strengthen their healthcare career pathways, strategies to attract and retain workers, and methods to coordinate these efforts effectively. (Download) Governors have ...
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6 States Selected to Participate in NGA Youth Apprenticeship Policy Academy

6 States Selected to Participate in NGA Youth Apprenticeship Policy Academy

National Governors Association to Work with Alabama, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, and Utah to help them develop and implement policy agendas that advance high-quality youth apprenticeship opportunities. Additional states ...
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Expanding the Broadband Workforce: How Three States are Preparing for Equitable Broadband Deployment 

Expanding the Broadband Workforce: How Three States are Preparing for Equitable Broadband Deployment 

The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is providing states with unprecedented amounts of funding to deploy broadband infrastructure, improve affordability and ensure meaningful adoption in communities. Governors are ...
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Economic Policy Library

FAFSA Completion Action Lab

FAFSA Completion Action Lab

This Action Lab focuses on strategies for increasing completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to expand access to postsecondary education. It includes an overview of several ...
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Governors Start 2022 With A Focus On Electric And Alternative Fuel Vehicles And Networks

Governors Start 2022 With A Focus On Electric And Alternative Fuel Vehicles And Networks

In Governors’ 2022 State of the State addresses, a common theme has been the adoption and manufacture of electric and alternative fuel vehicles and fueling/charging infrastructure as a priority area ...
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Letter on the FY 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Package

Letter on the FY 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Package

RE: Support for Inclusion of the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act in the FY 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Package The Honorable Nancy PelosiSpeakerUnited ...
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NGA 2022 Winter Meeting

NGA 2022 Winter Meeting

The National Governors Association's 114th annual Winter Meeting was January 28-31, 2022 in Washington, D.C. Governors met to discuss best practices and bipartisan collaboration on leading policy issues including infrastructure, ...
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State of the States 2022

State of the States 2022

Governors of states, territories and commonwealths are outlining their priorities for 2022 in state of the state or commonwealth addresses, as well as inaugural addresses for new and re-elected Governors ...
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Entrepreneurship Initiatives For Recovery and Growth

Entrepreneurship Initiatives For Recovery and Growth

This webinar series highlights state initiatives that promote entrepreneurship as a strategy for expanding access to economic opportunity and supporting stronger economic recovery and growth. Specifically, this four-part series will ...
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Jobs and the Economy in the U.S. in the Wake of COVID-19: Key Issues Facing Governors

Jobs and the Economy in the U.S. in the Wake of COVID-19: Key Issues Facing Governors

COVID-19 will have long-tail effects that continue to change the U.S. economy and present challenges to states. Governors are learning and working together to address these issues, as well as ...
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National Governors Association Announces Second Phase of Workforce Innovation Network

National Governors Association Announces Second Phase of Workforce Innovation Network

New Grant Funding Available to Help States Advance Digital Skill Development The National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices announced today the second phase of grant funding and technical ...
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Briefing on American Rescue Act funds for Travel, Tourism and Recreation

Briefing on American Rescue Act funds for Travel, Tourism and Recreation

The National Governors Associations’ Outdoor Recreation Learning Network hosted a briefing for its members on the American Rescue Act funds for Travel, Tourism and Recreation. The briefing featured speakers from ...
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