Shift Work Forward

AI is changing work faster than most systems can keep up with.

Workers who lack access to technology, training, or support should not get left behind because of that gap. That outcome is not inevitable. It is the result of choices made through policy, investment, and practice.

Building an equitable workforce in this moment means making sure the transition to AI-driven work does not reproduce the same exclusions we have always seen.

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The Growing Presence of AI in the Workplace Demands a Focus on Digital Equity AI is transforming how we work, but its benefits will remain scattered as long as digital equity isn’t made a workplace priority.

Technical assistance is only useful if it starts from the right place.

Too often, TA providers show up with ready-made solutions based on what has worked elsewhere. They skip the step of really understanding what frontline staff are experiencing. The result is support that does not quite fit.

MDRC's Evidence to Practice approach does it differently. It starts with deep listening. Then it uses evidence to co-design solutions tailored to the actual context.

At , they will walk through what that looks like in practice. Do not miss it. Register now:

Beyond “What Works”: Using Evidence to Drive Equitable Decisions - Shift Work Forward Workforce training organizations increasingly rely on technical assistance (TA) to strengthen on the ground practice, especially as staff are asked to do more with fewer resources. Yet TA providers often rely on assumptions about staff challenges or default to familiar “tried and true” solutions...

Space for is filling up. We do not want you to miss it.

When you come to Albuquerque, you can expect real conversations on the biggest challenges shaping the workforce today. Sessions will go deep on structural barriers like childcare and transportation, economic mobility for underrepresented workers, and what it actually means to share power with workers in decision-making.

We will also spend time on something a lot of practitioners are navigating right now: how do you keep advancing equity in a polarized environment? How do you build the cross-sector partnerships that sustain this work long term?

Register now: https://shiftworkforward.org/about/events/shift-conference/pricing-and-registration/

Too many workers are ready and willing to learn but cannot get to the training they need.

Expanding access matters. So does making sure that training actually leads somewhere. A system that moves people through programs but leaves them guessing about what comes next is not serving them.

Career navigation and training should work for workers. This report from National Skills Coalition looks at how Workforce Pell could help make that a reality:

From Workforce Shortages to Training Solutions: How Workforce Pell Can Align Skills with Industry Demand - National Skills Coalition Workforce Pell creates a new opportunity for businesses to help solve one of their biggest workforce challenges: finding skilled workers. But realizing that opportunity will require employers to engage early […]

Nearly half of U.S. workers are in low-wage jobs. For many of them, a sick child or a broken-down car is not just a bad day. It can be the start of a chain reaction that ends in job loss.

Over 70% of Americans say they worry about money. That stress follows people to work. And when workers are stretched that thin, employers feel it too — through higher absenteeism, turnover, and vacancies that are hard to fill.

The systems that are supposed to help people navigate careers have been underfunded for decades. AI is making the gap harder to close. If we do not build something better now, the workers already furthest behind will fall further.

Shift Work Forward and our Network Partners are working on a new path forward. One built around workers. One that asks employers, educators, public agencies, and community institutions to stop working in parallel and start working together.

Read more:

We Need a New System for Career Navigation - Shift Work Forward Inflation is on the rise again, and many families are struggling to make ends meet. Childcare and transportation costs soar while wages stagnate. These pressures are especially acute for workers in low-wage roles, which account for nearly half of U.S. employees. These workers are more likely to be w...

Sector partnerships can be one of the most powerful tools in workforce development. They can also be incredibly hard to sustain.

Chicagoland workforce leaders have built and maintained ten of them over more than a decade. Spanning healthcare, manufacturing, IT, early childhood education, and more.

At , practitioners will share what has actually worked and what has not. You will come away with practical insight on structure, staffing, resource decisions, and how to get meaningful employer participation over the long term.

Register and add this session to your agenda:

Industry Sector Partnerships: When They Work and When They Don’t - Shift Work Forward This session will spark a candid conversation with practitioners about what has worked and what hasn’t, surfacing the conditions that enable partnerships to thrive and the obstacles that impede progress.

Higher wages make a real difference. For workers who have been squeezed for years, a pay increase matters.

And it is not enough on its own. Economic mobility requires more than a bigger paycheck. Workers also need affordable childcare, reliable transportation, and clear pathways to quality jobs. When those systems are broken or out of reach, wage gains only go so far.

We have to work on all of it. Read more:

Paycheck Boost Gives Low-Income Workers a Breather Data suggests some good news for working-class Americans, who have been squeezed for years by rising inflation and soft pay growth.

What will it take to shift work forward?

That question is at the heart of everything happening at SHIFT Conference 2026 in Albuquerque. Business leaders, workforce practitioners, policymakers, funders, educators, and labor organizers will come together to share what they know, forge real partnerships, and build toward an equitable future of work.

The challenges facing today's workers and employers are not going to respond to small steps. This moment calls for new thinking, new policies, and new practices.

Come be part of it. Secure your spot now:
https://shiftworkforward.org/about/events/shift-conference/pricing-and-registration/