Higher family incomes are associated with a variety of positive effects on child well-being, and by connecting parents to career pathways in high-demand industries, states can foster more family stability. In this brief from Ascend at the Aspen Institute, the ways in which TANF funding can be used to support career pathway programs are discussed. The brief provides recommendations to help states increase access to career pathways (e.g., state and local service coordination), as well as a discussion of some benefits of gradually phasing out critical supports as parents start on the path to stable careers.

Integrated Education and Training (IET) helps adults prepare for the workforce by combining basic skills training with training for in-demand occupations. In this report, compiled by CLASP, research about IET is presented, as well as guidelines for how IET fits into career pathways efforts. Funding for IET programs and additional services that can be offered to participants in IET programs (e.g., career navigation) are also discussed.

This issue brief from MDRC highlights key findings about job training programs that lead to success with various populations, including youth and dislocated workers. Of particular importance are programs with employer engagement and programs that are career-focused, both of which have been shown to be effective when implemented correctly. The brief shares recent innovations in career training as well as lessons learned from successful programs.

USAID and the International Youth Foundation put together this report to help youth providers conduct labor market assessments to design demand-driven training programs. The authors provide eight steps to conducting a labor market assessment. First, an organization must assemble a group of advisors and then set goals for the labor market assessment and devise key research questions. Next, they identify target sectors, conduct field research to understand the local labor dynamics of those sectors, and review the findings. Finally, the organization designs the training program and then rechecks and redesigns the training as necessary. The toolkit also includes tips, case studies, and ways to adapt the assessment process to more challenging regions.

This Jobs for the Future report provides recommendations for state community college systems to use real-time labor market information to build better middle-skill pathways in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). First, the authors provide an overview about the hidden middle-skill STEM market and real-time labor market information. Next, they provide five recommendations to support the use of real-time LMI to develop middle-skill STEM pathways. Those recommendations include using real-time LMI as a long-term change strategy, strengthening state-level data systems to support real-time LMI, providing technical assistance to use real-time LMI, and integrating real-time LMI into critical ongoing decision-making.

The Department of Labor-funded Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grants aim to build the capacity of community colleges to develop and run training programs that lead to career pathways and future workforce success for participants. This toolkit discusses program sustainability, with practical strategies that programs can use to sustain elements of TAACCCT after the grant funding ends. Also discussed is the concept of sustainability planning, including worksheets to assist programs in developing an individualized sustainability plan.

The Administration for Children and Families published three new infographics illustrating participation and outcomes in HPOG. The infographics include details on programs and participants, training and services, and completions and employment outcomes.

The Year Up program is one of nine career pathways programs in the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation’s Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) study. Year Up’s sites had to increase recruitment by 50% to meet the study sample requirements. This blog post from the Administration for Children and Families highlights Year Up’s efforts and lessons learned while scaling up their services.

The Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative (CPI) uses TANF funds to provide support services to over 30,000 qualifying students enrolled in occupational programs at Arkansas community and technical colleges. This issue brief from the National Skills Coalition highlights key elements of the successful model, as well as challenges that may impact these types of career pathways programs.