Here is June 2026 EconoVue Newsletter. EconoVue is pleased to announce a few enhancements in ProspectVue – new Foreign Ownership Search, name change: Business Health Trends Search and an updated Reports Menu. We also highlight our new program-based training, May Roundtable recap, and three use cases:

Data-Driven Regional Planning
Monthly Reentry Job Fairs
Employment for CTI Graduates in Rural County

JOB FAIRS GOAL:   Expanding Employer Participation for Monthly Reentry Job Fairs. 

 

WDB NEED:  Increase employer participation and hiring by identifying businesses open to fair chance hiring, with open positions, and close proximity to the job fair location. 

 

By applying disciplined, repeatable search criteria to the monthly reentry job fair program—from fair-chance and open positions to geolocation-based searches—workforce boards can strengthen their outreach strategies. Moreover, they can increase employer participation. As a result, they can secure more job placements for people returning from incarceration.

 

Search for employers in the region that are open to hiring justice-involved individuals. Target healthy and hiring companies and request their participation at local job fairs. Succeed when participating companies hire individuals looking to reenter the marketplace.

job fairs

VOCATIONAL PROGRAM GOAL:  Finding Employment Opportunities in a Rural County for Vocational and CTI Graduates.

 

WDB NEED: Identify local employers for Auto Technology program graduates. 

 

Workforce boards often follow a “less is more” approach in targeted outreach programs, but in some situations, “more is more” delivers better results. EconoVue’s ability to expand or narrow searches to match specific program requirements is exactly why we exist.

 

Predict which businesses are growing and hiring in my community. Consider the range of employment opportunities in a rural county offers when identifying these businesses. Target low- and medium-risk businesses in targeted NAICS codes that support the vocational Auto Technology program. Succeed when graduates secure jobs.

 

REGIONAL PLANNING GOAL:  Conduct research for regional workforce planning efforts for the emerging nuclear energy sector. 

 

WDB NEED:  Assess employer demand, understand the current talent pipeline, and align education and training providers to support future workforce needs in nuclear engineering and related occupations.

 

EconoVue’s search capabilities enabled the WDB to quickly build a 360-degree perspective of the nuclear energy sector at the statewide and regional levels, identifying employers, hiring opportunities, and training providers all aligned with a nuclear engineering career pathway.

 

Understand the nuclear energy sector at the statewide and regional levels, identifying employers, hiring opportunities, and training providers all aligned with a nuclear engineering career pathway. Succeed when regional and local plans grow a community.

 

How to Find the Best Companies to be Apprenticeship Employer Sponsors

by Mark Muckerman

 

After decades of partnering with Workforce Development Boards (WDBs) nationwide, EconoVue is pleased to share the 5 Best Practices on “How to Find the Best Companies to be Apprenticeship Employer Sponsors”.

We understand that finding the right companies to be apprenticeship employer sponsors is less about blasting emails and more about targeted outreach to organizations that already have the conditions, incentives, and mindset to succeed with apprenticeships.

So, if you are a Workforce Development Board (WDB) or educational institution, you cannot afford to waste limited resources on manual guesswork. At EconoVue, we help workforce development boards improve program results by using data to strategically identify the right business for the right program at the right time.

 

Best Practice 1: Use Data to Narrow Candidate List

A data visualization and analytics platform is a game-changer for workforce boards.

 

Best Practice 2: Start with “High-Probability” Industries  

Some sectors consistently perform well with apprenticeships because they face persistent talent shortages, high turnover costs, and clear Career Ladders.

Historically, High Priority Industries include Healthcare, Advanced Manufacturing, Construction & Skilled Trades, IT & Cybersecurity, Logistics, and Hospitality.

However, do not ignore the localized High Demand Sectors, as industry dynamics differ. To illustrate the point, an East Coast workforce focused on the Marine Trade industry, while a West Coast board prioritized its growing Life Sciences and Information Technology sectors.

And remember to collaborate. Your best leads are often already known to Industry Partnerships, workforce board employer partners, or community college advisory boards.

