Dec 15, 2010 — learners and non-traditional students. Career pathways programs are designed to serve a diverse group of learners to include; adults, youth,
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2TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––3Introduction –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––5Acknowledgements –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––10Element One: Build Cross-Agency Partnerships and Clarify Roles –––––––––11Element Two: Identify Industry Sectors and Engage Employers –––––––––26Element Three: Design Education and Training Programs –––––––––––––40Element Four: Identify Funding Needs and Sources –––––––––––––––––70Element Five: Align Policies and Programs ––––––––––––––––––––––––79Element Six: Measure System Change and Performance ––––––––––––––89SECTION TWO: Career Pathways Tools and Resources Career Pathways Tools ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––101 SECTION THREE: Career Pathways References Career Pathways Glossary ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––133Bibliography –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––143Career Pathways Resources –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––118
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3INTRODUCTION CAREER PATHWAYS TOOLKIT Preface ABOUT THE CAREER PATHWAYS TOOLKIT The primary audience for this Toolkit is sta˜ who work at the state level representing one of the core partners required to develop a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Uni˚ed Plan. The core partners include the State Workforce Agency, the State Adult Education Agency, and the State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency overseeing Title I, II, III and IV of WIOA. In addition to the core partners, there are other important partners engaged in this work that may be included so that the state can develop a more comprehensive combined plan. The additional partners are listed in Element One of this Toolkit. State agencies that have oversight over WIOA core partners as well as other critical agencies may wish to participate on the State™s career pathways leadership team. In addition, given the increased role of the State Workforce Development Board in the development of an overall strategy for career pathways, state workforce sta˜ may ˚nd this Toolkit useful in supporting the work of the State Board. Under WIOA, State Boards are responsible for aligning core partners and developing and improving the workforce system through the creation of career pathways. As such, they are responsible for convening stakeholders and core partners to contribute to the development of the state plan. The policies and strategies of the state leadership team regarding career pathways must be consistent with the Uni˚ed/Combined State Plan required in WIOA. Local areas implementing career pathways may also ˚nd this Toolkit helpful. This revised Toolkit continues the spirit of the original Career Pathways Toolkit: to provide the workforce system with a framework, resources, and tools for states and local partners to develop, implement, and sustain career pathways systems and programs. This revised Toolkit acknowledges many of the U.S. Department of Labor™s (USDOL) strategic investments to create and sustain a demand-driven employment and training system as part of a larger national e˜ort. It incorporates the Career One-Stop competency model as a building block for creating career pathway programs and references the Career One-Stop credentials Toolkit as an easy way to search existing industry-recognized credentials. This version also maintains the original framework but re˛ects substantial gains in knowledge and experience as well as re˛ects the system™s new guiding legislation, WIOA. In addition to this Toolkit, the Department plans to release a companion workbook that includes additional tools and resources to assist states and local partners in the work of developing, implementing, and sustaining career pathways systems and programs, sector strategies, and Registered Apprenticeship. Lastly, there are additional Federal resources that will be assets to state sta˜ developing a uni˚ed state approach to career pathways. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is releasing two Toolkits this year, both of which will have relevance for the audience of this Toolkit. These new Toolkits focus on sector strategies and Registered Apprenticeship and will help states with the work of aligning these important required aspects of WIOA.
