Established in 1987, the Michigan Works! Association is the state of Michigan's unified workforce development system, offering a wide range of free services to job seekers and employers. The system is delivered through 25 regional agencies and local service centers across the state, focusing on skills development, removing employment barriers, and meeting specific industry demands.

Key initiatives include:

• Michigan Statewide Workforce Plan
  • Michigan Works! is a core partner in the comprehensive plan, which aims to address talent shortages and increase economic opportunity.
  • Includes increasing the number of working-age adults with a skill certificate or college degree to 60% by 2030, and implementing strategies to help 75,000 households move into the middle class by the end of 2027 by removing barriers to education and employment.
• Michigan Reconnect
  • Program offers tuition-free pathways to an associate degree or skill certificate for eligible Michigan residents aged 25 or older who do not already have a college degree.
  • Initiative helps employers enhance employee skills and boost retention at no cost to the business.
• Going PRO Talent Fund (GPTF)
  • Competitive grant program providing funding to employers for training, retaining, and developing new and existing employees in high-demand fields.
  • Addresses current skill shortages by allowing businesses to customize training to their specific needs.
• Workforce Intelligence Network (WIN)
  • A collaborative partnership of nine community colleges and seven Michigan Works! agencies that focus on data-driven strategies to meet the specific talent needs of a 19-county region in Southeast Michigan.

Resources

Michigan Works! (n.d.). Homepage. https://www.michiganworks.org/

Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity. (2025, May 1). The Michigan Statewide Infrastructure Workforce Plan. https://www.michigan.gov/leo/-/media/Project/Websites/leo/Documents/LEO-Initiatives/Build-Michigan-Infrastructure-Workforce/Michigan-Statewide-Infrastructure-Workforce-Plan.pdf

Michigan Works! (n.d.). Michigan Reconnect. https://www.westmiworks.org/mi-reconnect/

Michigan Works! (n.d.). Workforce Training Funds. https://www.westmiworks.org/employers/workforce-training-funds/

Learn & Work Ecosystem Library. (2025, September 21). Educational Testing Service (ETS). https://learnworkecosystemlibrary.com/initiatives/career-pathways-in-the-workforce-intelligence-network-win-michigan/