Building Career Pathways Systems for Education, Training, and Employment

“Analyses of data from the [2013 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Survey of Adult Skills] illustrate the critical need for education and training opportunities for unemployed adults. Approximately 75 percent of unemployed U.S. adults ages 16-65 have a high school credential or less. About a third of these individuals perform at the lowest level of literacy measured in the PIAAC, and about half perform at the lowest level of numeracy. These data suggest that a considerable number of adults, regardless of employment status, would benefit from education and training that enables them to move toward economic and career success” (p.1-2).

 “A key approach highlighted in [the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)] is career pathways, a promising strategy for organizing comprehensive education, employment, and supportive services that enable adults to develop careers aligned with high-demand and high-growth occupations” (p.2).

“Assumptions guiding career pathways are that education and training services (1) are well-aligned to the regional or state economy; (2) include a range of instructional approaches that are accelerated and contextualized to occupations; and (3) provide counseling to enable individuals to develop skills, attain secondary and postsecondary credentials, and advance within occupations. Fundamental to the design of career pathways are strong partnerships between public and private entities to facilitate the delivery of diverse, high-quality services. WIOA, with its emphasis on partnership development, provides legislative support for states and local communities to form interagency working groups that guide the implementation of a robust set of career pathways services” (p.3).

“This brief discusses the implementation of career pathways under…WIOA…, and considerations for state adult education staff in developing career pathways systems to support individuals in their pursuit of education and employment. Highlighted are activities in supporting career pathways as part of WIOA, Title II, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act. Considerations are presented for assessing the implementation of career pathways, determining professional development to support career pathways, and the collection and use of data related to career pathways services” (p.1).

 (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

The brief highlights “actions that state adult education staff can take to support local career pathways under Title II” (p. 5). 1: “Assessing Implementation of Career Pathways. An initial step in transforming local adult education services is the state staff’s assessment of whether adult education providers are delivering effective career pathways services that impact individuals’ education, training, and employment….State staff can collect information about adult education providers’ use of career pathways through various methods, including interviews with local staff, observations of providers’ services, review of annual program reports, and conducting surveys” (p.5). 2. “Determining Professional Development to Support Career Pathways. The implementation of a well-coordinated system of career pathways in adult education requires state staff support for professional development through training and technical assistance….In determining the professional development to deliver to adult education providers, state staff…need to understand providers’ disposition about career pathways and their experience in conducting activities fundamental to career pathways (such as contextualized instruction)” (p.7). 3. “Collection and Use of Local Data Related to Career Pathways. The collection of data on the implementation of services is new to adult education reporting, and state staff can benefit from having detailed information about service providers’ activities….To gather these data, state staff should consider having local adult education providers report on a scheduled basis on the activities they are implementing as part of a career pathways system….State staff’s collection of data on the quality of professional development should provide insights into whether adult education staff participating in professional development learned the information and/or skills that were the focus of the training, and are prepared to use what was learned” (p.7). “WIOA provides state adult education staff with an opportunity to collaborate with state interagency partners to support a system of career pathways services in local communities. These services should result in coordinated…services that are aligned with the needs of employers, education and training that is designed to facilitate individuals’ attainment of skills and credentials…and employment in a pathway that benefits individuals and contributes to the prosperity of communities” (p.8) (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2016
• Author(s): Alamprese, Judith A.
• Organizational Author(s): Abt Associates
• Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Wesley Peterson
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies