The 2026 NASWA SUMMIT in Milwaukee brought together leaders from state workforce agencies, unemployment insurance programs, labor market information offices, and workforce technology teams to compare notes on the work ahead. Focus areas spanned WIOA employment services, unemployment insurance, labor market information, information technology, communications, and legal issues, but a single thread ran through nearly every conversation on the floor. State workforce agencies are moving past activity counts and starting to define success by outcomes: employment placement, wage growth, career advancement, employer success, and measurable return on public investment.
For those of us who work alongside state agencies on case management, funding administration, and reporting, this shift was the most important signal to take home. Below are the themes that stood out, along with what they suggest for the next phase of workforce modernization.
Two of the most attended data sessions made clear that traditional quarterly wage data no longer answers the questions leaders are being asked. States are investing in enhanced wage records that capture hourly wages, hours worked, work location, and standardized occupational codes, giving agencies a much richer picture of workers, jobs, and labor markets than the wage information available through the Bureau of Labor Statistics Wage Records Program alone.
The importance of this shift is practical. With enhanced wage records, agencies can begin to answer whether training programs lead to jobs, whether participants earn family-supporting wages, whether workers advance over time, and which investments produce the strongest employment results. Speakers described early efforts to translate employer job titles into standardized occupational codes through partnerships and data standardization, which will make the resulting labor market picture much more complete and comparable across programs.
Longer-term, this direction connects naturally to statewide longitudinal data systems that link postsecondary and workforce records, so that education, training, and employment outcomes can be evaluated together rather than in isolation. The takeaway for the field is straightforward. The future of workforce accountability is not participation counts. It is a clear line of sight from a training investment to a quality job, a rising wage, and a career that keeps advancing.
Employer engagement was the second dominant theme, framed less as outreach and more as a measurement discipline. Sessions explored coordinated employer communications across workforce, unemployment insurance, and paid family and medical leave programs, and practical approaches for turning awareness into action. The evidence base on what makes employer engagement strategies effective is finally being reflected in how states plan, staff, and measure this work.
The apprenticeship conversation pushed the same idea into program design. With a national goal of one million active registered apprentices, speakers discussed intermediary supports, pay-for-performance models, and tax incentives that make employer participation easier to sustain. A parallel discussion on skills-based hiring in the public sector showed how the same thinking is reshaping hiring, career navigation, and job matching across state agencies and their employer partners.
A recurring challenge surfaced in the hallways. Many organizations still manage employer engagement through spreadsheets, shared drives, and word processing documents, which creates silos and limits visibility into outcomes. The direction of travel is clear. States increasingly treat employers as customers, and the next phase of modernization is not only serving those customers well but also measuring the impact of every engagement.
Interoperability sessions made a compelling case that expanded eligibility under Workforce Pell for short-term, workforce-aligned programs raises the bar for data exchange. Eligible Training Provider Lists, workforce case management systems, education data systems, and performance reporting infrastructure now need to share timely, trusted data without adding system complexity or vendor lock-in. Speakers pointed to ongoing efforts to modernize the ETPL itself as the connective tissue that makes this possible.
Several conversations connected that infrastructure story to the participant experience. When workforce and higher education systems share data foundations, agencies can stand up new programs faster, layer in AI-supported navigation, and give job seekers a more unified path from a training decision to an application, an enrollment, a job, and a career step beyond. The outcome focus is what makes the interoperability work worthwhile. Reduced friction for participants is only valuable if it improves the quality of the jobs they secure.
One of the most practical discussions centered on flexible state funding paired with rigorous outcome measurement. Investment areas included intake and eligibility, referral networks, braided funding management, fiscal tracking, outcomes tracking, business services, and wraparound support programs.
The wraparound piece deserves emphasis. Leaders returned again and again to the reality that employment outcomes depend on more than training. Childcare, housing, and transportation continue to determine whether a participant can start a job, stay in a job, and advance from that job, and there is growing evidence that holistic wraparound services improve employment outcomes. Measuring wages a year after employment, rather than only at exit, was described as the honest way to demonstrate the return on those investments and the tax revenue they generate as earnings rise.
