Career pathways is a series of connected education and training programs and support services that enable individuals to secure employment within a specific industry or occupational sector, and to advance over time to successively higher levels of education and employment in that sector. Career pathways are distinct from most educational efforts in their dual focus on advancement to higher levels of both education and employment. The goal of this report is to share knowledge of the "why and how" of career pathways projects currently up and running. It sets out a step-by-step protocol for building career pathways on the local level and discusses how state-level officials can support local efforts. This guide is divided into four sections. Following an introductory section, Section Two describes the work of building regional career pathways partnerships. This process is broken down into five stages: (1) Gap Analysis; (2) Career Pathways Planning; (3) Implementation; (4) Continuous Improvement; and (5) Expansion. Section Three considers the roles that state leaders and agencies can play in helping to cultivate pathways partnerships statewide. State actors can do this by setting forth an overall guiding vision, engaging and supporting local actors, breaking down silos within and between state agencies, reallocating funding to support career pathways, and establishing systems of performance measurement that promote continuous improvement. Finally, Section Four looks at lessons learned from the experience of states and localities in developing career pathways to this point. (Contains 20 endnotes and four figures.)