JobWorks Brings AI and Digital Outreach Innovation to Raising the Bar 2026
JobWorks, Inc. was proud to sponsor and participate in the Maryland Workforce Association's Raising the Bar 2026 Conference, held September 21–23 at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor in Baltimore.
The annual conference brings together workforce, education, and training professionals to exchange ideas and explore innovative solutions for serving job seekers, youth, and businesses. For JobWorks, it provided an opportunity to connect with workforce leaders from Maryland and beyond while sharing some of the strategies we're using to modernize workforce service delivery.
In addition to sponsoring Raising the Bar 2026 and exhibiting throughout the conference, JobWorks delivered two workshops focused on areas that are increasingly important to the public workforce system: artificial intelligence and digital participant outreach.
AI at Work: Practical Applications for Workforce Development
Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the workplace, but its potential isn't limited to employers in the private sector. AI can also help workforce organizations improve how they engage participants, deliver services, manage programs, and connect with employers.
During "AI at Work: New Approaches for Workforce Professionals," JobWorks shared pioneering, real-world examples of how our workforce professionals are incorporating AI across the service delivery continuum.
The session explored practical applications in areas ranging from participant outreach and education to case management and employer engagement.
Rather than focusing on AI as a distant or theoretical trend, the presentation demonstrated how accessible AI tools and approaches can help workforce professionals work more efficiently, improve service quality, and expand their capacity to serve customers.
The topic was particularly timely given Raising the Bar's introduction of a dedicated AI pre-conference focused on how artificial intelligence is reshaping jobs, skills, hiring, education, and workforce services.
Using Google Ad Grants to Reach More Workforce Participants
Our second presentation addressed another challenge facing workforce organizations: How do you reach people who need your services when they're no longer walking through your doors?
During "Generate More Foot Traffic with Free Google Ad Grants," JobWorks shared how we transformed our own participant outreach using digital marketing.
As a WIOA service provider and workforce program operator, JobWorks experienced the same participant recruitment challenges confronting many organizations. Beginning in 2023, we expanded our use of digital outreach through the Google Ad Grant, a program that provides eligible nonprofits with up to $10,000 per month in free Google advertising.
The results were significant.
JobWorks increased program traffic from fewer than 100 prospective candidates per month to more than 1,400 candidates per month, while also generating substantial increases in website traffic and engagement.
Our presentation walked attendees through practical strategies for securing and activating the Google Ad Grant, selecting keywords, structuring campaigns, and avoiding common mistakes that can prevent nonprofits from fully utilizing their available advertising dollars.
JobWorks was joined by our partner Nonprofit Megaphone, which specializes in helping nonprofit organizations implement and optimize Google Ad Grant campaigns.
Raising the Bar on Workforce Innovation
Sponsoring, exhibiting, and presenting at Raising the Bar 2026 gave the JobWorks team an opportunity to do more than talk about workforce innovation. It allowed us to share strategies we're actively implementing across our own workforce programs.
That approach reflects a larger philosophy at JobWorks.
With nearly four decades of experience in public workforce development, we believe technology should strengthen—not replace—the human relationships at the center of workforce services. Whether we're using AI to help staff work more efficiently, digital advertising to connect with underserved job seekers, or other technology to streamline service delivery, the objective remains the same: serve more people and deliver better outcomes.
We appreciated the opportunity to connect with workforce leaders at Raising the Bar 2026 and exchange ideas about what's working across the workforce system.
Thank you to the Maryland Workforce Association and everyone who joined our sessions, visited the JobWorks booth, or connected with our team in Baltimore.
We're looking forward to continuing the conversation—and continuing to raise the bar for workforce development.