The Blue Economy, which includes industries tied to water, marine systems, and coastal and freshwater infrastructure, is accelerating. Major investment and environmental change are fueling growth and creating new workforce demands across interconnected sectors. Yet workforce systems often lag the needs of these rapidly evolving industries. Fragmented funding, siloed training pathways, and limited coordination across workforce and industry partners can limit sector growth and equitable access to quality careers. Drawing on research and policy insights from CAEL and Shift Work Forward’s support of Current’s National Science Foundation-funded Great Lakes RENEW initiative, this session explores how to better align workforce systems to support the growing Blue Economy. Attendees will examine what it takes to coordinate across sectors, respond to rapidly evolving industry needs, and build clearer pathways into water-related and emerging careers.