Across the United States, businesses are facing record-low unemployment rates and a tight labor market, which incentivize them to pursue more creative strategies for finding skilled workers. Meanwhile, more than 36 million U.S. adults of working age have foundational skills gaps in areas such as literacy or numeracy, and two-thirds of these adults are employed. This is a significant population of underutilized workers who could contribute more if they had opportunities to build their skills. States can unleash this talent by investing in powerful upskilling strategies that are proven to equip these workers with the skills that local businesses need. To ensure the success of upskilling strategies, states should capitalize on the joint expertise of the career and technical education (CTE) and adult education systems and implement policies that improve alignment between those systems. This brief outlines how collaboration between adult education and CTE partners can advance effective programs for workers with foundational skill needs. It provides a case study of one such approach, between adult education and CTE programs at the Socorro Independent School District (ISD) in El Paso, Texas. The report also provides state and federal policy recommendations for strengthening alignment between these two systems and replicating this approach in other communities.