Sector Strategies

Colorado has been modeling sector partnerships for nearly ten years as a framework for economic and workforce development by investing in regional, public–private partnerships targeting key industries that are vital to our regional economies. We know that businesses within a single industry share common needs – recruiting and retaining talent, training and advancing workers, and increasing productivity and work quality, for example. A Sector Partnership is an industry–led effort that collectively defines common opportunities and challenges, and connects these businesses with workforce, education, and economic development partners to create solutions that improve the businesses’ bottom line. As we look to the next four years, our focus is on continually enhancing and expanding the network of Sector Partnerships in Colorado to support key industries. Additionally, through funding, resources, and technical assistance, a focus is being placed on Sector Partnerships leading efforts to bulid Career Pathway Systems.

Building Industry–Driven Career Pathways Systems in Colorado

The Colorado Model: In Colorado, industry–driven career pathways ensure that education, training, and workforce systems stay deeply attuned and responsive to the needs of the labor market, preparing students and workers with the skills and credentials they need for jobs and careers.

• What is a career pathway system? A career pathway system aligns public partners and engages them in a continuous conversation that is led by industry to ensure that jobseekers and students move seamlessly through and among support programs, educational institutions, training opportunities, and work–based experiences to build skills and credentials that meet industry demand and prepare them for jobs and careers. In Colorado, a sector partnership is the vehicle for building industry–driven career pathway systems, providing a forum for productive and ongoing collaboration with industry and among workforce, education, training partners, and other community partners. In Colorado, the statewide career pathway system aligns career pathway programs and systems developed throughout high demand industries in each economic development region of the state.
• What’s the difference between a career pathway system and a career pathway program? A career pathway program offers a clear sequence of stackable credits and credentials, combined with support services, that enables students and jobseekers to secure industry–relevant skills, certifications, and credentials and advance to higher levels of education and employment in high demand occupations.[1] A career pathway system is made up of multiple career pathway programs that span educational institutions, workforce and support service partners. These programs are all oriented around a shared understanding of the needs of industry. Often times, tools like career pathway maps are used to talk with students and job seekers about how they can progress through education and training experiences to obtain employment that meets his or her goals. Statewide career pathway maps focusing on the top industries in Colorado will be accessed on College in Colorado.
• What is a sector partnership and why do they matter for career pathway systems? In Colorado we’ve defined a sector partnership as an industry–specific regional partnership led by business in partnership with public partners in economic development, education, workforce development and community support partners. In Colorado, industry–led sector partnerships are the vehicle for aligning public partners with industries’ needs in an effective, results–driven manner. They provide the “home” for career pathway systems–building, engaging industry leaders and public partners in a continuous dialogue to ensure that education and training systems respond to industry needs.

Summary: Step–by–Step Guide to Building Regional Career Pathway Systems

1. Build a regional, industry–led sector partnership as the vehicle for productive engagement with industry leaders and the starting place for career pathways systems–building. Use the sector partnership—specifically, the education, talent or workforce committee—as the driver of career pathways systems–building efforts.

• Goal: Establish strong industry ownership over career pathway development. Beyond asking for one–time input into a program, engage industry as full partners in building and contributing to a talent development system that will prepare the workforce they need, now and in the future.
• Outcome: A core group of committed industry leaders willing to champion the development of a career pathway system for industry.
• Role of business leaders: Identify and champion talent development as an important priority for the growth and competitiveness of their sector.
• Role of public partners: Working as a regional team, partners from education, workforce, and economic development collaborate with industry to launch and support an industry–led partnership.

2. Build out a career pathway support team of non–industry, partners and prepare them with the right expectations. Non–industry public partners might include key decision makers in workforce development, secondary education, post–secondary education, human services, vocational rehabilitation, and other community partners. This includes what they will get from employers: real–time information on critical occupations and competencies as well as a willingness to partner in providing work–based learning and other training resources. It also includes a clear explanation of how they’re expected to work together as workforce, education, and training systems to respond to industry demand.

• Goal: Build buy–in and support among workforce, education, training partners, and other community support partners preparing them to develop a coordinated response to industry’s talent needs.
• Outcome: A career pathway “support team” made up of workforce, education and training partners, human service, vocational rehabilitation, and other community support partners. This team will act as the joint decision–making body for responding to industry needs and determining how systems and programs should connect to one another at each level of a career pathway to collectively meet the needs of the targeted industry.
• Role of business leaders: None at this point.
• Role of public partners: Recruit workforce, education and training partners to participate on the career pathway support team, ensuring participation from key programs that prepare students and workers for in–demand careers in the targeted industry and provide them with the necessary supports to be successful in the career pathway.

3. Identify critical occupations based on labor market data and qualitative input from employers.

• Goal: Target a set of occupations that industry leaders agree are critical.
• Outcome: A list of occupations that industry agrees are critical; new support team members, drawing from education and training programs that relate to the targeted occupations.
• Role of business leaders: Convene to review labor market data and agree on a set of occupations that are critical to the industry.
• Role of public partners: Listen to industry–led conversations and consider opportunities to adapt programs to more closely align with industry needs as well as potential linkages across programs.

4. Inventory relevant education, training, and workforce programs that prepare students and workers for those occupations, mapping any existing linkages among those programs.

