Gov. Pillen Joins SHRM and JAG to Strengthen Nebraska’s Education-to-Employment Pipeline

Strengthening the workforce starts long before a candidate submits a job application. It requires employers, educators, policymakers, and workforce partners to work together to ensure people can build the skills, experiences, and connections they need to move successfully from education into meaningful careers.

That shared goal brought SHRM to Lincoln, Nebraska, on Aug. 27 for a series of engagements with Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) and JAG Nebraska, powered by United Way of the Midlands, focused on strengthening the state’s education-to-employment pipeline. The visit represented the latest activation of the SHRM Education-to-Employment (E²) Initiative, which brings employers, educators, policymakers, workforce organizations, and community leaders together around practical, employer-informed solutions.

The day began at the Nebraska State Capitol, where Gov. Jim Pillen signed a proclamation reaffirming Nebraska’s commitment to strengthening education-to-employment pathways. The proclamation recognized the contributions of SHRM, JAG, and JAG Nebraska and underscored the importance of collaboration among employers, educators, policymakers, and community leaders in building sustainable talent pipelines.

The engagement also highlighted Pillen’s Good Life, Great Careers initiative, which is working to create clearer pathways into high-demand careers by expanding registered apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships and better aligning workforce programs with employer needs. Nebraska has set a goal of adding 6,000 new registered active apprentices by 2030.

Later that afternoon, SHRM Chief Administrative Officer Emily M. Dickens moderated an E² roundtable featuring Nebraska Commissioner of Labor Katie Thurber; JAG President and CEO Janelle Duray; Annette Zimmerman, vice president of United Way of the Midlands; SHRM members; employers; workforce leaders; and JAG students. The conversation explored Nebraska’s evolving workforce needs, opportunities to expand apprenticeships and other work-based learning models, and ways employers can engage students earlier in their education and career journeys.

The Nebraska engagement reinforced a central principle behind E²: Employers cannot simply wait for talent to emerge at the end of the pipeline. They have an important role in helping build it.

By bringing policymakers, employers, workforce leaders, and students to the same table, SHRM and JAG are helping strengthen the connections between education, skills, and opportunity that Nebraska’s future workforce will depend on.