Comment: Lawmakers must restore funding to train high-tech workforce
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 10, 2026
By Marc Cummings, Kayla Coffee and Randa Minkarah / For The Herald
Washington has a problem. We have too many good jobs. Why is that a problem? Not enough of them are going to Washingtonians.
As leaders representing Washington’s innovative technology, life science and aerospace industries, we have watched for a decade as Washington’s economy ranked first in GDP growth and ninth in job growth. During that same time, Washington has been a top destination for college-educated talent; meaning that our high-paying, high-demand jobs are going to people trained elsewhere because we aren’t preparing our own kids for those jobs.
The good news? There’s still plenty of opportunity if we get our act together.
Projections show that we will have 1.5 million job openings over the next decade and a shortfall of nearly 600,000 credentialed workers. Seventy-five percent of those jobs will require a postsecondary credential such as a degree, industry-aligned certificate, or license. Programs that provide students with a combination of a degree or credential in a high-demand field along with interactive industry experience are the best path to securing a job. Unfortunately, only 40 percent of Washington high school students obtain such a credential by the time they turn 26.
The challenge is that Washington’s economy has rapidly transformed from being relatively quiet and natural resource-driven to a national leader in cutting-edge industries such as cloud computing, life science, space exploration and clean tech. But our higher education system hasn’t kept pace.
A landmark fund for workforce development: Recognizing the need and opportunity to prepare Washingtonians for these growing industries, in 2019, the Legislature established a dedicated fund via a B&O surcharge on high-tech employers. That fund, the Washington Education Investment Act (WEIA) account, was established with the explicit goal of providing additional funding to support programs that prepare Washingtonians for jobs that are in high demand. Today, Washington employers pay almost $1 billion into it annually.
Since WEIA passed, our organizations have spent the last six years working with our state’s community colleges and universities building a new generation of industry-supported programs in fast-growing fields. The results have been nothing short of inspirational. Washington’s Aerospace Training & Research Center prepares people for aerospace manufacturing careers in as little as 12 weeks. At UW-Bothell’s Center for Biotechnology Innovation & Training, local biotech leaders introduce students to jobs that they didn’t even know existed before entering the program. Graduates of the UW’s Allen School for Computer Science are literally inventing the future of AI.
These are programs where industry leaders help develop the curriculum, co-teach and lecture, provide internships, and even run labs on campus according to industry standards. The result? Students leave ready to work at local companies the day they graduate.
So, what’s the problem?
The Legislature decided to use the fund for other purposes.
Initially, the fund was used for student scholarships and high-demand degree programs with the goal of having 70 percent of high school graduates obtain the credentials needed to secure a job. Last year, the Legislature redirected hundreds of millions of dollars to support other priorities. At the same time, rather than funding high-demand degree programs that prepare students for the jobs of the future, the Legislature used the funding to backfill university teacher salaries and administrative expenses. This sustains programs that were built decades ago, but it doesn’t help prepare students for the jobs available today.
Restore the original intent of WEIA: Six years ago, a group of legislators and industry leaders came together to chart a path to make sure that more Washingtonians would be prepared for the great jobs being created by Washington’s most innovative companies. Unfortunately, just as that vision was becoming reality, the state swept those funds for other purposes, leaving local employers asking: Is the state really committed to helping our own kids get high-paying, in-demand jobs? Or does it want employers to recruit and relocate people to Washington to fill those jobs, putting more pressure on commuting and housing costs?
Our employers want to hire locally. High-tech employers are already paying the tax. The Legislature needs to honor the original intent of the WEIA and dedicate those funds to building the programs that will prepare our kids for the high-demand jobs that we are lucky to have in Washington.
Marc Cummings is the president and CEO of Life Science Washington, the state’s life sciences industry association. Kayla Coffee is the president and CEO of Aerospace Futures Alliance the region’s aerospace industry association. Randa Minkarah is the Chief Operating Executive at the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA), the largest technology trade association in Washington state.
