I remember well when the phrase “a thousand points of light” entered regular usage. Popularized by President George H.W. Bush, the phrase referred to individuals and organizations that provide valuable and even lifesaving work in communities around the country. In 1990, President Bush founded the Points of Light Foundation.

As a kid interested in social justice, this fascinated me. I saw these thousand points of light bringing hope and comfort to those in need. That said, while disparate groups deliver aid that is meaningful and valuable, they can often have an even greater impact when they work together and emulate and build upon each other’s successful approaches to common problems.

Today, when I think of manufacturing workforce development programs, I imagine them as “a thousand points of light,” too. They are obviously doing tremendous work in communities around the country. However, these programs are fragmented, disjointed, and rarely scale outside the cities and states that invested in their creation.

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