2026 Connecticut Workforce Summit: Reimagining Career Pathways

How individuals learn, work, and develop skills continues to change rapidly, requiring new approaches to workforce development. 

Estimates suggest that more than half the jobs today’s students will hold within five years do not yet exist, raising questions about relevant career pathways and how Connecticut can respond to evolving talent needs. 

The 2026 Connecticut Workforce Summit: Reimagining Career Pathways convenes leaders from business, education, government, and nonprofit organizations to review and address best practices.

The April 2 summit will examine workforce development strategies, career pathway trends, and programs supporting long-term talent development across the state. 

The summit will also feature panel discussions, breakout sessions, and networking opportunities focused on current workforce initiatives, employer needs, and participant perspectives. 

Agenda

7:30 am | Networking Breakfast 

8:30 am | Opening Remarks 

• Chris DiPentima, President & CEO, CBIA  
• Ryan Drajewicz, Chair, Governor’s Workforce Council; Head of External Affairs & Communications, Bridgewater Associates   
• Kelli-Marie Vallieres, Chief Workforce Officer, Office of Workforce Strategy 

9 am | Keynote 

• Mark Perna, CEO, TFS Results 

10 am | Connecticut’s Talent Pipeline: Workforce & Education Blueprint 

• Moderator: Dustin Nord, Director, CBIA Foundation 
• Kathryn Saunders, Partner, Head of Strategy & Leadership, Economic Leadership

10:45 am | Networking Break 

11:05 am | Breakout Sessions 

• Session A | Stackable Opportunity Pathways: OWLL-Workplace Model 
  Southern Connecticut State University’s Office of Workforce & Lifelong Learning and The WorkPlace are bridging higher education and workforce systems to meet regional labor market needs. Learn how the collaboration integrates employer-aligned training and wraparound supports to create stackable, credential-based learning pathways that empower disengaged youth ages 18–24 and underemployed adults to access careers in tech, business, and emerging industries. This replicable model has served more than 400 learners, with many now earning salaries exceeding $70,000. 

• Session B | Look What Can Happen: Industry leaders Drive Curricula, Talent Development 
  This session features the innovative work of Regional Sector Partnerships, including one newly launched in architecture, engineering, and construction that has made significant progress benefitting employers in the region, and one in manufacturing that created METAL, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at providing specialized training in the metal finishing industry. In this interactive session, RSP leaders share how businesses can work collaboratively to drive talent development and address additional industry wide issues.

• Session C | Three Pathways, One System: Preparing Students Through Pre-Apprenticeships, Credentials 
  Stamford Public Schools’ coordinated system of career-connected learning opportunities prepares high school students for employment in high‑demand fields. This session spotlights three real‑world pathway models—construction, healthcare, and hospitality—and demonstrates how a public school district can partner with training providers and community organizations to benefit students, employers, and the regional workforce. 

• Session D | Clinical Without Walls, Classrooms Without Limits: Reimagining Health Career Pathways 
  In this hands-on session, the Connecticut Center for Nursing Workforce introduces a bold redesign for nursing: a pre-K to career talent pipeline and learning model that brings employers and real-world skills development into schools, libraries, cultural institutions, and other community spaces. Participants will work through a collaborative design sprint to identify barriers, rethink access, and reimagine an inclusive pathway aligned to workforce needs and employer demand. 

12:05 pm | Networking Lunch 

1 pm | Career Pathways: Program Participant Perspectives 

• Moderator: Shannon Marimón, Executive Director, ReadyCT   

2 pm | Breakout Sessions 

• Session A | Disrupting Tradition: Transforming the High School Experience 
  Danbury Public Schools’ wall-to-wall academy and career pathway model disrupts traditional comprehensive high school structures and reimagines secondary education for the modern learner. In this session, participants will examine how intentional leadership, coherent systems design, and authentic community partnerships can transform high schools into future-ready learning environments aligned to workforce demands, postsecondary success, and student agency. 

• Session B | Speaking the Same Language on AI: Interactive Industry Breakout 
  The Business-Higher Education Forum’s partnership with industry leaders creates a practical way to think about the skills needed in an AI-enabled workplace. The AI-Enabled Professional Framework defines seven core competencies, including AI literacy, critical thinking, and ethics, and maps how these skills evolve across career levels, from aspiring learner to executive leader. In this interactive session, participants will apply the framework, exploring the roles and career levels most affected by AI and the competencies that matter most in today’s jobs. 

• Session C | Attract, Train, Retain: Collaborative Employer-Driven Workforce Development Strategies 
  In this session, leaders across the healthcare workforce development ecosystem, including employers, educators, policymakers, training providers, and community partners, share how greater alignment and shared action can build a sustainable workforce in today’s tight labor market. Participants will learn how to align with key stakeholders to attract talent and implement transformative employer-driven solutions that support a resilient, inclusive healthcare workforce. 

• Session D | From Handshake to On-Ramp: Building a One-Year Manufacturing Partnership Pipeline 
  Demand for skilled manufacturing talent is urgent, but many learners lack exposure, confidence, and clarity about career pathways. This session presents a replicable, industry-driven workforce pipeline model developed through a year-long partnership between MakerspaceCT and TRUMPF, a global leader in advanced manufacturing. Emphasis is placed on moving from conversation to action, turning employer relationships into structured, time-bound pipelines that can mature into apprenticeships, hiring pathways, and long-term workforce solutions adaptable across sectors and regions. 

3 pm | Adjourn