This qualitative case study explored stakeholders' perceptions in Baxter County, Arkansas, regarding workforce development initiatives at Mountain Home High School Career Academies and Arkansas State University-Mountain Home. The purpose was to understand if these initiatives met local employers' needs and contributed to creating a skilled and…

We examined the characteristics of 77 high school participants from four school districts who participated in the Teaching and Learning Career Pathway (TLCP) at the University of Louisville during the 2018-2019 school year. The program seeks to support the recruitment of a diverse and effective educator workforce by recruiting high school students…

The Columbus Promise, a place-based tuition-free college program for graduates of Columbus City Schools, was created in 2021 and began granting scholarships to the high school graduating class of 2022. The initial phase of the Columbus Promise is a three-year pilot covering the high school graduating classes of 2022, 2023, and 2024. The overriding…

This playbook provides ways in which Governors and teams can blur the lines between high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. Governors play a significant role to Raise the Bar for student success by developing an "education-to-workforce system" that focuses on Unlocking Career Success.

Careful implementation of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs is necessary in order for programs to achieve the policy goal of college and career readiness, which involves expanding student opportunities for career-relevant learning without limiting their academic preparation for postsecondary degrees. As programs become more widespread,…

To meet the demands of jobs, now and in the future, jobseekers should possess a variety of skills frequently requested by employers. Skills can be both academic and technical in nature but also include personal qualities and advanced cognitive skills, such as decision-making and interpersonal skills--referred to in this report as success skills.…

The need for a larger labor force in Southwest Minnesota is at peak heights and employers are looking for strategies that keep local high school and college graduates in the region. The analysis of 38,154 southwest high school graduates shows that their post-high school paths and plans are related to whether an individual has meaningful workforce…

Senate Bill 22-192, titled Opportunities for Credential Attainment called on the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) to work collaboratively with other state agencies, institutions of higher education (IHEs), employers and other stakeholders to build 10 stackable credential pathways across five high-value, high-demand industries between…

Career and technical education (CTE), sometimes referred to as vocational education, provides occupational and non-occupational preparation at the secondary and postsecondary levels. CTE is a key element of the nation's workforce development system, providing students of all ages with both academic and technical skills to succeed in further…

In the 21st century, education has become America's most significant marker of class privilege. People with bachelor's and advanced degrees have mostly prospered, while wages for those with less education have fallen. This divergence in economic fortunes lies at the heart of our country's present economic and political discontents. Federal and…

The purpose of this study was to better understand the extent to which a Public Charter High School and a Two-Year Community College leveraged their partnership and committed resources towards expanding access to concurrent credit career and technical education programs. The goal of this partnership was to invest in the human capital of high…

Over the year, Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) tracked state activity, cataloged final state policy actions, and categorized trends based on the policy areas of focus. "State Policies Impacting CTE: 2023 Year in Review" provides an analysis that spans 47 states that enacted 115 policies, which…

Post-secondary education (PSE) experienced explosive growth and diversification over the past century, affording students a range of increasingly complex pathways that they can travel to acquire a credential. In various jurisdictions, governments have made significant investments to facilitate student uptake of unconventional transfer pathways…

Since its introduction in the early 1900s, the codification of vocational education has made explicit that one purpose of the American public education system should be preparation for the workforce. Over three-quarters of high school students participate in present-day career and technical education, nearly half of undergraduate degrees conferred…

Across the country, career pathways programs are a popular bipartisan tool for addressing state workforce shortages and ensuring students graduate high school with workforce-ready skills. Delaware Pathways is one such example, formally established by executive order in 2016 by then-Delaware Gov. Jack Markell. The program consists of state-approved…