Pipeline Connects reaches 300,000 Arizonans amid workforce gap
April 13
Pipeline Connects, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting Arizonans to career pathways and opportunities, has announced that its career-connected system now serves 300,000 individuals across the state.
Since becoming a nonprofit in 2022, the organization said it has nearly tripled its capacity, achieving close to 90% growth in just three years. This rapid expansion reflects increasing demand for solutions that bridge the gap between education, training, and employment.
Arizona’s workforce challenges mirror a broader national crisis, where disconnected education and employment systems contribute to an estimated $1.1 trillion annual loss in U.S. GDP. These fragmented pathways often leave individuals without clear routes to meaningful careers and employers without the skilled talent they need.
Jim Rounds, a board member, and Amber Smith, CEO of Pipeline Connects, joined Arizona Horizon to discuss how more residents can access supported pathways to career success.
“We are a Statewide career pathway infrastructure system where we are connecting career explorers,” Smith said, “…finding the training and education program along the way, right in their own local community.”
Rounds emphasized that the organization seeks to make the system more efficient, in the midst of potential big workforce shortages in the future.
“It’s not just a matter of adding volume,” Rounds explained, “…it’s trying to create more efficiency with the individuals that we currently have.”
According to Rounds, if there is a way to shorten the time it takes people to get into the workforce, then the current economic momentum throughout the state will continue.
“We have $180 million positive economic impact due to the connectivity we have created through this system,” Smith said.
Rounds discussed that the state will not be able to maintain its current economic momentum if it can’t keep the workforce supply moving forward.
“So it’s a risk of losing the money, or it’s an opportunity to make that extra revenue,” Rounds said.
