STEM workers are in fierce demand, and not just in the global epicenter of high tech known as Silicon Valley. According to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics analysis, STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — professions are expected to grow 8.1% between 2024 and 2034, compared to just 2.7% for all other occupations. In addition, the median annual STEM wage is … [More]
Phoenix Data Offers Window into National H-1B Workforce Patterns
As global talent mobility, technological innovation, and workforce development continue to shape the U.S. economy, the H-1B visa program plays an increasingly important role at their intersection. The visa program allows American companies to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations to meet demand for high-skilled talent. Most commonly in technology, … [More]
Financial Institution Rolls Out Spring Executive Education Program
Enterprise Bank & Trust has launched the spring semester of Enterprise University, its innovative and highly acclaimed series of virtual business courses designed to help professionals better their businesses and careers. The live, interactive webinars are available at no cost. In Enterprise University’s more than 20-year history, business professionals have returned … [More]
Phoenix Gateway District to Host New Workforce and Economic Advancement Center
Arizona HEAT Center, short for Hub for Economic Advancement and Talent, will open in Phoenix’s Gateway District in the first quarter of 2026, creating a centralized space for nonprofit organizations, workforce development initiatives and business support services. A ribbon cutting is planned for later that quarter, with city leadership and project partners in … [More]
The Workforce Isn’t Burned Out. It’s Grieving.
Burnout has become the default explanation for nearly every form of workplace distress. It gets cited after layoffs, during reorganizations and whenever motivation drops without an obvious cause. But burnout no longer explains what people are actually experiencing. Across industries, professionals are not depleted by effort. They are destabilized by loss. Loss of role. Loss … [More]
AI Slop Crisis: 7 in 10 Managers Report Recurring, Costly Errors from Direct Reports’ AI Use
Resume.org has released new findings from a January 2026 survey of 1,146 U.S. managers regarding the impact of artificial intelligence on workplace accuracy. The results reveal a growing "AI slop" crisis, where 70% of managers have observed direct reports making AI-related errors that carry significant business consequences, including financial losses exceeding $50,000. The … [More]
Comparing Wages and Numbers of Women in Construction
Construction has historically been a male-dominated sector. In the 1960s, only about 6% of construction industry workers were women. This figure began to rise sharply between 1970 and the early 1990s, coinciding with increasing rates of female labor force participation overall. Between then and the mid-2000s, female representation in the construction sector remained relatively … [More]
National Technical Educator to Open New Healthcare Division in Glendale
Universal Technical Institute, Inc., a national leader in workforce training programs, continues to advance its North Star strategy to address America's skilled labor shortage. The company announced Phoenix as the site of a new facility for its healthcare division, Concorde Career Colleges. "The momentum created by the strong execution of our North Star strategy is … [More]
Former Tempe Hotel Revived as Corporate Leadership and Training Facility
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., a 100% employee-owned company, announced the completion of its purchase of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Tempe, Arizona at the corner of Priest Drive and Broadway Road, which will become the company’s new center for employee learning, leadership, and development. The new facility reflects McCarthy’s ongoing investment in its people and … [More]
Hiring Skilled Foreign Talent Just Got More Complicated for Employers
The Department of Homeland Security has issued a final rule changing how the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects cap-subject H-1B registrations when demand exceeds the annual cap. Instead of treating all registrations equally, USCIS will use a “weighted” random selection that generally gives better odds to higher-paying positions, based on the … [More]
Visionary Leaders Create Change before It’s Urgent
Most leaders don’t ignore change because they don’t care. They ignore it because, in the moment, it doesn’t feel urgent. When the metrics look good and the operations hum along, making time for possibility feels indulgent. But that’s precisely what separates the visionary leaders from the merely competent: They make space to reimagine before a crisis demands it. Visionary … [More]
Phoenix-Based EV Training Firm Launches UN Workforce Program
Legacy EV has officially launched the first phase of a major electric-vehicle workforce development program in Guyana, delivered in partnership with the United Nations as part of the country's national Just Energy Transition Project. The collaboration, formalized earlier this year, supports Guyana's ambitious Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 (LCDS 2030) — a national plan … [More]
The Business Case for Investing in Under-Resourced Youth
Challenges aren’t just social concerns but are also economic ones
When we talk about “investing in the future,” it’s easy to think about hot-button topics like technology, infrastructure or renewable energy. These are undeniably important to Arizona’s growth and long-term sustainability. But there’s another critical investment that doesn’t always make the headlines and yet is just as essential for the health of our economy and communities: … [More]
Cooling Costs and Strong Hiring Keep Arizona Competitive
Governor Katie Hobbs highlights new employment numbers showcasing Arizona’s continued strong private sector jobs growth, driven by growth in Natural Resources & Mining, Financial Activities and Health Care. Additionally, while the country saw spikes in the cost of housing (4.0%) and energy (0.2%), Arizona saw declines, with housing falling by 0.1%and energy falling by … [More]
Valley Education Partnership Boosts Talent Pipeline for High-Demand Nursing Roles
In a shared commitment to advancing nursing education and expanding opportunities for the next generation of healthcare leaders, Arizona College of Nursing and American College of Education announced a new academic partnership designed to support students, alumni, and employees in their pursuit of graduate-level nursing degrees. Through this collaboration, graduates of AZCN's … [More]
Phoenix Debuts Nation-Leading Training Center for the Engineers Behind Advanced Microchip Production
ASML, a leading supplier to the semiconductor industry, held an inauguration ceremony today for its U.S. Technical Training Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Customers, government officials including Governor Katie Hobbs, and other dignitaries joined ASML executives to celebrate the facility, which began training engineers in 2024. Now fully operational, ASML anticipates the … [More]
Maricopa Community Colleges Launch Partnership Targeting Semiconductor Career Pipeline Development
ManpowerGroup, an innovative workforce solution provider, announced a strategic partnership with Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona, one of the nation's largest community college systems. The collaboration will accelerate workforce development in the fast-growing semiconductor and advanced manufacturing sectors by addressing one of the industry's most urgent challenges: … [More]
Their Take: The Widening Gender Pay Gap and its Impacts on Our Economy
The latest Census Bureau report flew a bit under the radar — but the findings matter deeply for Arizona’s future. For the second year in a row, the gender wage gap in the United States has widened. On average, women in 2024 earned just 80.9 cents for every dollar earned by men, down from 82.7 cents from the previous year. At the same time, Black workers’ median wages fell 3.3 … [More]