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4INTRODUCTION CAREER PATHWAYS TOOLKIT Section One: Six Key Elements of Career Pathways This Toolkit features Six Key Elements of Career Pathways that help to guide state and local teams through the essential components necessary for developing a comprehensive career pathways system. The components under each element are not sequential and may occur in any order. Likewise, multiple partners can engage in the components simultaneously to carry out the mission of the career pathways system. The ˚rst section of this Toolkit provides an overview of these elements and the overall framework for their implementation. The six elements are: 1. Build cross-agency partnerships and clarify roles 2. Identify industry sectors and engage employers 3. Design education and training programs 4. Identify funding needs and sources 5. Align policies and programs 6. Measure system change and performance Included in this overview are examples of fiPromising Practicesfl from many communities throughout the nation that help contextualize the Six Key Elements and demonstrate how di˜erent communities have implemented key components of career pathways systems. Additionally, each section includes fiCareer Pathways FYIs fl highlighting useful information about career pathways and fiHow Tosfl to guide your team in carrying out activities within each element. At the end of each chapter is a fi Tool Boxfl that lists team tools, publications, and resources available to facilitate implementation of the key components of each element. Section Two: Team Tools/How To Guide for Facilitators The second section of the Toolkit presents the tools developed to assist leadership teams in building and sustaining their career pathways systems. USDOL™s Career Pathways Initiative grantees between 2010 and 2011 developed the tools to support their career pathways systems. The updates to the tools section are the result of a group of Champions who operate programs at the state and/or local level and provided examples of useful tools to their operations. Organized as a fihow tofl guide for facilitators, this section describes each tool™s purpose and gives instructions for how to use it. You may download each tool via links in the text. Section Three: Resources The ˚nal section of the Toolkit is a collection of additional resources that may be useful to a team in developing a career pathway system. This section includes a glossary of terms, a list of resources and links that facilitators and leadership teams have found valuable in supporting their career pathways systems development, and a bibliography of sources referenced and reviewed in the development of the Toolkit.
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5INTRODUCTION CAREER PATHWAYS TOOLKIT Introduction Our Nation™s future is dependent upon an educated, skilled workforce. Improving the skills, knowledge, and credentials of American workers is critical to economic stability, growth, and global competitiveness. The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development™s (OECD) Survey of Adult Skills, released in October 2013, con˚rmed what employers have often noted: far too many adults lack the skills or credentials required for in-demand jobs. The OECD™s analysis of the U.S. data, available in the report, Time for the U.S. to Reskill 1, found that 36 million U.S. adults have low skills, two-thirds of which are employed. By many accounts, the economic environment is ripe for employment expansion, yet employers continue to have di˝culty ˚nding the skilled workers. Of those Americans who lack the skills required for in-demand occupations, many do not know how or where to access the information, training, and credentials needed for these family supporting jobs. WIOA, signed into law on July 22, 2014, provides an extraordinary opportunity to improve job and career options for our Nation™s workers and job seekers through an integrated, job-driven, public workforce system that links diverse talent to businesses. It supports the development of strong, vibrant regional economies where businesses thrive and people want to live and work. This revitalized workforce system includes three critical hallmarks of excellence: The needs of business and workers drive workforce solutions; American Job Centers provide excellent customer service to jobseekers and employers and focus on continuous improvement; and The workforce system supports strong regional economies and plays an active role in community and workforce development. In addition, WIOA requires states and localities to collaborate with adult education, postsecondary education, and other partnersŠto establish career pathways systems that make it easier for all Americans to attain the skills and credentials needed for jobs in their regional economy. Also on July 22, 2014, Vice President Biden issued the Ready to Work: Job-Driven Training and American Opportunity report that lays out a vision for measuring the e˜ectiveness of job-training programs and announcing an array of actions to achieve the skilling of America™s workforce. The Ready to Work Report outlines strategies and program components that have shown promise in helping individuals persist in education and training and to attain credentials necessary for obtaining in-demand jobs. The message from the new law and the job-driven vision is clearŠthe workforce, human service, and educational systems must be in alignment through cross-agency planning, share common performance measures that inform data-driven decision making, and develop strategies for sector partnerships and career pathway systems and programs at the Federal, state, and local levels. ————–1 OECD (2013), Time for the U.S. to Reskill?: What the Survey of Adult Skills Says, OECD Skills Studies, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264204904-en
