This Jobs for the Future resource highlights Unlocked Labs, which is a program that offers technological education in corrections facilities and creates pathways to quality jobs for people who are incarcerated. To highlight the beneficial impacts these programs can have, three members of the Unlocked Labs team share their stories of how training and employment experience catalyzed their professional journeys from incarceration to well-paid quality jobs.

This National Center on Leadership for the Employment and Economic Advancement of People with Disabilities (LEAD Center) toolkit provides a blueprint to help build partnerships between workforce development boards/American Job Centers and banks. It provides practical guidance on creating linkages to financial literacy programming and career pathway opportunities for jobs within the banking sector, enhancing financial empowerment and career growth for participants. TANF front-line staff can utilize this resource to support participants in gaining financial empowerment and pursuing career pathways into bank jobs, that foster long-term personal growth and financial stability.

For more information, please contact Yvonne Wright at ywright@ndi-inc.org. 

Sectoral training programs train people for jobs in industries where there is strong local demand and the opportunity for career advancement. Several sectoral training models for jobs in technology have proven effective in improving long-term earnings for workers with low incomes. But many people still do not have access to these programs because the programs may be too far from home or too costly. The Google Career Certificates Fund provides funding for training providers to support 20,000 learners. Providers combine Google Career Certificates, which offer online instruction in sector-specific skills, and outcomes-based loans, in which learners are only required to pay for training and related costs if they find jobs above a certain income threshold. This MDRC brief evaluates and describes the potential of the Google Career Certificates Fund initiative as well as the sectoral training field more broadly in facilitating equitable access to career paths in technology.

Career pathways are a series of secondary, postsecondary, and/or adult education and training services that progressively lead to higher credentials and more advanced employment opportunities, with supports designed to help clients progress through these steps. The career pathways framework prepares participants for fields that are growing or in high demand (sometimes with a focus on fields growing in their geographic area), including health care, manufacturing, office administration, construction, and green industries. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation resource describes the effectiveness of programs that were identified by the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse as using a career pathways approach. It summarizes what is known about these programs and their impacts so Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other program administrators, policymakers, researchers, and the general public can apply the evidence to their context.

Non-degree credentials continue to gain attention and investment from workers, employers, and states, making it critical to ensure these credentials lead to good jobs and equitable outcomes. Given the significant role of life circumstances in people’s ability to enroll in and complete postsecondary programs, access to holistic supports, like food, housing, childcare, and emergency aid, along with career and academic coaching, and student-centered, family-friendly campus policies, should be a key component of evaluating the quality of non-degree pathways. The National Skills Coalition (NSC) hosted a Policy Action Lab to focus on expanding holistic support for students pursuing quality non-degree pathways. The event brought together more than sixty postsecondary, workforce, human services, and advocacy leaders from twenty states to examine state progress, innovations, and promising strategies tied to providing holistic supports to students pursuing quality, career-oriented non-degree programs and pathways at community and technical colleges. This NSC resource highlights key themes and considerations, as shared by states.

Despite rising college costs, a postsecondary education remains one of the most reliable pathways to good jobs and well-paying careers in the United States. Postsecondary education carries an immense earnings premium: One recent study found that a bachelor’s degree holder earns about $964,000 more over their lifetime than someone with a high school education. However, access to higher education remains strongly divided by demographic factors such as race and socioeconomic status. Programs that promote postsecondary access for underrepresented groups remain more important than ever; one such program is Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), which helps increase college enrollment and success for low-income students. This Center for American Progress resource describes GEAR UP, their services, and program outcomes.

In today's rapidly evolving job market, the importance of social capital, connections, and robust networks for youth career success cannot be overstated. Social capital plays a critical role in helping young people navigate the complexities of career development, and building it requires intentional effort and strategic planning. The National Youth Employment Coalition is hosting a webinar on September 26, 2024 at 2:30 p.m. ET to discuss the transformative power of social capital and potential strategies to help young people build it.

In 2016, the Annie E. Casey Foundation launched Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP™), a national initiative that helps youth and young adults who have been involved in the foster care or justice systems or who have experienced homelessness succeed in school and work by building and expanding education and employment pathways. Through partnerships with public agencies, postsecondary education, housing, service providers and more, LEAP partners are working toward improving policies and practices that place more systems-involved young people on positive economic trajectories. This Annie E. Casey Foundation brief shares the key takeaways from an evaluation conducted to better understand their efforts in tackling the root causes of disconnection from education and careers with systems-involved youth.

Sectoral training programs prepare people for high-quality jobs in industries that have strong local demand and offer the opportunity for career advancement. This MDRC video highlights the history of sectoral training, the evidence of its effectiveness, and success stories from participants in some of the best programs.

HireAbility Vermont, Vermont’s state agency meant to help those with disabilities prepare for, obtain, and maintain meaningful careers, designed Vermont Career Advancement Project (VCAP) to address barriers to employment and encourage enrollment in training programs for high-wage occupations. VCAP will train more people for career pathways by connecting participants with programs and educational opportunities that result in a credential, postsecondary degree, or higher-paid job. This Mathematica brief describes how VCAP connects people with disabilities with opportunities for career training.