The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) rolled out TalentCapital.AI to connect furloughed federal employees with current openings in the D.C. region.
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) earlier this month rolled out TalentCapital.AI, a robust workforce development initiative that uses an AI-powered platform to connect displaced federal employees with current openings in the D.C. region.
COG executive director Clark Mercer told WTOP that the platform is gaining traction.
“We’ve got over 32,000 unique users — that’s not repeat visitors,” Mercer said. “Every day we have around 3,000 active users, which is someone who is interacting with ‘Celeste,’ the AI agent, and is having a healthy back and forth in terms of looking for work,” he said.
TalentCapital.AI is designed to connect talent with employers, strengthen the region’s economy, and provide a lifeline for those impacted by layoffs or looking to make a career change, Mercer said.
Federal workers are logging in from across the D.C. area including the District, Silver Spring and Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Reston, Ashburn, and Alexandria, Virginia, Mercer said. “So it’s all over the metro capital region, which is pretty neat to see.”
Mercer said more than half the users on the site are using desktop computers, which could be an indication that they are serious about their job search.
The team at the Talent Capital platform go through every day and weed out dead links, an issue that’s been raised among users of other job boards, according to Mercer.
Mayor Muriel Bowser launched the new initiative to help job seekers get back on their feet — and it combines cutting-edge tech with community support.
The program partners with George Washington University, University of the District of Columbia and nonprofits to offer hands-on guidance.
TalentCapital.AI was created “in response to what’s happening (in the federal government),” Mercer said. “Anyone can go on the site, but particular attention is being paid to federal workers and contractors, and we hope it’s the start of our three governments working more closely together when it comes to workforce development.”
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
