NAWDP’s agenda for the Business Services Academy is based on four core competencies:
- Linkages and Promotion of the Workforce System
- Business Engagement and Interaction
- Engagement in Economic Development
- Talent Pipeline Development
Schedule-at-a-Glance
NAWDP has released a tentative schedule-at-a-glance.
Pre-Conference Session
Shift Happens: From Programs to Partnerships
Engaging Businesses in a True Demand‑Driven System
This interactive pre-conference session equips Workforce Development and Career Development professionals with the strategies, language, and consulting mindset required to authentically engage businesses in a demand-driven workforce system. Rather than offering programs and hoping employers “fit,” participants will learn how to position themselves as strategic partners who uncover real business needs and co-design solutions that strengthen businesses within their community and regions.
Through a blend of practical frameworks, live demonstrations, and peer‑to‑peer exercises, attendees will explore how to shift from transactional service delivery to consultative business engagement that drives measurable impact for employers and jobseekers alike.
Learning Objectives:
- How to define and operationalize a true demand-driven approach within WIOA and non-WIOA environments
- Techniques for initiative high-value business conversations that uncover root-cause workforce challenges
- A structured discovery process that identifies talen, training, retention, and productivity needs
- How to translate business needs into coordinated workforce solutions across partners and programs
- Strategies for building long-term, trust-based relationships with employers
- Ways to integrate labor market intelligence into business engagement conversations
- How to position your organization as a workforce solutions consultant, not a program provider
Session Presenter:
Aaron Leson
Director of Training & Development,
TAD Grants
Session RFP
The deadline to submit a workshop proposal closed on August 30, 2026.