Economic development has long measured success by the number of jobs created. This session explores what changes when we focus instead on the quality of those jobs and who is accessing them. We will discuss how to better align workforce and economic development to address a dual challenge: employers struggling to find skilled talent while many residents can’t access good jobs with career pathways. As middle-class work shifts, place-based, employer-led, sector-driven strategies are emerging as essential solutions. Using Philadelphia’s Skills Initiative and its partnership with Accelerator for America as a model, we’ll explore how cross-sector collaboration between employers, training providers, and philanthropy connects residents to growing local jobs and how this approach is scaling to other cities. In a moment of rapid change, alignment isn’t optional. It is essential for shared prosperity.