With over 1.1 million credentials available but only 12 percent delivering significant wage gains, learners face a chaotic marketplace that lacks effective oversight. The right credentials can be transformative, as credentials in the top decile yield annual wage gains of nearly $5,000, increase career switching success sixfold, and boost the…

This brief examines employer demand for and the potential return on investment (ROI) of educational credentials in tech in order to support the design of equitable pathways that lead to quality jobs. Tech degrees consistently have a high ROI, especially in comparison with similar credentials in other industries. But education and workforce leaders…

Providers, industry, and governments have embraced microcredentialing as a solution to the volatility and velocity of changes in labour markets, workplace competencies, and the needs of the 21st century lifelong learner (Oliver, 2019). However, microcredentials do not, in and of themselves, guarantee career or employment success. Seeking a…

Colorado is a state primed for blurring the lines between secondary, postsecondary, and workforce policies and programs to serve Colorado's young people better. The state has a growing economy, political leadership committed to advancing innovative, affordable education pathways, and a commitment from state agencies and state-based advocates that…

In the United States, education-to-career pathways are undergoing a rapid evolution Shortages of skilled workers in many industries have prompted renewed attention to strengthening existing education-to-career pathways, as well as innovating new ones. At the same time, the notion that bachelor's degree programs should serve as the default pathway…

This paper argues that micro-credentials are gig credentials for the gig economy. Micro-credentials are short competency-based industry-aligned units of learning, while the gig economy comprises contingent work by individual 'suppliers'. Both can be facilitated by (often the same) digital platforms, and both are underpinned by social relations of…

Current career pathways initiatives recapitulate in many ways both the issues motivating the school-to-work movement of the 1980s and 1990s and its recommended solutions, notably more work-based learning, especially apprenticeship. But that movement's energy dissipated in the face of college for all. Nonetheless, some of its achievements and many…

Next Steps at Vanderbilt, an inclusive postsecondary education program at Vanderbilt University, aims to equip students with skills and experiences to gain competitive employment. Next Steps has two primary goals: (1) Increase opportunities for students to gain targeted skills in career fields of interest; and (2) Create new career development…

A growing number of employers identify difficulty hiring highly qualified workers as their top competitive challenge. Roughly 75 million of Americans could meet these employer needs but currently lack the skills or supports to do so. This is America's untapped workforce--the many people who do not have the work or wages they need to get by, but…

People learn by doing. This is the idea at the heart of apprenticeship, where lessons in the classroom are reinforced by on-the-job training, resulting in education that transcends the textbook and extends to physical and even cultural learning. Students get paid, and employers get custom-trained talent. For Louisiana, the opportunity of…

Discussions of workforce development emphasize stackable training, and assume linear advancement and alignment, through college and career paths. Stackable credentials have become a best practice for community colleges across the United States as they struggle to advance the college completion agenda and ensure that students graduate with the…

As community colleges cement their role as catalysts for the nation's economic recovery, administrators struggle to set the record straight about one long-standing misconception: that a large number of community college students leave without achieving their professional or academic goals. Now, a new policy brief from the American Association of…

While income inequality among college graduates is well documented, inequality in occupational status remains largely unexplored. We examine whether and how occupational specificity of college majors is related to college graduates' transition into the labor market and their subsequent occupational trajectories. Analyses of NLSY79 indicate that…

On August 30, 2006, Montana state educational and policy leaders participated in the Montana Education Forum to discuss ways to improve student transition from high school to postsecondary education and careers. The forum was sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College and the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and…

On August 1, 2006, Hawaii state educational and policy leaders participated in the Hawaii Education Forum to discuss ways to improve student transition from high school to postsecondary education and careers. The forum was sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College and the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and supported…