Compete to Win
Michigan’s Path to Top 10

States with the highest rates of education attainment have the highest quality of life and the largest incomes. Unfortunately, Michigan’s K-12 students have fallen far behind in math and reading metrics. To tackle these problems, our state needs to:

Enact near-term changes to accelerate improvement to K-12 system

• Support teacher retention and growth
• Maximize dollars to classrooms
• Invest in support programs
• Track and report student outcomes
• Standardize IT systems

Transform our K-12 system so that we leave no student behind, and a high school diploma represents a universal high standard

• Enact a world class college/career-ready performance standard
• Increase education funding
• Improve career and technical education (CTE) pathways

Businesses go where the talent is based—which is why it’s imperative to develop, attract and retain the best talent in our state. Toward that end, we must:

Remove barriers to economic success for Michiganders to enter the workforce and progress in their careers

• Promote skills-based hiring
• Expand pathways to employment for non-traditional groups
• Improve access to transportation
• Support driver’s license reform
• Improve childcare options
• Create more affordable and middle-market housing
• Enact professional licensing reform
• Support criminal justice reform

Improve connections between learnings and careers to ensure individuals have quality jobs and employers have access to talent

• Expand career and work exposure for students
• Drive additional career navigation support
• Track results of training providers
• Streamline and sustain employer engagement
• Improve community college and training systems

Increase the number of workers with high-demand credentials, degrees, and skills

• Increase post-secondary degree attainment
• Expand the Going PRO Talent Fund to assist employers in training and developing talent
• Drive high-value skills
• Improve college completion

Attract and retain workers to Michigan to expand our population and talent base

• Advertise quality of life
• Provide best-in-class attraction activities
• Increase legal immigration
• Keep more graduates in Michigan
• Provide more internships

Michigan’s economy has made great strides in recent years, but our growth is still below the national average. The Compete to Win plan includes steps to bolster that growth:

Drive a consistent and competitive state economic development strategy across political terms 

• Grow incumbent industries
• Diversify the economy
• Become a start-up and scale-up state for entrepreneurs
• Grow and strengthen Michigan’s R&D sector
• Organize for regional success
• Ensure sustainable funding
• Drive regulatory reform

 Become a leading state for business attraction and retention

• Provide best-in-class customer service
• Prepare prioritized sites for future opportunities
• Provide competitive incentives
• Get the fundamentals right
• Increase access to talent

While Michigan has made improvements in our tax and business climate, fiscal conditions and business regulation, more progress is needed to attract young talent and bolster our infrastructure. Our state must:

Ensure a competitive cost of doing business and good governance

• Invest one-time funding in our future
• Maintain a competitive tax system
• Maintain competitive energy costs and reliability
• Pay down unfunded liabilities

Invest in infrastructure

• Prioritize infrastructure investments in transportation and water systems
• Modernize our transportation system
• Modernize transportation infrastructure funding
• Expand broadband access to underserved areas
• Harden infrastructure to withstand extreme weather events

Make Michigan a destination for people and employers

• Improve functionality of state government
• Prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
• Create attractive communities