Workforce Leadership Academies

Spiral with eight arms representing eight themes (Organizational capacity; Collaborating with others; Systems thinking; Research and practice; Race, equity, and employment; Metrics and meaning; Working with employers; Policy and funding) converging toward a center representing Personal & systems leadership. Title: "Workforce Leadership Academy"

A high-capacity, responsive, and agile local workforce ecosystem is critical to a sustainable and equitable economic recovery. Building nimble collaboration through more stable and consistent investments in leaders’ knowledge, skills, and relationships at the local level can foster a more clearly aligned local workforce ecosystem that delivers integrated services to businesses and workers. Workforce Leadership Academies (WLA) bring together leaders across the many siloed fields of practice, organization types, and government policies that make up the field.

WLAs strengthen Fellows’ capacity to develop and sustain effective workforce strategies, collaborate more deeply with employers, and expand the number and quality of leaders who advance opportunities for low-wage workers and job seekers as they meet employers’ talent development needs. Fellows work with leading practitioners, apply practical planning tools, strategize about applying effective strategies, and engage in leadership development. Through a Collaborative Learning Lab, academies provide a forum for local leaders to identify local and regional systems-based challenges and create shared solutions.

The Workforce Leadership Academies are part of the Economic Opportunity Fellows Network, a network of leadership and fellowship programs run by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program. Within this Network, EOP connects national and local leaders from across sectors — nonprofit, government, business, philanthropy, academia, and more — to advance policies and practices with the potential to help low- and moderate-income Americans thrive in today’s economy.

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