Empowering Delaware's Workforce

THE LAUNCH OF THE CAREER MOBILITY APP

BY RYAN HARRINGTON

Thousands of Delawareans are seeking to grow their careers— looking for ways to enhance their skills or find new opportunities. They want to find careers that give them and their families the ability to thrive. Finding these roles and getting the training that they need to make this possible can be an uphill journey, though. It can be difficult to find the right training. There is no one-stop-shop for Delawareans to connect with the resources that they need to upskill—until now.

In October 2024, Tech Impact launched the Delaware Career Mobility App. This app, which is the result of a partnership between Tech Impact, the Delaware Workforce Development Board, and the Delaware Department of Labor, aims to build a marketplace to connect individuals looking for workforce training with the programs that provide them. It serves as a comprehensive resource for Delawareans looking to grow their skillset and find careers that they can thrive in.

At launch, the application included over 250 workforce programs from across the state—offering workforce training opportunities in industries from health care to tech to logistics—some of the state’s fastest growing sectors. The app is available for iOS, Android, or on the web at www.decareermobility.org.

Delawareans looking for an opportunity can tell the app what they’re looking for—the industry they’re interested in, the location they’d like to be, and the type of program they want to pursue— and the app will provide options that fit their criteria. Users are served the information that they need to make decisions about applying for the programs. They are able to filter and save the programs to come back to later. Direct links to apply for the programs can be found directly in the application.

Tech Impact is committed to growing the capabilities of the Career Mobility App over the next several years. The first step is ensuring that every workforce training program in the state is represented. Tools to make it easier for workforce training organizations to include their programs on the app are being built, which will add an additional marketing opportunity for programs that need them. In the future, the application will use the data we are gathering about Delaware’s workforce to streamline how users find programs. We will remove barriers for workforce programs and potential participants, creating a streamlined, efficient workforce marketplace.

A vibrant workforce development ecosystem only serves to help Delaware employers. Easier access to workforce training programs means that more Delawareans will have the skills that they need to meet the needs of local employers. In the future, the Career Mobility App will serve as a platform to connect the dots for individuals from training programs to jobs. You can support the Career Mobility App by encouraging local workforce training programs to list their programs and by encouraging community members to use it to identify training programs.

Ryan Harrington is the director of the Data Lab at Tech Impact. You can learn more by visiting the Delaware Career Mobility App on the web at www.decareermobility.org.