Workforce Development

Alexandria, Va. – September 28, 2026 -- ISC2, the nonprofit membership organization representing more than 270,000 certified cybersecurity professionals, has appointed Brionne Dawson as Executive Vice President for Advocacy, tasking her with elevating practitioner voices in policy debates over AI adoption, cyber resilience and workforce development.

Dawson joins ISC2 from Google after leading government affairs across 120-plus markets

Dawson brings more than two decades of experience in technology policy, government affairs and commercial diplomacy. She most recently led international government affairs for emerging markets across more than 120 countries at Google, later serving as Head of Middle East and Africa, where her portfolio covered AI policy, cybersecurity, cloud computing, digital trade and cross-border data flows.

Bentonville, Ark. – September 28, 2026 -- Heartland Forward and rootEd Alliance are expanding a rural college-and-career advising program into Oklahoma, with plans to reach 10 high schools across 10 rural districts and more than 1,000 students by the 2027-28 school year.

rootEd advisors have already served over 100,000 rural students nationwide

The nonprofit program places trained advisors directly in rural high schools to work one-on-one with students on post-graduation plans, covering college, career credentials, apprenticeships, military service or direct workforce entry. rootEd currently operates in Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Alaska, Illinois and Idaho, with Oklahoma added this academic year.

Shanghai – September 28, 2026 -- Mikala Sposito, a 21-year-old welding student from Washtenaw Community College, won a bronze medal at the 48th WorldSkills Competition, becoming the first woman to represent the United States in the Welding skill category.

Nine-member U.S. delegation competes against global field of 1,400

The 2026 WorldSkills USA team, comprising nine SkillsUSA state champions, competed Sept. 22-27 in Shanghai against skilled professionals from 73 countries and regions across 64 skill categories, including seven new emerging occupations.

Two U.S. competitors secure Medal for Excellence with 700+ point scores

Elizabeth Brown, 22, of Missouri, earned the Medal for Excellence in Cooking, ranking among 19 of 45 competitors globally to score above 700 points on the WorldSkills scale. Brown's preparation was backed by Unilever, ZWILLING and Smithfield Foods.

Washington – September 25, 2026 -- The Association of Financial Counseling, Planning, and Education (AFCPE) has received a 2026 ASAE Power of Associations Summit Award for its FINRA Foundation Military Spouse Fellowship, a program that has certified 743 Accredited Financial Counselors since 2006 and supported more than 288,000 military families through their required experience hours.

ASAE recognizes AFCPE for solving military spouse underemployment through credentialed career pathways

The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) presented the Summit Award to AFCPE for the Fellowship's dual impact: expanding workforce mobility for military spouses and strengthening financial readiness in military communities. The award was celebrated during ASAE's Summit Awards Dinner on September 22, 2026, at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.

Washington – – September 25, 2026 -- The American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) has released "Quiet Leadership in Medicine: An Early-Career Clinician's Guide to Building Programs That Change Care," a book by Kardie Tobb, DO, MS, CPE, FACC, FASPC, FACOI, aimed at closing the gap between clinical training and organizational leadership skills for junior physicians.

Book targets clinicians at career start, not mid-career

AAPL positions the title as the first framework of its kind written explicitly for early-career clinicians rather than seasoned executives. The guide covers building stakeholder coalitions, framing clinical initiatives for hospital administrators, sustaining programs post-launch, and using routine interactions — rounds, follow-up emails, hallway conversations — as tools for institutional change.

Boulder – September 25, 2026 -- The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) has finalized the program for SOLAR 2026, its national conference running October 19-21 at the Palmer Events Center in Austin, Texas, held in partnership with the Texas Solar Energy Society (TXSES) as the state chapter marks its 50th anniversary.

Themed 'Solar for All, Y'all,' the three-day event will organize sessions around three subthemes: Advancing Access for All, Expanding Education for All, and Addressing New Challenges Affecting All, with the latter track covering data center power demand, artificial intelligence loads, and extreme weather impacts on grid infrastructure.

Dallas – September 25, 2026 -- BuildFreedom.US, a federal workforce campaign funded by the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program under the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Industrial Base Policy, is expanding into Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin, the next phase of a national push to fill skilled-trades gaps in America's defense manufacturing base.

Program awards mikeroweWORKS Foundation a $10 million grant

BuildFreedom.US has granted $10 million to the mikeroweWORKS Foundation to support its Work Ethic Scholarship Program, deepening a partnership with Mike Rowe, founder of the foundation and creator of Dirty Jobs. Rowe will continue backing the campaign through its next expansion phase.

Washington – September 25, 2026 -- Knox Systems, which operates the largest FedRAMP and DISA-managed cloud, said veterans now make up 25% of its security workforce as it launches new recruiting partnerships with VetJobs, Military Spouse Jobs, and Hire Heroes USA.

Knox partners with three veteran-employment organizations to widen its hiring pipeline

The company will connect with veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses across its security, technology, and operations lines through the new agreements. All open roles at Knox are open to veteran applicants, with hiring managers working to match military experience to technical and security positions.

Durham, N.C. – September 25, 2026 -- The International Society of Automation (ISA) has released the Fourth Edition of A Guide to the Automation Body of Knowledge, the sole officially authorized text mapping ISA's core competencies for automation professionals.

Nearly 30 experts update the industry's reference text for certification exams

The revised guide was edited and written by close to 30 leading automation specialists and covers process instrumentation, control valves, discrete and batch control, digital twins, cybersecurity, safety systems, and asset management. It is designed to prepare candidates for ISA's Certified Automation Professional (CAP), Certified Control Systems Technician (CCST), and the Professional Engineer Control Systems Engineer (PE CSE) exams.

Shanghai – September 24, 2026 -- Pearson has warned that early-career workers in skilled trade, technical and service occupations are entering the workforce without the AI literacy, human skills and hands-on experience employers now require simultaneously. The findings come from a new report, "For Every Future: Preparing Early-Career Skilled Trade, Technical and Service Talent for an AI-Infused World," launched at the WorldSkills International Conference 2026 in Shanghai.