This U.S. Department of Labor policy brief reviews approaches to incorporate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) services into career pathway programs at the state level. These approaches include selecting SNAP E&T partners already offering career pathway services to SNAP participants and helping the partners expand their reach, and collaborating with SNAP E&T partners in filling service delivery gaps. Integrating SNAP E&T services and participants into career pathways may strengthen SNAP E & T’s alignment with the workforce system, which is a priority under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

This free online career pathways platform includes a user-friendly assessment to measure literacy, numeracy, and workplace skills. The platform offers an assessment-based set of career pathways; recommendations on occupations, online tools, and local training providers; and resources on popular jobs, advice on interviewing, and personal goal setting. The career recommendations that the platform supports are drawn from O*NET data from the U.S. Department of Labor.

This discussion paper on a case study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta studies the concept of benefits cliffs, which happen when earnings are offset by the loss of public benefits, resulting in a financial disadvantage to working. The study highlights a fictional young mother of two and suggests that career advancement can result in financial gain over a lifetime. Two policy interventions are discussed: a gradual child care subsidy phaseout, and transitional public benefits with asset mapping. The paper concludes that it is important for those helping low-income individuals to recognize not only their short-term barriers, but also the return to investment that career advancement can create.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report assesses the first round of HPOG grantees and reports the impacts of the HPOG model three years after a random controlled test. The report examines the impact that locally implemented HPOG programs have on program participants and their families, the extent of these impacts among selected subpopulations within each grantee programs, and whether employment following HPOG training follows an identified career pathway. HPOG 1.0 covers the first set of grant awards made in 2010 to 32 organizations, including five tribal organizations.

This Lumina Foundation brief offers a synthesis of third-party evaluations that measure and assess the impact of strategies used by two-year colleges to improve adult completion of non-degree credential programs. Strategies include the use of academic and non-academic student supports, the creation and implementation of career pathways, and the deployment of prior learning assessments. The brief also offers data pointing to the limited labor market opportunities for the more than half of Americans ages 25 to 64 who do not hold a postsecondary credential.

This Center for Law and Social Policy practice brief reviews the implementation of integrated education and training strategies that incorporate adult basic education with technical skills training. The brief highlights and summarizes survey findings from 265 stakeholders in 43 states, representing local education agencies, community- and faith-based organizations, higher education institutions, government agencies, employers, and other related non-profit workforce intermediaries.

This Urban Institute brief presents findings of the Accelerating Opportunity (AO) initiative evaluation as a model and practice of integrated career pathways for adult basic education and skills training. The evaluation covers ways that programs in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana aimed to help adults with basic skills deficiencies earn occupational credentials. The evaluation identifies impacts on earnings and job opportunities for AO initiative participants.

This research to practice brief illustrates the Washington State Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program. I-BEST incorporates adult basic education (ABE) and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses with technical training aligned with state career pathways. This program is considered a best practice model that has been studied and replicated elsewhere to accelerate learning of ESL students and help them achieve economic self-sufficiency.

This Jobs for the Future report reviews the core features of career pathway programs and findings of career pathway evaluations involving entry and access to the labor market for adults lacking basic reading, writing, and math skills, as well as the integration of these basic skills with industry-specific technical skills at the post-secondary education level. This report presents evidence of how this approach can lead to career progression with improved educational and economic opportunities for participants in the 16 career pathways programs studied.

This RAND Corporation brief reviews the New Orleans’ Career Pathways Training Program and its three stages for opportunities within the advanced manufacturing, health care, and information technology industries. The three stages under review include recruitment, training, and coordination with employers. The brief identifies some of the program’s successes and challenges in the implementation of the initiative and provides recommendations for lessons learned in applying the program to other communities.