State-led workforce investments are emerging as flexible and consequential policy levers during a time of economic change. Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), governors wield significant authority over federal workforce dollars, but that authority operates within a defined structure that may limit the way they can use these funds to address the challenges they face.
This report from the National Governors’ Association examines governors’ “signature workforce investments” in five states: North Dakota, Minnesota, Idaho, Massachusetts, and Wyoming. Drawing on interviews with over 40 stakeholders across government, higher education, workforce training, and industry, the study examines how each program is designed, funded, and implemented. Such efforts demonstrate what becomes possible when states put significant funds behind new programs, while also surfacing persistent challenges related to data, implementation capacity, and long-term sustainability.