(Opinion) We aren’t building a workforce pipeline; we’re waiting for it

WORKFORCE

By: Stephanie Latini

Across New Hampshire, the conversation about workforce shortages sounds familiar: We can’t find people.

But in many cases, we aren’t building a workforce pipeline; we’re waiting for one.

In fields like child care and after-school, that challenge is especially visible. Programs across the state are struggling to hire and retain staff, and the conversation often centers on wages, recruitment strategies or short-term fixes.

Those are important, but they don’t get at the root of the issue.

What if the problem isn’t just hiring? What if it’s that we’ve never built a clear pipeline into this work in the first place?

In most sectors, workforce development begins long before a job posting goes live. There are entry points, training pathways, internships and mentorship structures that help people understand the work and see themselves in it. By the time they enter the workforce, they are not starting from zero.

Youth-serving fields have not historically been structured this way. Many people find their way into after-school or child care work by accident, later in life or in between other roles. And then we are left trying to recruit and retain from a pool that was never intentionally developed.

In one region of New Hampshire, a different approach is starting to take shape.

Over the past two years, Monadnock United Way, with support from the Northern Border Regional Commission, has been working to build a more intentional workforce entry point. Through a regional partnership program, high school students, college students and career-changers are placed directly into after-school internships. The concept is simple: introduce people to the work earlier, provide hands-on experience and create a pathway into the field.

To date, about 60 interns have participated. Some have shifted their academic focus toward education or human services, while others have moved into ongoing roles in after-school programs. High school students are completing Extended Learning Opportunities in after-school, and Keene State College students are completing practicums. Programs benefit as well, gaining staff support, mentoring experience and expanded capacity.

It is not a complete solution, but it demonstrates something important: When a pathway exists, people use it.

Alongside this, a local learning and credentialing hub has been piloted to make professional development more accessible and aligned with the realities of the work. This kind of infrastructure matters. Workforce systems are not built on hiring alone, but also on entry points, training and retention. This is where broader reframing becomes necessary.

After-school and child care are often treated as separate from workforce systems, but they are deeply connected to them. These programs make it possible for parents across New Hampshire to participate in the labor force, and they also represent an entry point into it. We understand the connection clearly in early child care.

Once children enter kindergarten, that connection tends to fade, even though the need does not.

When young people are introduced to this work early, they do not just participate in programs; they become part of the workforce that sustains them.

This shift from reactive hiring to intentional workforce development is especially important in New Hampshire. Our labor force is aging, our population growth is limited and many regions face persistent workforce shortages. Building a workforce means growing it from within.

These challenges are not unique to one region. At a recent national after-school conference, workforce pipelines, professionalization and sustainability were central themes. Across the country, communities are recognizing that workforce shortages cannot be solved solely by recruiting harder. They require building clearer, earlier pathways into the field.

That work is not quick or easy. It requires coordination across education systems, community organizations and employers. It requires investment in training and infrastructure, and it requires a shift in how we think about workforce development itself.

We can keep waiting for a workforce to appear, or we can start building one.

The people are already there. The question is whether we are willing to build the path.

Stephanie Latini is the internship and business outreach manager at Monadnock United Way where she works across the Monadnock Region to connect young people and adults to workforce pathways in afterschool programs. She also serves as Executive Committee chair of the New Hampshire After-school Network.