 

Best Practice 3: Identify “Apprenticeship Ready” Companies

There is no “perfect template” for an ideal company to expand apprenticeships. That’s why innovative workforce boards are prioritizing employers that meet three or more of the following criteria:

Additionally, you can also use data filtering to tailor program outreach to specific employer subsets. Filter by minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned businesses to create inclusive apprenticeship pipelines for underrepresented populations.

 

Best Practice 4: Look for Specific Employer “Signals” or “Trigger Events”

Not every company in a high-probability industry is a good fit. Focus on employers already showing these traits:

Look for Trigger Events

: Companies are most receptive when something changes.</p>

 

Best Practice 5: Target the Right Person with the Right Message

Even a perfect company won’t move forward without the right contact.

 

The Bottom Line 

The “best” apprenticeship sponsors are not just big or well-known companies. They are employers that feel the pain of hiring, already invest in people, offer career progression, demonstrate signs of business health, stability, and growth, and have leadership willing to try something new. By combining strategic outreach criteria with powerful data tools like EconoVue, you can easily cut through the noise, pinpoint healthy, growing businesses, and build a thriving, sustainable apprenticeship ecosystem.

Download the PDF version of the Five Best Practices here.

BUSINESS CORRIDORS GOAL:  Finding and Engaging Growing Companies in Specially- Designated Business Corridors.

 

WDB NEED:  Engage strong, growing businesses to further accelerate their growth through workforce support programs.

 

Using EconoVue, workforce boards can adopt a highly-targeted engagement strategy rather than a wide-lens approach, which can better engage employers based on their goals.

 

Connect with growing businesses. Explore hiring, apprenticeship, and workforce development opportunities. Collaborate with the community. partners and job centers in each zip code/corridor. Succeed when businesses in the designated corridor grow.

REENTRY PROGRAM GOAL: Validate Local Job Opportunities and  Employer Needs for Reentry Apprenticeships Federal Grant. 

 

WDB NEED:  Match existing occupation training programs to employers in their area with that occupational demand, and find and quantify active job postings in those occupations to justify their grant funding request.

 

EconoVue enables WDB to aggregate vast, disparate information quickly – from occupation searches to job searches to business searches across a designated area – enabling targeted outreach and engagement for Reentry Apprenticeships and other workforce programs.

 

Determine if the offered training programs matched the local employer needs for the RESTART Federal grant. Conduct a Career Pathways search based on their existing occupational training to identify businesses with a demand for the occupation. Followed by an O*NET-specific search for businesses actively hiring in those occupations.

 

Here is May 2026 EconoVue Newsletter newsletter. We are pleased to share our Five Best Practices on how to find the best companies to be apprenticeship employer sponsors.  Last chance to register for our next customer roundtable on May 27th. We announced our expanded training program. We also highlight two use cases celebrating small businesses and veterans.

MICRO BUSINESSES GOAL:   Identify and Engage with Micro Businesses for Program Awareness. 

 

WDB NEED:  Increase hiring of the underrepresented talent pool by local micro businesses in the Tech Services sector.  

 

Workforce programs requiring highly specific or complex criteria are exactly why EconoVue was created – to simplify advanced searches that include unique program requirements, such as geo-targeted locations, micro-businesses, and niche sectors.

 

Predict which businesses are healthy and growing operations in your community. Target businesses with low or medium risk to hire skilled talent from underrepresented populations within the workforce region. Succeed when job seekers are hired and contribute to the company’s growth.

Expansion

5 Best Practices to Find the Best Companies to be Apprenticeship Employer Sponsors.

Finding the right companies to become apprenticeship employer sponsors is less about blasting outreach and more about targeting organizations that already have the conditions, incentives, and mindset to succeed with apprenticeships.

If you are a Workforce Development Board (WDB) or educational institution, you cannot afford to waste limited resources on manual guesswork. At EconoVue, our sole purpose is to help workforce development boards improve program results by taking a data-driven approach to employer engagement:  using data to strategically identify the right business for the right program at the right time.