THE CAREER PATHWAYS HOW-TO GUIDE

1 THE CAREER PATHWAYSHOW-TO GUIDE DAVIS JENKINS ANDCHRISTOPHER SPENCEOCTOBER 2006 THE CAREER PATHWAYSHOW-TO GUIDEOCTOBER 2006Co-Authors: Davis Jenkins and Christopher SpenceEditor: David Jason FischerManaging Editor: Melissa GoldbergDesign Firm: Opto DesignWorkforce Strategy CenterACKNOWLEDGEMENTSW orkforce Strategy Center would like to thank The Joyce Foundation for their support of thisreport, especially Jennifer L. Phillips and Whitney Smith for their excellent insights and advice. Weare also grateful to the experts in the field who recommended sites to use for illustrative purposesthroughout the report and to the representatives at many community colleges, state and localagencies, and other organizations who gave their time and energy to make this work possible.

2 01 SECTION ONEOVERVIEW01 Context and Need02 CAREER PATHWAYS : A Way to Make the Pieces Fit04 Purpose and Organization ofThis Guide05 SECTION TWOGUIDELINES FOR BUILDINGAREGIONAL CAREER PATHWAYSPARTNERSHIP05 Overview of the Process07 Gap Analysis10 CAREER PATHWAYS Planning11 Side Bar: Engaging Employers21 Implementation22 Continuous Improvement25 Expansion27 SECTION THREEROLES FOR STATES AND STATEAGENCIES IN SUPPORTINGCAREER PATHWAYS DEVELOPMENT31 Support for Pilots32 Using Federal Funds to Support Planningand Piloting33 Coaching34 Workshops34 Cross-Site Learning40 SECTION FOURLESSONS LEARNED40 Build Relationships around a SharedVision and Mutual Advantage41 Have Realistic Expectations42 Obtain Buy-In from Top-Level Leadership42Go for the Low-Hanging Fruit42 Track Participant Progress and Outcomes43

3 Remember to Tap All Potential Participants43 Make CAREER PATHWAYS about Transforming Institutions45 ENDNOTESCONTENTSFORWARDC areer PATHWAYS as a concept has garnered tremendous momentum since we first examined it inour 2002 report Building a CAREER PATHWAYS System: Promising Practices in Community College-Centered Workforce Development. All over the country, examples of creative policy and practice areemerging. Workforce Strategy Center has been involved in the development of policies, pilotprograms and initiatives of various shapes and forms in states and localities from New York toCalifornia.

4 Having witnessed the eagerness of policymakers and practitioners for experimentationand innovation in this field, we developed this report in hopes of shortening the learning curve forthose just beginning their CAREER PATHWAYS work. Our goal is to share with the field our knowledgeof the why and how of CAREER PATHWAYS projects currently up and report is the second in a series called PATHWAYS to Competitiveness. The examples, which were chosen based on recommendations from experts in the field, are not intended to be an exhau-stive review of all CAREER pathway efforts in the country.

5 There are many excellent examples of CAREER PATHWAYS that are not highlighted in this GUIDE . It sets out a step-by-step protocol for buildingcareer PATHWAYS on the local level and discusses how state-level officials can support local efforts. The first report, CAREER PATHWAYS : Aligning Public Resources to Support Individual andRegional Economic Advancement in the Knowledge Economy, introduces the series with a definition and economic justification for the approach. A third report, forthcoming, will take a morein-depth look at issues relevant to state policymakers who wish to support CAREER you come to this subject as an experienced architect of CAREER PATHWAYS , a newcomerunfamiliar with the concept, or anywhere in between, we hope you read all three reports in theseries and contribute to advancing the L.

6 Alssid, Executive Director, Workforce Strategy CenterTHE CAREER PATHWAYS HOW-TO GUIDEU nfortunately, all too many communities arefaltering in their efforts to grow a robustknowledge-economy1workforce. With fewexceptions, publicly supported educationsystems are not well aligned with workforce,economic development and social servicesystems, and none of these systems areadequately responsive to the labor market. Inother words, our public systems and ourinvestments in those systems as taxpayers andcitizens are not paying off by producingworkers with the skills our communities willneed to prosper in a knowledge regions, such as those located nearmountains or beaches, can attract knowledgeworkers by virtue of their natural cannot.

7 They have to grow their own talent. This challenge presents a catch-22 forrural and depressed urban areas: the absenceof good jobs provides few incentives forresidents to get an education , while low levelsof education and skill in the local workforceconstrains the ability of these communities toattract and retain good jobs. As the economy continues its long-termshift toward greater rewards for knowledge-economy skills and gains for communities thatcultivate knowledge workers in sufficient numbers, most regions of the will have tofind ways to improve their publicly supportedsystems for education and workforce devel-opment.

8 Unfortunately, states and localities facethis challenge with limited resources, due to therising costs of other public goods and voterresistance to tax increases. And, increasingly, education beyond high school a key factor indeveloping knowledge workers is seen as anindividual or private good, rather than a publicgood like K-12 education , highways andnational defense. Given these increasingly limited publicresources and the importance of education andtraining to the economic health of regions,maximizing the return on the public s investmentin education must be a top priority for policy-makers.

9 For this to happen, education at everylevel needs to be more closely aligned withworkforce and economic development efforts. Whereas it should serve as a pipeline, theexisting educational system for preparing thefuture workforce functions more like a sieve:only an elite group of young people are trulywell-prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary learning in knowledge fields, whilethe rest fall through the cracks. Similarly, mosteducation and training for adult workers goesSECTION ONEOVERVIEW: CONTEXT AND NEEDThe necessary elements for regional economic success in the 21st century are no mystery: communities will thrive or decline based on howwell they cultivate and retain knowledge workers.

10 These individuals possess post-secondary educa-tional credentials, technical skills, the ability to learn rapidly and an entrepreneurial approach towork and CAREER management. 2 WORKFORCE STRATEGY CENTERto those who are already in CAREER -path far more often than not, the secondchance systems for adults with limited skills adult literacy and job training programs are notvery effective in preparing participants tosucceed in post-secondary education andcareers. Because states and localities have aprimary responsibility to formulate and fundpolicies for education , workforce development,social services and economic development,states and regions within them have consid-erable power to push for positive changes inhow these systems operate and work stakes are high for them to ensure thatthese systems are effective in enablingindividual residents to succeed in the labormarket and promoting economic developmentfor communities, regions and the state as awhole.