Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges: Promoting Inclusive Employment and Rehabilitation Strategies

Evaluation of Bridges to Career Opportunities: Final Report 
This evaluation examines the implementation and impacts of the Bridges to Career Opportunities (BCO) model, an intervention designed to support unemployed or underemployed adults advancing into careers that earn a living wage. BCO is a model that provides four services: contextualized bridge services (like basic skills education), employment supports, income support services, and financial coaching. The Local Innovation Support Corporation (LISC) implemented the BCO model in 32 community-based organizations (CBOs) across 11 regions. Researchers found that CBOs implemented the BCO model with high fidelity, but impacts varied based on resource allocation for program participants. 

Career Navigators in Adult Education 
This brief explores the use and efficacy of career navigators in adult education by providing findings based on a literature scan and interviews with adult education experts on the roles of career navigators along with their training requirements. Career navigators are adult education staff who assist adult learners in college and career planning, and the brief defines core functions of their roles. The brief recommends three approaches for adult education institutions to implement to better train and support career navigators, including aligning training and job functions with the needs of navigators, tailoring trainings to the unique context and background under which each navigator works, and providing practical and interactive trainings. 

Building Effective Technology Internships 
Findings from a three-year study examine the efficacy of community college technology internships in building bridges to employment for postsecondary students. Technology internships can mitigate some barriers towards finding employment in midlevel technology careers, including employers’ slow pacing in developing midlevel technology career pathways. The mixed-methods study analyzed internship structure, student participation rates, and correlations between structure and outcomes. 

Pathways to the Post-Pandemic Workforce 
This brief provides a review of postsecondary preparation and career and technical education (CTE) programs that improved academic outcomes increase students’ earnings over time. It highlights the components that high-quality CTE programs comprise, including combining rigorous academics with career-based coursework, dual enrollment, and work-based learning opportunities. Based on these components, the brief recommends that policymakers support efforts to develop multi-faceted approaches to CTE that meet student needs and encourage employers to get involved in CTE programming.

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Posted by: Burak Yuksel
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies