Burning Glass Institute Announces 2026 Skills First Implementation Fellows and Regional Pilots
April 6, 2026
The Burning Glass Institute (BGI) has selected six organizations to participate in the 2026 Skills First Implementation Fellowship and Regional Skills First Implementation Pilots, initiatives designed to translate shared skills standards into practical workforce systems. These efforts build on the Skills-First Workforce Initiative, which has already brought together major employers to develop shared skills taxonomies for 30 high-impact roles representing more than one-quarter of the U.S. private sector workforce. The next phase of the initiative focuses on implementation—ensuring these standards are embedded in the tools and systems that shape hiring, training, and career advancement across the labor market.
The selected organizations were chosen from a highly competitive pool of applicants whose proposals reflected strong momentum across the field and a shared commitment to advancing data-informed, skills-first workforce practices. Fellowship participants include NPower; Business Roundtable; The Manufacturing Institute with SmartResume, and the National League of Cities with American Institutes for Research. Regional pilots will be led by Midwest Urban Strategies and the North Carolina Chamber Foundation in partnership with the North Carolina Community College System. The cohort convened last week in Washington, DC to launch the work, which will focus on implementing and refining skills-first strategies with employers, workforce organizations, and regional partners.