Business Services professionals are continually challenged to help employers solve workforce shortages, strengthen talent pipelines, and retain skilled employees. While many workforce systems focus on recruitment, hiring events, and training grants, one valuable resource is often overlooked: Adult Education.

Too often, Adult Education is viewed solely as a program for individuals seeking a high school credential or English language instruction. In reality, it is a strategic business partner that helps employers recruit qualified candidates, upskill incumbent workers, support apprenticeship programs, and build sustainable career pathways.

When Business Services teams intentionally integrate Adult Education into their employer engagement strategy, they expand the solutions they can offer employers while strengthening outcomes across the workforce system.

Adult Education Is More Than a Referral Partner

Adult Education providers work every day with individuals who are motivated to improve their skills, earn credentials, and pursue employment. These participants represent a growing talent pool for employers seeking reliable, career-ready workers.

For Business Services Representatives (BSRs), Adult Education should be viewed as another tool in the business services toolbox, not simply another partner to whom customers are referred.

Adult Education can support employers by:

  • Creating candidate pipelines for On-the-Job Training (OJT) opportunities
  • Delivering foundational and workplace skills training for incumbent workers
  • Providing English language instruction and workplace literacy training
  • Supporting Related Technical Instruction (RTI) for apprenticeship programs
  • Preparing participants for industry-recognized credentials and career pathways

Rather than waiting until a participant completes a program, workforce systems should begin connecting learners with employment opportunities from the moment they enroll.

Closing the Circle from Enrollment to Employment

Center of Workforce Innovations’ (CWI) Adult Literacy & Training Centers and WorkOne of Northwest Indiana’s Business Services have intentionally built a stronger partnership to better serve both job seekers and employers.

The process begins during enrollment. Every Adult Education participant is asked whether they are currently seeking employment and whether they consent to having their information shared with WorkOne Business Services. This simple step creates an early connection between education and employment instead of treating them as separate services.

As participants progress through the program, Adult Education staff and Business Services remain connected. Each month, Adult Literacy shares reports identifying students who have successfully earned their High School Equivalency (HSE). These reports provide Business Services Representatives with a timely opportunity to reach out to newly credentialed individuals who may now qualify for employment opportunities or additional workforce services.

The partnership continues at graduation. Business Services Representatives attend Adult Education graduation ceremonies, celebrating students’ accomplishments while introducing themselves as partners in the next stage of each graduate’s journey. Rather than ending with a diploma, graduation becomes a transition point into employment and career advancement.

These intentional touchpoints provide a seamless transition from enrollment to graduation to placement, ensuring participants remain connected to workforce opportunities while employers gain access to qualified candidates who have demonstrated persistence, commitment, and a desire to succeed.

Building Stronger Employer Solutions

Employers are not simply looking for applicants.  They are looking for solutions.

By incorporating Adult Education into employer engagement conversations, Business Services professionals can offer a broader range of workforce solutions. An employer struggling with entry-level hiring may benefit from a pipeline of HSE graduates. Another may need workplace literacy or English language instruction to retain current employees.  These conversations position the workforce system as a strategic partner capable of addressing workforce challenges beyond recruitment alone.

A Call to Action

Business Services and Adult Education share the same ultimate goal: helping individuals achieve economic mobility while meeting the talent needs of employers.

By strengthening communication, sharing participant data appropriately, coordinating employer outreach, and creating seamless transitions from education to employment, workforce organizations can transform Adult Education into one of their most valuable business services assets.

When Business Services and Adult Education work together, everyone benefits. Employers gain access to a stronger talent pipeline, participants experience clearer pathways to employment, and workforce systems deliver more comprehensive, employer-driven solutions.

Sometimes, expanding your business services toolbox doesn’t require a new program. It simply requires seeing Adult Education for what it has always had the potential to be: an essential partner in building the workforce of tomorrow.

The question is no longer whether Adult Education belongs at the employer engagement table, it is how intentionally we choose to include it.