High Performance Partnerships: Winning Solutions for Employers and Workers

Traditional workforce development programs often prioritize eliminating first-level barriers to employment such as childcare, partner with employers that do not invest in employee training or lasting job creation, and fail to meet the demand for skilled labor in the broader economy. To overcome these barriers, workforce development programs should be organized to establish priorities and goals across entire sectors and regions. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's report on regional and sectorial workforce development partnerships is a touchstone resource for structuring these public-private collaborations, including step-by-step strategies and case studies. Once these partnerships are developed, they can be adapted to expand the human capital pipeline and make high-quality career opportunities more available to women and people of color.