Education Forward Arizona Launches New White Paper Series on Strengthening Arizona's Education-to-Workforce Ecosystem

July 16, 2026 - 21:40

A new initiative aims to tighten the connections between Arizona's classrooms and its job market. Education Forward Arizona released the first installment of its Education-to-Workforce Whitepaper Series on Tuesday, a collection of reports designed to examine how the state can better align education, workforce training, and economic opportunity.

The series opens with a deep look at the current gaps between what students learn and what employers need. The goal is to support students at every level, from K-12 through higher education and into the workforce, while also strengthening communities and meeting the state's long-term talent demands. The paper outlines strategies for improving collaboration between schools, businesses, and policy makers.

Arizona has set specific educational attainment goals for the coming years, and the series is meant to serve as a practical guide for reaching them. By identifying barriers and proposing actionable solutions, the white papers aim to help create a more seamless path from the classroom to a career. The first paper focuses on early wins that can be achieved through better data sharing and joint planning between education and industry leaders. Future papers in the series will tackle other parts of the ecosystem, including workforce training programs and economic development incentives.