One Step Unlock program keeps 600 Michiganders working and in training

LEO and the Michigan Workforce Development Board Remove Transportation Barriers for Workers and Students

LANSING, Mich. – Today, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) and the Michigan Workforce Development Board announced that more than 600 Michiganders have secured reliable transportation to keep them working or in training through the One Step Unlock program.

“One Step Unlock is delivering results for Michiganders who need a boost in building prosperous, meaningful careers,” said LEO Director Susan Corbin. “I’m proud that we’re able to meet people where they are and provide solutions – in this case through reliable transportation.”

LEO, in partnership with the Michigan Workforce Development Board, launched the One Step Unlock Program in May 2025 after a survey of Michigan Works! Agencies (MWAs) identified transportation challenges as the top single-issue barrier preventing Michiganders from working and accessing training. The initiative provides $4 million to MWAs across the state to support workers and students with auto purchases and vehicle repairs – the highest need transportation barriers identified by that survey.

“The One Step Unlock program has helped registered apprentices, working students and career-builders get to work and training reliably, said Jessica Brousseau, Chief of Staff at LEO and Michigan Workforce Development Board Executive Director. “Because missing a ride shouldn’t derail a career.”

The One Step Unlock program is projected to serve 1,160 participants statewide through FY26. Michigan workers and jobseekers are encouraged to contact their local MWA for more information on the program.

"This program exists because our Michigan Works! Agencies told us what job seekers and workers were telling them: a broken-down car or a missing ride is often all that stands between someone and a paycheck,” said Michigan Works! CEO Ryan Hundt. “One Step Unlock turns that frontline insight into action, and it gives our Michigan Works! Agencies the flexibility to meet people where they are — whether that's a single parent, a registered apprentice, a young person aging out of foster care, or a returning citizen building a new path forward."

As part of the One Step Unlock Program, MWAs are identifying trusted and vetted partners in the auto sales and repair industry to provide reliable, high-quality services to program participants at lower costs — helping remove a significant employment barrier when other means of transportation, such as public transit, are not available or accessible.

About the Michigan Workforce Development Board

This initiative was created on recommendation from the Michigan Workforce Development Board, an advisory body of labor, business, workforce and education leaders charged with strengthening Michigan’s workforce system and advising the governor on workforce policy.