As 2022 came to a close, I was as amazed as I am every year by all the “___ of the Year” lists. It seems like every media outlet creates its own list of the year’s 10 best books, and then there’s the Sherwin-Williams Color of the Year, the Merriam-Webster Word of the Year, and so on.

This got me thinking: What if workforce development had its own word of the year, but instead of looking back, this word would inspire us for the coming year? What if we could pick one concept that guides all our efforts for 2023?

Of course, this is just my humble opinion—but aren’t all these lists just opinions? So, because I came up with the idea of the Workforce Development Word of the Year, I hope you’ll indulge me by allowing me to choose its inaugural word.

For 2023, the Workforce Development Word of the Year is seamless

As in: If we’re going to solve the current talent crisis, we need our workforce programs to make it easy for participants to move seamlessly from one stage—engagement, recruitment, training, or employment—to the next.

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