The COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted and accelerated two trends that were already occurring in the American workplace: First, the demand for new skills and competencies, including digital skills, from workers at every level. Second, the growing importance of investing in upskilling strategies that can help two groups of workers: Those who are already employed and are adapting to changing skill needs on the job, and new jobseekers who are preparing for employment at a particular company. Now, as the American economy continues its roller-coaster ride and workers face the highest unemployment rate in generations, there is fresh urgency to act. Luckily, there are demonstrated examples of what to do: Employer-based upskilling programs that have thrived by connecting eager workers with demand-driven training that leads to career advancement. This brief details the current landscape for businesses' in-house upskilling policies and explains the major bottlenecks and barriers preventing widespread replication of effective practices. Next, it makes recommendations for how policymakers can take action to change the trajectory and equip more businesses to implement upskilling programs that respond to current and emerging labor market demands, including the need for rapid re-hiring and re-skilling as previously unemployed workers return to the labor market. To conclude the authors suggest that states with existing incumbent worker training (IWT) policies should strengthen them, and those without such policies should advance them. These policies can be vital tools in driving greater employer investment in workforce training and advancing more workers along career paths, yet restrictions in their current design leave many workers and businesses out in the cold. Reinvigorating state IWT policies is necessary to ensure that the essential workers and industries that the United States depends on can flourish in a post-pandemic economy.