Workforce may not always be the headline, but it is the throughline. It surfaces in conversations about the cost of living and global competitiveness, education and immigration, and the impact of technological change and climate adaptation. Democrats and Republicans discuss it in Washington, D.C., state capitals, and city halls; it’s the subject in corporate boardrooms and union meetings; on community college campuses, on factory floors, farms, and at kitchen tables.
That’s not a coincidence. There’s simply no way to meet our nation’s biggest challenges — keeping pace with technology, rebuilding infrastructure, caring for older and younger generations, and strengthening national security — without the skills and contributions of working people.
Workforce development isn’t a niche policy area. It’s truly the throughline of our economy — and increasingly, the place where so many of our biggest challenges and choices converge. It helps determine whether economic growth translates into shared prosperity or leaves people behind. Workforce policy sits at the very center of our economic strength and long-term competitiveness. And yet, our public investments don’t reflect that reality.
The U.S. spends significantly less on workforce programs than almost every other OECD nation. Paltry funding leads to modest results, which, in turn, discourages higher investment levels. As a result, workers, local businesses, and frontline practitioners are left without the support they need to thrive in a rapidly changing economy and tackle the nation’s toughest challenges.
This underinvestment is a deliberate policy choice, not an economic inevitability — one made by policymakers who have framed workforce development as a “second chance” system for people they think have “fallen short” in school or work. It sends a quiet message that workforce investments are optional, rather than foundational. And there are real consequences to that thinking: we diminish working class careers, overlook talent, ignore structural barriers that limit people’s opportunities, and ultimately constrain the innovation, investment, and scale our economy needs.
We can’t afford to let this narrative shape our policy investments. It’s time to flip the script -that means treating workforce policy as a first-choice investment that unlocks potential, centers equity, and equips workers and local businesses with the skills they need to thrive in a rapidly changing economy.
That’s why National Skills Coalition is launching A New Promise of Work — an effort to unite workers, students, businesses, and practitioners in building a workforce vision where everyone has a fair shot at real opportunity.
At a time when many feel the old promises of work — stability, mobility, a fair shot at economic success— have gone unmet, we need to define and deliver on a new one. AI is reshaping the labor market in real time while families and small businesses are squeezed by affordability pressures. Our workforce is more diverse than ever, yet the systems meant to support it still too often overlook the strengths and needs of workers of color, women, and young people. And across the country, workers, learners, and small business owners are questioning what the economic future will hold for them.
That anxiety is turning into demand. Across party lines, voters are pressing elected officials to do more than just talk about the economy. They want leaders to deliver tangible progress — valuable skills, good jobs, and shared prosperity that people can see and feel in their communities. Public investments in skills training is a priority for voters across party lines, race and ethnicity, education level and economic status, and geographic region. A notable 82% of voters support increasing government funding for skills training in America while 69% are more likely to support a candidate for office who champions increased government funding for skills training in America.
This moment creates an opening to reimagine how we build a strong, resilient, and equitable workforce, but only if we’re bold enough to step into it. We need a New Promise of Work that honors the diversity, dignity, and dreams of today’s workers, is rooted in fairness and opportunity, and invests in our workforce as a core economic strategy that keeps the U.S. competitive on the global stage.
That future won’t be built by policymakers alone. It will be built by people — the voices, experience, and leadership of workers, students, local business leaders, and practitioners in communities across the country.
Through A New Promise of Work, National Skills Coalition will engage leaders across the country and in Washington, D.C., to develop and advance a bold workforce policy agenda—one that reshapes how our nation invests in inclusive pathways to valuable skills, good jobs, and shared prosperity. It will be guided by five principles — affordability, equity, connection, job quality, and adaptability. These principles reflect what workers, students, and local businesses need in today’s rapidly changing economy and how workforce policy must evolve to meet this moment.
To help guide the initiative’s strategic direction, National Skills Coalition has convened an Advisory Council of 34 influential leaders on skills training, jobs, and the economy. While these leaders have different backgrounds and perspectives, they are grounded in a common understanding that workforce policy is central to addressing our nation’s largest challenges and our shared economic future.
While we seek guidance from the Advisory Council, we will also draw on the expertise of our coalition network of workers, students, local businesses, and practitioners — people who live the challenges of our economy and systems every day, and know best what it will take to solve them. This work started at our 2026 Skills Summit in February and will continue throughout the year. Through listening sessions, interviews, and other sustained engagements, we will surface what’s happening on the ground and pinpoint where workforce policy can unlock real change. We’ll also work with other national workforce organizations to align our efforts because as we build a New Promise of Work, we can’t afford to leave collaboration on the table. By 2027, we will have a bold workforce policy agenda that we all own together.
In 2027, when a new Congress takes office and governors across the country set their economic priorities, we’ll be ready — with a clear and bold policy agenda, a strong coalition that stands behind it, and a shared vision for what workforce policy can achieve when it’s treated as a first-choice investment. Because flipping the script is only the first step. Delivering on A New Promise of Work, and turning that vision into real opportunity for working people, local businesses, and communities will take all of us.
We hope you join us in this initiative. Sign up for our alerts, stay engaged, and help us build A New Promise of Work.
