Every year, Midwest Urban Strategies convenes some of the brightest minds in workforce development. Workforce leaders gather to exchange ideas, share promising practices, discuss policy challenges, and celebrate innovation across our communities.
Last week's convening in Northwest Indiana was no exception.
As I listened to conversations about talent pipelines, economic mobility, employer engagement, technology, and regional collaboration, I found myself reflecting on a simple question:
“What if every attendee left with one commitment instead of one takeaway?”
Takeaways are easy. Commitments require action.
The workforce challenges facing our communities demand more than inspiration. They require leadership. They require urgency. They require action. They require us to hold ourselves accountable for the promises we make to the people we serve.
Before gathering again next year, I believe workforce leaders should commit to the following ten actions.
1. Commit to Seeing Adult Education as Workforce Development (This one is personal.)
Too often, adult education is treated as a separate system rather than a workforce strategy.
The reality is simple: individuals who lack foundational literacy skills, a high school credential, English language proficiency, or digital skills cannot fully participate in today's labor market.
If workforce development is about preparing people for employment and advancement, adult education is where that preparation begins.
We cannot solve workforce shortages while overlooking the very systems that help adults become workforce-ready.
2. Commit to Designing Systems Around People, Not Programs
Participants should not need a flowchart to navigate our services.
Yet many individuals are still required to move between multiple agencies, complete duplicate paperwork, tell their story repeatedly, and navigate fragmented systems.
Our success should not be measured by how many programs we operate. It should be measured by how easy it is for people to achieve their goals. The customer experience matters.
3. Commit to Measuring Economic Mobility, Not Just Participation
Enrollment numbers matter.
Completion rates matter.
Placements matter.
But if we are serious about transforming lives, we must also ask:
Did participants increase their earnings? Did they advance in their careers? Did they achieve greater economic stability?
Our metrics should reflect the outcomes that matter most to families and communities.
4. Commit to Making Digital Literacy a Basic Workforce Skill
In today's economy, digital literacy is no longer optional.
Job applications, online learning, workforce training, credential attainment, remote work, healthcare access, and financial services increasingly require digital competence.
Digital literacy should be embedded across workforce programs, not treated as an add-on service. The digital divide is now an economic divide.
5. Commit to Including the Voices of Participants
Workforce professionals spend significant time discussing participants.
We should spend more time listening to them.
The people closest to workforce challenges often have the clearest understanding of what barriers exist and what solutions are needed.
If participants are not helping shape our systems, we are missing valuable expertise.
6. Commit to Building Stronger Employer Relationships
Employers are not simply customers of the workforce system. They are partners in creating opportunity.
That means moving beyond transactional relationships focused solely on hiring.
The strongest partnerships involve ongoing conversations about retention, advancement, workplace culture, skills development, and career pathways.
Workforce systems and employers succeed when workers succeed.
7. Commit to Investing in Frontline Staff
Case managers.
Career coaches.
Adult educators.
Navigators.
Employment specialists.
These professionals are often the face of our workforce systems. They build trust, solve problems, and help participants overcome obstacles every day.
Yet they are frequently under-resourced, overextended, and overlooked.
If we want stronger outcomes, we must invest in the people doing the work.
8. Commit to Breaking Down Silos
Workforce development does not exist in isolation.
Education, transportation, housing, childcare, healthcare, reentry services, and economic development all influence workforce outcomes.
No single organization can solve these challenges alone.
The future belongs to communities that collaborate across systems rather than compete within them.
9. Commit to Leading with Equity
Equity is not a special initiative.
It is a leadership responsibility.
As workforce leaders, we must continuously examine who is being served, who is being left behind, and what barriers continue to limit access to opportunity.
Closing opportunity gaps requires intentional action, not simply good intentions.
The communities we serve deserve nothing less.
10. Commit to One Bold Change Before We Meet Again
Of all the commitments on this list, this may be the most important.
Before the next MUS Convening, identify one bold action your organization will take.
Not a discussion.
Not a committee.
Not a planning process.
A change.
Launch a new partnership.
Redesign a participant experience.
Expand access to adult education.
Create a new career pathway.
Strengthen employer engagement.
Implement a policy reform.
Whatever it is, make it measurable.
The true value of a convening is not what happens during the event. It is what happens because of the event.
The Challenge Before Us
The challenges before us are significant, but so is our collective capacity to address them. The question is not whether we have enough ideas. The question is whether we have the courage to act on them. Let's do more than share what we learned. Let's commit to share what we changed. Because the people we serve need results.