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6INTRODUCTION CAREER PATHWAYS TOOLKIT Career Pathway Systems and Programs What are career pathways? Career pathways are the new way of doing business, and they operate at two levelsŠa systems level and an individual program level. At the systems level, career pathways development is a broad approach for serving populations that may experience signi˚cant barriers to employment and can substantively alter the way the workforce system delivers its services and its relationship with partner organizations and stakeholders. Career pathway programs o˜er a clear sequence, or pathway, of education coursework and/or training credentials aligned with employer-validated work readiness standards and competencies. This Toolkit predominantly focuses on building career pathway systems although there are also some tools included that support career pathways program development. Career pathway systems o˜er an e˜ective approach to the development of a skilled workforce by increasing the number of workers in the U.S. who gain industry-recognized and academic credentials necessary to work in jobs that are in-demand. To align educational o˜erings with business needs, career pathways systems engage business in the development of educational programs up front. Career pathways systems transform the role of employers from a customer to a partner and a co-leader and co-investor in the development of the workforce. Employers have a high stake in the development of career pathways that lead to an increase in their pipeline of quali˚ed workers. Additionally, career pathways systems o˜er a more e˝cient and customer-centered approach to workforce development because they structure intentional connections among employers, adult basic education, support service providers, occupational training, and postsecondary education programs and design the systems to meet the needs of learners and employers. Career pathway programs make it easier for people to earn industry-recognized credentials through avenues that are more relevant; to provide opportunities for more ˛exible education and training; and to attain market identi˚able skills that can transfer into work. These comprehensive education and training programs are suited to meet the needs of working learners and non-traditional students. Career pathways programs are designed to serve a diverse group of learners to include; adults, youth, dislocated workers, veterans, individuals with a disability, public assistance recipients, new immigrants, English language learners, and justice- involved individuals. Up until now, career pathways systems and programs have been de˚ned in multiple ways. WIOA now codi˚es the essential elements of career pathways into law.
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8INTRODUCTION CAREER PATHWAYS TOOLKIT In fact, the new law was the impetus for updating the Toolkit, and it provided an opportunity to engage state champions and leading workforce and educational organizations that have expertise in career pathway development. During the spring of 2015, the Departments asked for help in reviewing a draft Toolkit to ensure it included essential information to engage all the key partners. In addition, the Toolkit re˛ects input from over 140 respondents as a result of a Request for Information on career pathways that the three Federal agencies issued in 2014. The Department issued a joint Request for Information to solicit information and recommendations about career pathways systems from stakeholders in the public and private sectors that resulted in a ˚nal report summarizing facilitators and barriers to career pathways development and implementation as well as promising practices. Input from all of the stakeholders validated the original Six Key Elements and made suggestions on revisions to the Toolkit by incorporating the latest relevant innovations, creative approaches, and best practices that have emerged since the original publication. Impact of WIOA on State Agencies WIOA has a far-reaching impact on state agencies. Career pathways are prominent in the new law as a required function of the state and local workforce development boards and is an important component of the State Workforce Plan. The State Plan ensures that all state agencies play a role in the development of a vision for a career pathways state system, as well as how the state system interplays with regional and local career pathways and career pathways plans. The Uni˚ed State Plan also provides an opportunity to lay out state and regional/local strategies for achieving the state™s vision. The collective thoughts of all stakeholder agencies should be harnessed to develop statewide strategies for building career pathways that align the education and workforce systems with the in-demand needs of employers. Career pathways are often developed within an industry sector and developed as part of a larger sector strategy. As de˚ned in ETA™s Sector Strategy Implementation Framework, a sector strategy 2 is a partnership of multiple employers within a critical industry that brings together education, economic development, workforce systems, and community organizations to identify and collaboratively meet the workforce needs of that industry within a regional labor market. The graphic on the next page highlights how the approaches align and work towards complementary workforce development goals. With the implementation of WIOA and the job-driven agenda, as well as the continued work on career pathways, sector strategies, and Registered Apprenticeship, USDOL is very excited about the opportunity to strengthen and expand partnerships and align systems at the state and local levels. These partnerships will ensure that America™s workers have the skills they need to obtain good jobs, and that employers have the workers they need to remain competitive and to prosper. ————–2 This de˚nition is provided in the ETA Sector Strategies Technical Assistance Initiative™s Sector Strategy Implementation Framework.
