In his opening remarks to the Legislature, Governor Jeff Landry made it clear that addressing Louisiana’s workforce needs would be a cornerstone of the 2026 legislative session. Better Louisiana has also been focused on this issue, developing legislative proposals that focus on ways the state can better connect businesses and citizens to high-paying jobs in high-demand fields. Several of those bills will be heard at the Capitol this week.
The attention now being placed on state workforce issues makes total sense. Louisiana’s labor force participation rate of around 58% is among the lowest in the country. What that means is that more than 40% of our working-age population, excluding retirees, students, and those not seeking employment, are on the sidelines.
In real numbers that translates to about 128,000 job openings in Louisiana with only about 88,000 individuals actively seeking work. That doesn’t even take into account the job demands that will grow significantly from the nearly $100 billion in recently announced economic development projects. This is the crux of our workforce problem and the focus of legislation lawmakers are considering now.
Here’s an overview of what’s on the agenda this week:
- HB 951 by Rep. Bamburg: One problem facing Louisiana is that while Louisiana Economic Development has an award-winning program called Fast Start to train workers for major economic development projects, the state lags far behind in providing the same type of services to employers that are already here. HB 951 creates a new office called the Louisiana Talent Accelerator. Its primary function will be to reach out to existing Louisiana businesses to understand their workforce needs and help develop solutions tailored to their individual situation. (Thursday, March 19, House Labor & Industrial Relations Committee)
- SB 383 by Sen. Bass: Louisiana’s Incumbent Worker Training Program (IWTP) has been around for almost 30 years. Its purpose is to train and upgrade the skills of existing workers who are already employed. Right now, it has about $20 million a year available to do that, but that’s all it can be used for. SB 383 modernizes IWTP giving it greater flexibility to use some of those dollars for other types of workforce training, particularly in areas where we have significant job shortages. (Wednesday, March 18, Senate Labor & Industrial Relations Committee)
- HB 268 by Rep. Carver: There is almost universal agreement that we need to start early in exposing youngsters to career opportunities. Though we have a law on the books that requires middle school students to take part in some sort of career-exploration activities, it provides little detail on what that looks like and in many cases seems to be ignored. HB 268 strengthens that requirement, by providing greater rigor, direction, and accountability. (Wednesday, March 18, House Education Committee)
- HB 807 by Rep. Brass: It is well documented that there are significant shortages of qualified instructors in our community and technical colleges, particularly in high-wage and high-demand fields. A big part of the reason is that instructors can make more money working in the private sector than teaching others the skill in the classroom. This bill creates the Workforce Instructor Capacity Investment Program, which seeks to address that problem. (Wednesday, March 18, House Education Committee)
Still to come are instruments to consolidate functions of 15 local workforce boards into a state board to better target workforce training resources, create a clearinghouse to connect students with career opportunities in Louisiana, and a task force to make recommendations for a better-coordinated statewide work-based learning system.
What the need for all of these bills shows us is that Louisiana is at an inflection point, of sorts. We have new economic investment, employers hiring, working-age adults not working, and graduates in many fields struggling to find jobs.
And all of this is occurring in an environment where workforce and education systems are fragmented, accountability for outcomes is spread among too many governance structures, and unnecessary barriers make transitions into work more difficult than they need to be.
The bills being heard this session represent the most comprehensive effort we have seen in years to remove the dysfunction that has hurt our workforce delivery system and produce the outcomes that everyone in the state wants – to connect Louisiana people with Louisiana jobs that boost individual prosperity and grow our economy.
It is encouraging that state leaders are embracing this effort and Better Louisiana will do its part to help ensure it is successful.