Skill Development Career Pathway and Cluster - …

1 Please cite this paper as:Hamilton, V. (2012), Career Pathway and Cluster SkillDevelopment: Promising Models from the United States ,OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Working Papers, 2012/14, OECD Local Economic andEmployment Development (LEED)Working Papers 2012/14 Career Pathway and ClusterSkill DevelopmentPROMISING MODELS FROM THE UNITEDSTATESV irginia Hamilton 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT .. 4 Introduction .. 4 The Current Environment .. 5 Career PATHWAYS AND Cluster APPROACHES .. 8 What is a Career Pathway ?

2 8 What is a Career Cluster ? .. 9 EXAMPLES OF LOCAL AND STATE LEVEL INITIATIVES .. 11 Pathway Models .. 11 Cluster Models .. 15 LESSONS LEARNED AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS .. 24 CONCLUSION .. 28 BIBLIOGRAPHY .. 29 Tables Table 1. Excerpt from the 2009-2010 Career Clusters Course Description Booklet .. 19 Table 2. Features and Benefits of Maryland Career Clusters .. 22 Figures Figure 1. K-12 Education (34 states plus DC) .. 6 Figure 2. Higher Education (43 states) .. 6 Figure 3. State Workforce (44 states plus DC) .. 7 Figure 4.

3 Fresno California /PG&E's PowerPathway Model .. 12 Figure 5. Oregon Career Pathways .. 15 Figure 6. Colorado Career Cluster Model .. 18 Figure 7. Nebraska Cluster Model .. 20 3 Boxes Box 1. Career Pathway Programmes .. 9 Box 2. Department of Education Industry Clusters .. 10 Box 3. Clusters of Opportunity Methodology .. 16 4 BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT Introduction This paper looks at states and localities in the United States that are focusing their workforce and education programmes on Career pathways and clusters.

4 It describes how these approaches align with economic Development strategies and can benefit employers and individuals in the labour market. It points to some of the successes and challenges being experienced by Workforce Investment Boards, Community Colleges and the K-12 education system. It also highlights several regions where sufficient commitment and investment in Career Pathway and Career Cluster models has caused real system change in filling the Skill needs of employers. Often, this system change requires investment, leadership, best practice models, and partnerships.

5 In the United States, local and regional government agencies have increasingly adopted industry Cluster approaches to economic Development . This framework allows economic Development agencies to study and understand groups of companies, along with other regional assets such as universities, which have evolved into an ecosystem of interdependence in a region. An industry Cluster framework enables the Development of approaches targeted to retaining and growing high value employment, increasing the tax base, and attracting new jobs to the region.

6 Stepping back from specific companies and industries, and examining the entire ecosystem of industries that support each other allows scarce economic Development resources to be deployed more effectively. A similar move towards industry Cluster approaches is surfacing in the employment and workforce Development field. Education and workforce agencies are critical partners in mapping and building Skill pipelines for key industries. Local partnerships within key industry sectors are yielding strategies to provide workers with the skills necessary to increase productivity and job creation in regions.

7 This allows economic Development agencies to market the talent of the region, and to develop aligned retention and attraction strategies. In addition to Cluster approaches, employment and workforce Development actors are also using Pathway models, which provide a clear progression of courses for learners towards achieving a designated credential in a particular occupation within a Cluster . Often, these Pathway approaches are implemented through a partnership between secondary and post secondary education stakeholders as well as employers.

8 Cluster and Pathway approaches are important in an increasingly complex and fragmented labour market where employees no longer move in a straight line within one company, but rather move vertically and horizontally around a set of jobs. Maps of industry clusters and pathways, which outline associated Skill requirements, are incredibly useful tools for those in the labour market and those entering the labour market. Cluster and pathways models are also a way for the public education and workforce system to categorise and organise their work.

9 For high schools and community colleges, participating in Career Cluster and Pathway models helps to connect them to the local economy and produce workers with the appropriate skills for jobs in the region. 5 The Current Environment In order to better understand the potential for transferable examples to other OECD countries, it is important to provide some background and policy context. Designing programmes to respond to the dynamic nature of the economy in the United States with its shifting needs is a constant challenge.

10 Not since the Great Depression have unemployment rates been as high and persistent as they are presently - the unemployment rate for June 2012 was per cent (Bureau of Labour Statistics, 2012). According to Sum (2011), there has been a downward trend in youth unemployment, which is particularly worrying as work experience for youth often leads to greater labour force attachment. Statistics for youth unemployment highlight the magnitude of the problem. Aggregate teen employment continued to fall for the fourth consecutive year and helped drive up the youth unemployment rate to just under 26 per cent - the highest it has been in the past 62 years for which data on unemployment rates are available (Bureau of Labour Statistics, 2012).