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9INTRODUCTION CAREER PATHWAYS TOOLKIT Complementary Approaches to Workforce Development INDUSTRY DEMAND FOR SKILLSIDENTIFIES INDUSTRY REQUIREMENTS SECTOR STRATEGIES PROVIDES EDUCATIONAL OPTIONSCAREER PATHWAYS WORKFORCE SUPPLY OF SKILLSINDUSTR Y REQUIREMENTS Rigorous Collection & Analysis of Labor Market Data Sets Skill Requirements of Each Job Identi˚es Natural Progression of Jobs Within Industry Veri˚es Competency Models Provides Work- based Learning Options Establishes Industry Credential Requirements Sets Global Skill Standards KEY FEATURES Registered Apprenticeships Contextualized Learning Integrated Education and Training Career Ladders/ Lattices/Roadmaps to Careers Competency ModelsMultiple Entry/Exit Points Stackable Educational/ Training Options Supportive Services Degree/Certi˚cate Attainment
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10INTRODUCTION CAREER PATHWAYS TOOLKIT Acknowledgements Many stakeholders contributed to the development of this revised Toolkit. USDOL thanks Bonnie Elsey, Project Manager; Andrew Herrmann, Project Coordinator; and Jan Bray, Russ Hamm, Debra Mills, and Barry Sha˜er, subject matter experts. In addition, two groups of stakeholders convened to provide insight, guidance, and their personal experiences with the Toolkit. The ˚rst group of stakeholders included state workforce administrators, adult basic education directors, human service agency directors, workforce development board directors, and postsecondary education representatives to include: The second group of collaborators included stakeholders from technical assistance providers, associations, and other invested organizations, including: This Toolkit was revised by Manhattan Strategy Group (Contract #DOLU141A22202) under the technical direction of USDOL/ETA sta˜ Jennifer Troke, Sara Hastings, Robin Fernkas, and Jennifer Kemp. USDOL also thanks the authors of the original Toolkit: Richard Kozumplik, Annie Nyborg, Daphne Garcia, Laura Cantu, and Chandra Larsen. Bryan Albrecht, Wisconsin Marilyn Barger, Florida Ray Bentley, Illinois Jason Dunn, Kentucky Shalee Hodgson, Oregon Debra Hsu, Minnesota Debra Jones, California Gilda Kennedy, South Carolina Jon Kerr, Washington Tom Knight, Michigan Bethany Leonard, Wisconsin Emily Lesh, Colorado Harmony Little, Kentucky Tom Norman, Minnesota Karen Rosa, Arkansas Pat Schramm, Wisconsin Marlena Sessions, Washington David Socolow, New Jersey Mark Toogood, Minnesota Elroy Willoughby, Arkansas Bob Witchger, North Carolina Judith A. Alamprese, Abt Associates Yvette Chocolaad, National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) Mary Clagett, Jobs for the Future Todd Cohen, Maher & Maher Hope Cotner, Center for Occupational Research and Development (CORD) Maria Flynn, Jobs for the Future Heather Fox, O˝ce of Community College Research and Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Jaimie Francis, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Catherine Imperatore, Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Steven Klein, RTI International Vinz Koller, Social Policy Research Associates Sue Liu, The Collaboratory LLC Mary Alice McCarthy, New America Foundation Judy Mortrude, CLASP Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success Amanda Bergson Shilcock, National Skills Coalition David Socolow, CLASP Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success Julie Strawn, Abt Associates Steve Voytek, National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium
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11 ELEMENT ONE BUILD CROSS-AGENCY PARTNERSHIPS AND CLARIFY ROLESA cross-agency leadership team clari˜es the roles and responsibilities of each partner and gains high level support from political leaders for an integrated career pathways system. Key Element Components: Engage cross-agency partners and employers. Establish a shared vision, mission, and set of goals. De˚ne the roles and responsibilities of all partners. Develop a work plan and/or Memorandum of Understanding for the partnership. ˜
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