For the field, this reinforces a message that has been building for years. The most effective workforce investments often address barriers outside the workplace, and long-term wage measurement is the way to make that case in fiscal terms.
Technology sessions framed modernization as organizational transformation rather than a software refresh. Leaders spoke about security and compliance, better experiences for job seekers and employers, financial and technology sustainability, connected systems, and cross-functional collaboration across service delivery, program operations, fiscal and grants management, policy and data teams, business services, and federal reporting. The rise of AI in state and local workforce agencies was a recurring subplot, with a clear message that pilots only matter when they graduate to production and produce measurable value.
The message about vendor relationships was equally consistent. Agencies want partners who share accountability for outcomes, support change management, and stay engaged after the go-live. Legacy replacement alone is not the goal. The goal is to transform service delivery and the outcomes it produces, and modernization plans that don't describe how those outcomes will improve are incomplete.
The strongest signal from the NASWA conference was the industry’s shift from tracking programs and transactions to measuring outcomes. Enhanced wage records give agencies a richer picture of employment quality. Employer engagement is becoming a data strategy that ties outreach to impact. Workforce Pell and integrated systems point toward unified experiences for job seekers. Flexible funding, paired with rigorous ROI measurement, is showing how wraparound investments pay for themselves over time. Modernization is being redefined as sustainable, connected, outcome-driven transformation, not periodic software replacement.
Agencies are no longer asking whether services were delivered. They are asking whether those services led to better jobs, higher wages, stronger employers, and measurable economic growth. The organizations that can connect data, systems, and stakeholders around those outcomes will shape the next chapter of workforce development, and the vendors who can move with them will be the ones invited to help build it. myOneFlow helps workforce teams measure, track, and show their program outcomes. Compare our package offerings and schedule a call to tell us about your program and see how we can support.
What was the main theme of the NASWA Conference this year?
The strongest thread across the NASWA Conference was the shift from tracking activity to measuring outcomes. State workforce agencies are increasingly focused on employment placement, wage growth, career advancement, employer success, and the return on public investment, rather than counting participants and services delivered.
What are enhanced wage records, and why did they come up so often at the NASWA Conference?
Enhanced wage records are wage records that go beyond the fields required for unemployment insurance administration to include elements like hourly wages, hours worked, work location, and standardized occupational codes. At the NASWA Conference, leaders emphasized that these richer records let states move from knowing whether someone worked to understanding job quality, career pathways, and long-term wage progression.
How is employer engagement changing based on NASWA Conference discussions?
Employer engagement is becoming a data strategy, not just an outreach function. NASWA Conference sessions covered coordinated communications across workforce, unemployment insurance, and paid leave programs, along with measurement of outreach effectiveness, employer personas, and business partnership outcomes. A recurring challenge was that many agencies still run this work through spreadsheets and shared drives, which limits visibility into impact.
What does Workforce Pell mean for state workforce technology?
Expanded Pell eligibility for short-term, workforce-aligned programs raises the bar for data exchange between eligible training provider lists, workforce case management systems, education data systems, and performance reporting infrastructure. NASWA Conference conversations framed interoperability and standards as strategic infrastructure that supports eligibility, accountability, and cross-agency collaboration without adding complexity.
How is workforce technology modernization being redefined?
Modernization was discussed at the NASWA Conference as organizational transformation rather than a software refresh. Leaders emphasized security and compliance, better experiences for job seekers and employers, financial and technology sustainability, connected systems, and cross-functional collaboration. The consistent message on vendors was that agencies want strategic partners who share accountability for outcomes, not just technology providers.
Related Resources
WIOA performance reporting and PIRL data strategies
Preparing for Workforce Pell implementation
Building resilient apprenticeship networks
Simplifying IEP management and accountability
Pay-for-performance apprenticeship models
Why Workforce Programs Need Better Outcome Tracking