2024 in Review: Empowering a Competitive Workforce for Arizona
We couldn’t let 2024 pass by without reflecting on the wins, lessons, and partnerships that moved us closer to The Arizona We Want.
At Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA), we believe that a thriving Arizona is built on the aspirations of Arizonans. By focusing on the outcomes Arizonans want, we approach the state’s most pressing challenges — addressing root causes, removing barriers, and driving progress that leads to meaningful change.
Our work goes beyond identifying problems. We advance solutions that empower individuals, strengthen communities, and position Arizona for long-term prosperity. We do this through impact initiatives that, among many things, expand access to quality education, align workforce skills with job market needs, and foster civic engagement.
We also regularly check-in on Arizona's progress on the issues that matter most to Arizonans through the Arizona Progress Meters, which include over 80 metrics that signal areas of improvement and strength.
We are working towards a future in which every Arizonan has the opportunity to thrive. Our work also positions the state to remain prosperous and competitive in a rapidly changing world.
As we close the chapter on 2024, we’re proud to reflect on the strides we made and the partnerships that amplified our impact.
Take a look at 2024 highlights from our workforce initiatives.
Discover More 2024 Highlights
The Big Picture of Arizona's Workforce
One of Arizonans’ Shared Public Values is Jobs and Economic Opportunity. Arizonans want more opportunities to build careers & achieve economic stability.
To reach this goal, employers and workers must collaborate on education and training that meets workers’ needs and employers’ demands.
CFA focuses on gaps within the workforce pipeline such as upskilling workers so they can grow their career opportunities, fostering leadership that drives community-centered solutions, and connecting employers to meet industry needs.
Workforce Trends in 2024
CFA’s Arizona Jobs Progress Meter revealed Arizona’s opportunities and challenges in meeting employer and worker expectations and needs.
For all of 2024, Arizona job growth outpaced national trends.
Yet Arizona has not substantially increased the labor force participation rate over the past eight years, with about 38% of able Arizonans not working or actively looking for work.
When asked in the Arizona Gallup Survey what was keeping Arizonans from having the perfect job, 8% indicated they were not qualified for available jobs and 7% indicated there were not enough jobs available in industries for which they are trained.
This disconnect highlights a critical need: to align workforce opportunities with workers’ skills, education, and access.
Per the Arizona Gallup Survey, only 26% of Arizonans say they have the perfect job.
The Arizona Education Progress Meter shows only 48% of working-age Arizonans hold an associate degree, professional certification, or higher — far below the level needed to meet evolving job demands. Attainment levels are constrained by our relatively low 48% post-secondary enrollment rate of Arizona high school graduates — of whom only 30% are completing a degree or certificate within 6 years of completing high school.
Through innovative solutions, targeted training, and strong partnerships, CFA is addressing challenges head-on. The following highlights from 2024 show how our work is empowering individuals, supporting employers, and strengthening Arizona’s economic foundation for the future.
Piloting the Future of Employee Records
CFA partnered with ASU Enterprise Technology and Karsten’s Ace Hardware to pilot a mobile employee learning & employment record (LER) app, My Skills Pocket. This pilot showed the tool’s impact on workers’ ability to share their achievements gained through work experience, education, and the attainment of credentials.
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The My Skills Pocket platform enables an employee to showcase their skills and credentials to advance in their current job or to transition into a new role with more pay and/or more responsibilities.
Career growth opportunities are particularly important to Arizonans making less than $60,000; 54% say they are not satisfied with their current opportunities to advance their training (Arizona Gallup Survey). For Arizonans without a post-secondary degree, only 51% are satisfied with their training and education opportunities.
Due to the success of the LER pilot, Aspen Institute featured it as a national case study. An additional grant from the Walmart Foundation is supporting a second pilot with a new partner in 2025.
Training Workers for In-Demand Skills and Championing Good Jobs
CFA shared its expertise with the Northern Arizona Good Jobs Network, which focuses on training workers in high-demand industries including construction, healthcare, and retail. The network supports employers to provide quality jobs for workers.
Per the Arizona Gallup Survey, Arizonans want to see “improved stability for lower wage workers through improved work benefits, greater education and training, and more opportunities to advance.”
As these industries continue to grow, employers will need to respond to the benefits and training Arizonans are asking for in order to recruit and retain their labor force. This will have a positive effect on the state overall by decreasing poverty, increasing the labor participation rate, and improving our state’s skilled workforce.
In 2025, our team will work with the Northern Arizona Good Jobs Network to train employers on attributes of quality jobs and strategies that increase the number of quality jobs available in Northern Arizona to support workers who have completed newly developed training programs.
Facilitating Community Change in Southern Arizona
CFA wrapped up the first Southern Arizona Workforce Leadership Academy (the Academy) in Dec. 2023 and began recruiting for its second cohort in Nov. 2024. This ten-month leadership program brings together local leaders to collaborate on workforce development transformation across all points including hiring, training, and retaining talent.
The Academy’s cohort model allows local leaders the time, space, and investment to think critically about the unique needs of their community and to collaborate on solutions. Fellows are important decision-makers within Southern Arizona with direct influence on workforce training, retention, and recruitment. Through the Academy, Fellows develop the knowledge, skills, and relationships to make Southern Arizona a great place to work.
The Academy met both virtually and in person (as pictured above) to learn more about and brainstorm solutions to the most pressing issues for the Southern Arizona workforce.
Following the conclusion of the 2023 Academy cohort, several Fellows and Advisory Council members started activating the ideas they presented as part of their final project.
These ideas included aligning education and workforce systems to address skill development for fast-growing occupations, empowering local small businesses to implement cost-effective retention strategies, and cultivating deeper collaborations among local chambers of commerce, economic development councils, service providers, mandated partners, educators, and employers
The 2025 Southern Arizona Workforce Leadership Academy kicks off on Feb. 4.
Looking to the Future
In 2025, the team looks forward to increasing Quality Jobs in five Northern Arizona counties through partnerships with Local First, the Northern Arizona Good Jobs Network, area community colleges, chambers of commerce, and Arizona@Work workforce organizations.
There will be a second Learning & Employment Records pilot that will integrate the My Skills Pocket platform with the Pipeline AZ recruiting platform. Rio Salado adult learners receiving a NRF Rise-Up credential will be able to share their achievement with retail employers through the Pipeline AZ platform.
In February, CFA will welcome a new cohort of the Southern Arizona Workforce Leadership Academy to strengthen workforce development leaders in this region.
CFA’s Workforce Development team looks forward to strengthening existing relationships with employers, organizations, and government entities who share the same goals and outcomes.