A year of progress and a clear path forward
As 2025 draws to a close, our team is taking a moment to reflect on an extraordinary year of growth, innovation, and collaboration. We’re grateful to all our clients and partners for their trust, vision, and commitment to making a difference. Looking ahead to 2026, we remain dedicated to strengthening our partnerships with state and local workforce and economic development agencies, working together to drive positive outcomes for citizens and communities across the nation. Thank you for your continued support and for being an integral part of our shared success.
2025: A year of national recognition and results
This year, our partnerships with forward-thinking agencies have set new national benchmarks for excellence. We are incredibly proud of the wins our clients and team members have achieved:
- Indiana Department of Workforce Development’s Pivot Tool: Recognized as a StateScoop 50 State IT Innovation of the Year and named to Inc. Magazine’s Best in Business list for Social Good, Pivot users who follow occupation and training recommendations see an average wage increase of nearly $4.00/hour—double that of those who don’t.
- Leading the AI Conversation: At national conferences, including the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) and Google Cloud Next, our team and clients presented on practical, safe applications of AI in the state workforce development landscape.
- Data-Driven Dallas: Workforce Solutions North Central Texas successfully rolled out an innovative dashboard suite and presented it at the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB). Their presentation showcased how localized, interactive data allows regional boards to respond faster to economic shifts and employers’ skill needs.
- Consultant of the Year: Our very own Director of Workforce and Economic Development Practice, Michael Schmierer, was honored by Consulting Magazine as a Consultant of the Year for Excellence in Digital Transformation.
What we’re focused on in 2026
As we look toward 2026, several federal and legislative shifts will make outcome measurement and operational efficiency non-negotiable. Here are a couple of policy items we’re keeping our focus on in the new year:
- Workforce Pell: The expansion of Pell Grants to short-term, high-quality programs starting in mid-2026 requires states to verify that these programs lead to high-skill, high-wage jobs. Without robust longitudinal data, states will have challenges meeting the federal requirements, including measuring ROI.
- TEGL 05–25: The Department of Labor’s latest guidance in Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 05–25 pushes states to maximize innovation and flexibility within Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) programs. It’s a call to move toward employer-driven solutions, empower worker mobility, and provide simpler, faster service delivery through connected systems and AI adoption.
- Medicaid Workforce Requirements: New federal requirements for Medicaid eligibility will necessitate seamless data sharing between health and human services (HHS) and labor agencies to verify work participation without increasing administrative burdens on citizens.
2026’s biggest opportunities
The rapid evolution of the labor market, driven by artificial intelligence, shifting demographics, and the demand for higher wage growth, has created a complex landscape for unemployment insurance (UI) and workforce development programs.
At Resultant, we don’t just see these as challenges; we see them as the ultimate opportunities for states to redefine how they serve their citizens. By turning data into action and technology into an asset to drive positive citizen outcomes, we’re helping agencies across the country transform from reactive safety nets into proactive economic engines.
The new normal for labor agencies means doing more with flatlined or decreasing budgets while meeting higher performance expectations and providing transparency into program outcomes. Here are the year’s biggest opportunities:
1.From Data Silos to Unified Insights
- The Challenge: Education, UI, HHS, and workforce data often live in separate worlds, making it impossible to see a constituent’s full journey.
- The Opportunity: By implementing unified data platforms and statewide longitudinal data systems (SLDS), states can finally track a P20W (Pre-K–workforce) journey. This allows agencies to see which training programs actually lead to high-wage jobs, enabling smarter policy decisions.
2.From “Search and Apply” to AI-Enabled Career Navigation
- The Challenge: Traditional job boards are overwhelming for citizens, often leading to under-employment just to get back on a payroll.
- The Opportunity: AI-enabled career navigation can better recommend roles based on a user’s unique skills, experiences, and interests, connecting users to fulfilling career paths, not just the next job.
3.Demonstrating the True North of ROI
- The Challenge: Agencies are often asked to prove their value but lack the technical bridge between commerce, labor, and budget data.
- The Opportunity: This year we collaborated with a state commerce agency to deliver a sophisticated data model designed specifically to demonstrate ROI for citizens and the state. By correlating program participation with subsequent wage growth and tax revenue, we helped the agency move beyond “number of people served” to “economic value generated.”
Conclusion: 2026 will be a turning point for workforce data modernization
As the workforce landscape continues to evolve, embracing innovation and leveraging data-driven strategies are essential for agencies seeking to deliver meaningful impact. By implementing what’s possible, states can empower individuals, strengthen economies, and create a more resilient future for all.
We’re deeply grateful for the partnerships and collaborations that helped drive meaningful change in 2025, and we look forward to creating even more positive outcomes in more communities across the country in 2026.
Whether you’re focused on Workforce Pell readiness, AI-enabled career navigation, unified data platforms, or demonstrating ROI, prepare for what’s next in workforce and economic development with Resultant.
Let’s talk about how to turn emerging requirements into real outcomes in 2026.
Michael Schmierer
Director, Workforce and Economic Development Practice @ Resultant
