Workers in the DMV continue to lose their jobs, largely thanks to federal turmoil. Regional leaders aiming to address this just released a new site compiling resources for employment seekers.
Talentcapital.ai, launched this week, is a tool that connects people to open jobs, career coaching and skills-building courses. Users can chat with AI agents, including the entry point Celeste, to find opportunities. They can also filter by industry, location and remote or on-site roles based on preferences and resume details.
The AI platform is the centerpiece of Talent Capital, a public-private partnership across 24 regional jurisdictions in DC, Maryland and Virginia, per Paul Khin, the deputy mayor of education for DC. This geographic affiliation, spanning as far as Hampton, Virginia, and Aberdeen, Maryland, is a first, he said. It was largely inspired by the mass layoffs within the federal government, a major regional employer.
“We have never before had this level of collaboration around our labor market and our economic development,” Khin told Technical.ly, who oversees the city’s workforce development system, “because typically, when you’re a political jurisdiction, you think in terms of the political values. Of course, job seekers don’t look at the world that way.”
Unemployment rates in the region are outpacing the nation’s, per a recent report by the Brookings Institution. DC has the highest percentage at 6% as of August, though there were bigger increases in the Virginia suburbs.
“Typically, when you’re a political jurisdiction, you think in terms of the political values. Of course, job seekers don’t look at the world that way.”
Deputy Mayor Paul Khin
The government shutdown that started Tuesday is also leaving an estimated 750,000 federal employees furloughed, and an unclear number could be fired.
“We’re all are in a similar situation where we have thousands of highly qualified workers who love this city, and we love them back,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said during remarks at the event. “What the talent capital [platform] is about is making sure our region is sticky.”
Meet Maia and Newen
In the early spring, Deputy Mayor Khin and economic development-related leaders in the region came up with the idea of talentcapital.ai and brought on DC startup BuildWithin to develop the technology.
Khin and others first thought of generative AI as a solution to compile resources for residents looking for a job, but he said they were advised by the software job training firm to look to agentic AI. That’s because it’s more sophisticated, he said — talentcapital.ai can enroll users in training programs or sign up for an event, for example.
The tool pulls from a database developed and maintained by BuildWithin, per cofounder and CEO Ximena Gates-Hartsock. That data, which is proprietary, is scraped by humans and pulled from other databases maintained by workforce development groups, universities and related entities.
“If you live in any part of the region, there may be resources in your region that you may know about,” Gates-Hartsock said, “and there may be other resources outside of your region that you may not know about.”
Users can interact with different agents depending on what they’re looking for, she explained. Maia helps with job openings, and Newen pulls up coaching and mentorship opportunities.
Talentcapital.ai is refreshed daily to avoid recommending expired jobs, per Gates-Hartsock.
BuildWithin is also the tech company behind the site SkillsNation and the Capital Workforce Innovation Consortium, which trains and connects DC residents to tech apprenticeships. That initiative is in partnership with the Department of Employment Services in DC. This new tool pulls information from SkillsNation, Gates-Hartsock said.
Talentcapital.ai also offers an option for employers — those hiring can post jobs and get matches of potential candidates, message them and have video interviews on the platform, said Gates-Hartsock. She sees small businesses and nonprofits using it the most, since those entities often don’t have a full human resources infrastructure.
Now that the tool is live, Deputy Mayor Khin is most keen on tracking how many people get landed in jobs, he said.
“We’re trying to ensure,” Khin said, “that we build momentum and success.”
