How Burgess Owens is seeking to better 'MATCH' job seekers with employers

SALT LAKE CITY — Resumes listing degrees, skills and work experience have been the traditional tool matching job seekers with companies that are hiring new employees.

But Utah Rep. Burgess Owens calls the resume system "outdated" — arguing it fails to capture and communicate what would-be employees actually know and what they can do.

To better match students with job opportunities, the Republican lawmaker on Thursday introduced the Modernizing Access To Talents, Credentials, and Hiring Act of 2026.

The legislation aptly is called the "MATCH Act."

The proposed bill calls for establishing a skills-based workforce system that supports "talent marketplaces" that connect workers, students, employers and training providers by using standardized and interoperable data, according to an Owens-provided release.

"The MATCH Act helps … modernize our workforce, and connects real talent to real opportunity," said Owens in a statement. "No one is reduced to a line on a resume; every achievement is seen, valued, and ready to open doors of opportunity."

Owens is the vice chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee and chairman of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee.

America's workforce system, according to Owens, is broken and "lags behind other modern economies." Industries have millions of job openings for skilled workers that they are struggling to fill.

The MATCH Act, he said, would help modernize the nation's workforce system "by improving how a person's skills, credentials and work experience are recognized and verified — and how they are then connected with tailored opportunities."

What would Owens' MATCH Act do?

The MATCH Act would authorize states to create publicly accessible digital "talent marketplaces" that would match job seekers to hiring and training opportunities based on workers' verified skills, credentials and work experiences.

Grant money to build and operate the "marketplaces" would be available through the Labor Department's Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

The bill also promotes interoperability standards to ensure the talent marketplaces can work across states and institutions — and accommodate worker mobility.

MATCH Act gleans support from lawmakers and database industry

Owens' colleague on the Education and Workforce Committee, Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., said in a statement that job seekers are facing challenges demonstrating their abilities in today's skills-based workforce.

"This legislation helps close that gap by recognizing that valuable skills are gained in many ways — not just through traditional degrees — and ensuring those skills are visible, portable, and trusted," said Walberg.

"It's a win for both workers and employers, making hiring more efficient and delivering better matches with less guesswork."

Representatives from the workforce/job market industry said the MATCH Act advances how would-be employees and their potential employers connect.

"By supporting interoperable talent marketplaces and learning and employment records, the bill gives workers control of their data while helping employers and states make clearer, more transparent hiring decisions," said Pearson's head of government relations officer Rosemary Lahasky.

Greg DiDonato, a vice president at the research database company EBSCO, said in a statement that the nation's economy relies upon a workforce system that serves workers and businesses.

"By modernizing WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act) and investing in talent marketplaces, we will meet the rapidly growing and changing demands of employers while unlocking greater opportunity across every sector of the economy for every American."

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