Education Alignment

GMACWorkforce's mission is to equip individuals with skills needed to land good paying jobs.

We identify company needs and work with local technical schools in preparation to succeed in the workplace. We facilitate access to agencies that address barriers so employees can focus on work and become more productive. We also assist employers with customized training programs so that incumbent and new hires possess the skills needed for near term success.

One of GMACWorkforce's core functions is building a series of industry-driven career pathways that:

• Engage sector-based employer councils in defining “career maps” that enumerate detailed skill requirements for each job position.
• Enlist K12 and postsecondary institutions to align their education and training programs around industry career maps and skill requirements.

Note: A key feature of successful career pathways is that each training institution carves out its role along the career training continuum and “articulates” its credits to the institutions handling training for other job positions on the career map. Shared facilities and faculty are also encouraged.

GMACWorkforce uses the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) definition of career pathways, which means a combination of rigorous and high-quality education, training, and other services that:

• - aligns with the skill needs of industries in the economy of the State or regional economy involved;
• - prepares an individual to be successful in any of a full range of secondary or postsecondary education options, including [state- and federally-registered] apprenticeships
• - includes counseling to support an individual in achieving the individual’s education and career goals;
• - includes, as appropriate, education offered concurrently with and in the same context as workforce preparation activities and training for a specific occupation or occupational cluster;
• - organizes education, training, and other services to meet the particular needs of an individual in a manner that accelerates the educational and career advancement of the individual to the extent practicable;
• - enables an individual to attain a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, and at least 1 recognized postsecondary credential; and
• - helps an individual enter or advance within a specific occupation or occupational cluster.

Characteristics of a Career Pathway

• A well-articulated sequence of education and training offerings
• Multiple entry points that accommodate participants entering at differing skill levels (including adults and out-of-school youth with very low basic skills);
• Multiple exit points at successively higher levels of education and employment that are aligned with marketable, stackable, “creditable” credentials; and
• Supportive services and navigation assistance for participants in the pathways.

Source: Alliance for Quality Career Pathways, Feb. 2013