Connecting learners and employers requires more than just good technology. It needs real leadership.

In late 2025, the U.S. Department of Education launched a nationwide challenge to states to build talent marketplaces that support skills-based hiring. That announcement came on the heels of a new National Governors Association’s initiative to advance skills-based practices and talent management strategies in nearly 20 states.

It’s easy to see why talent marketplaces are gaining traction. Not only do they align education systems with regional and statewide workforce needs, but they also hold the key to unlocking greater access to opportunity for learners and creating a larger talent pool of skilled workers for employers.

But states looking to stand up a well-functioning talent marketplace must do more than simply purchase technology platforms and merge data. While technology is a critical piece of the talent marketplace puzzle, building a robust and enduring piece of public infrastructure requires real leadership and effective governance that can bridge the gap between workers and employers and foster buy-in from each group.

In today’s economy, skills have become the currency of opportunity that connect education, work and economic mobility. Automation, demographic shifts and new industries are reshaping the skills that employers need. Employers are no longer just focusing on college degrees, credentials, titles and the time spent in school or on the job — the traditional proxies for skills. Millions of Americans have the skills to thrive in good jobs but lack ways to show what they know. This confluence is causing policymakers and employers across every industry to ask what people can actually do.

To leverage this new emphasis on clear, validated and trusted skills, states are beginning to build skills-based talent ecosystems to serve as the foundation for hiring, training and advancement and help workers and employers navigate a rapidly evolving labor market. 

These talent marketplaces are public-private systems in which all participants — state agencies, employers, credential providers and residents — share a framework that defines, validates and values skills. They allow workers to document and signal what they can do. They help employers find talent based on the demonstrated capabilities of job seekers. They enable political leaders to craft policies and steer investments to strengthen talent pipelines and regional economies. And they allow education and training providers to use labor market information and state longitudinal data systems with regular feedback loops so they can align their programs with actual and projected workforce demand so their graduates are job ready for in-demand roles.

These talent marketplaces clearly depend on tech platforms to help employers find workers, to help workers find opportunity and to help data be collected, measured, validated and used. But tech should play only a supporting role. What underpins this entire structure is trust — trust that needed skills are defined accurately and delivered efficiently to learners and workers. Trust comes from validation — that is, from buy-in from all participants in this ecosystem and from consistent, transparent and evidence-based methods for assessing and verifying skills.

State-led governance builds the foundation for this trust by leading alignment and investment efforts across numerous agencies and participants. They define the criteria for competency and quality credentials. They establish the data standards that integrate learning and employment records into multiple public systems. They align funding and accountability systems to reward outcomes tied to skills and employment. Governance also ensures that learner-earners, who lack the large-scale representative structures that employers and education providers rely on, have a voice in shaping these systems. When guided by state-led policies and collaboration, talent marketplaces create the trust infrastructure that make the currency of skills spendable across education and employment systems.

Alabama became the first state to build a skills-based talent marketplace. Formed by the Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways — which brought together education, business and government leaders — in partnership with C-BEN, the Alabama Talent Triad brings together job seekers, employers and education providers in a single skills-based ecosystem. Since 2020, the state has recorded nearly 272,000 completed and validated credentials that are powering the state’s economy and providing new and better opportunities for Alabama residents.

Arkansas has followed a similar talent-driven playbook. Created in 2025, Arkansas LAUNCH is seeking to expand labor force participation and help employers find the skilled talent they need. This new tech platform allows state residents to explore career paths and find jobs that match their skillsets and connect with training to learn new skills. Through aligned legislative and executive actions, Arkansas is removing unnecessary barriers to education and training and strategically coordinating the state agencies and organizations that drive workforce, education and economic development.

Advances in technology have made it possible to match job seekers and employers more efficiently than ever before. But effective governance and leadership are required to make this relationship last. By leading these efforts and bringing the right people to the table, states can build enduring talent marketplaces that support the growth of their economies and of their people.

Nathaniel Rankin is director of the Alabama Governor's Office of Education and Workforce Statistics. Robert McGough is the Arkansas chief data officer.