• Goal: Identify what programs already exist and start to identify gaps that need to be filled in order to best meet the demands of industry, students, and workers. Build out the career pathway support team with leaders from those programs.
• Outcome: An inventory of education and training programs that prepare students and job seekers for the critical occupations identified by industry. A support team including relevant workforce, education, training and support programs.
• Role of business leaders: Vet the program inventory to ensure key partners are included.
• Role of public partners: Inventory and document all education, training and workforce programs that have a role to play in preparing students and jobseekers for the targeted industry. Take stock of any existing linkages among programs (e.g. articulation agreements or dual enrollment) and begin to identify opportunities for stronger linkages among programs. Recruit new support team members, drawing from those programs.

5. Understand critical competencies required to perform effectively on the job. Industry–defined competencies are the specific knowledge, skills and abilities that industry leaders have collectively identified as being critical to performing a specific occupation or group of occupations effectively. Based on these competencies, develop occupational descriptions that both inform employers’ hiring practices as well as education and training partners in modifying curriculum and assessing students.

• Goal: Get the real story from employers about what is required to perform on the job, identifying both foundational and task–specific competencies.
• Outcome: Occupational descriptions for each targeted occupation, written to inform employer hiring practices as well as curriculum, program design, and program offerings.
• Role of business leaders: For each targeted occupation, hiring managers and high–performing employees convene to identify competencies. Business leaders also identify ways to contribute work–based learning experiences to pathways.
• Role of community partners: Partners listen in to sessions with hiring managers and high–performing employees to identify specific opportunities to strengthen existing programs and build stronger linkages across programs to align with industry needs.

6. Build career pathway programs that prepare students and jobseekers with critical, competencies. Based on an understanding of what competencies are required to perform effectively and advance in the industry, build career pathway programs that prepare students and jobseekers with those critical competencies. This includes building linkages among programs and institutions, integrating support services into programs, and augmenting classroom training with work–based experiences throughout the pathway.

• Goal: Develop seamless linkages among programs and institutions that support students and job seekers in building the competencies, credits, credentials they need to secure jobs and careers in the targeted industry.
• Outcome: Career pathway programs that target high–demand occupations or groups of occupations.
• Role of business leaders: Advise community support partners on career pathway program development. Contribute work–based learning opportunities.
• Role of community partners: Build stronger connections across programs and institutions to help students move seamlessly through pathways and ensure that competencies are developed that meet the needs of businesses. Advise students and job seekers on pathways that include training and supports needed to successful in critical occupations.

7. Share Career Pathway with Students and Jobseekers

• Goal: Use career pathway system to equip students and jobseekers with the relevant critical skills for high demand jobs. Use assessments and career pathway maps to help students and job seekers identify industries of interest and map out a path that includes the relevant training and work experience to be successful in their chosen career.
• Outcomes: Training, support and guidance for students and job seekers that aligns with the needs of industry.
• Role of business leaders: Hire students and job seekers for critical occupations. Provide public partners feedback about incoming skills and preparation of new employees.
• Role of public partners: Implement career pathways and help students and job seekers effectively navigate career pathways, incorporating supports as needed. Collect and apply feedback from business, students, job seekers to refine programs and ensure they maintain alignment with needs of industry and are relevant and accessible for students.

8. Create a system for continuous improvement. Use the sector partnership as the place to continuously develop and update your career pathways system. This includes ongoing conversations with employers to identify and understand high–priority workforce needs as they evolve, and continued collaboration among public partners to develop and update a systems approach in response.

• Goal: Keep career pathways updated and relevant, ensuring education and training systems stay attuned and respond to the changing needs of the labor market.
• Outcome: Career Pathways Action Plan, with employer champions and support partners committed to specific actions that align education and training with industry needs and support students in building skills and earning credentials with labor market value.
• Role of business leaders: Provide on–going feedback to ensure career pathways programs are aligned with the current needs of industry. Continue to contribute to career pathway programs through work–based learning.
• Role of public partners: Update career pathway programs to maintain relevance and alignment with industry needs. Continue dialog with other public partners to continue building and refining career pathway programs to ensure that they are responsive to the needs of industry and relevant and accessible to students and jobseekers.

Appendix: Defining Terms

Career Pathway System

A career pathway system engages education and training providers in a continuous conversation with one another and with industry to ensure that students move seamlessly through and among educational institutions and work–based experiences to build skills and credentials that meet industry demand and prepare them for jobs and careers.

Career Pathway Program

A career pathway program is a set of stackable credits and credentials, combined with support services, that enables students to secure industry–relevant skills, certifications, and credentials and advance to higher levels of education and employment.

Career Pathway Map

An online or paper map of how occupations connect to one another and what education and training is needed to prepare students or jobseekers for occupations.

Sector Partnership

An industry–specific regional partnership led by industry in partnership with public partners.

Public Partners

A regional group of non–industry partners engaged in a sector partnership who work together to develop a coordinated response to the needs of industry. Partners include decision makers in workforce development, secondary education, post–secondary education, human services, vocational rehabilitation, and other community partners.

Industry–defined competencies

The specific knowledge, skills and abilities that industry leaders have collectively identified as being critical to performing a specific occupation or group of occupations effectively. These competencies are both foundational and task specific.

[1] The WIOA definition of a career pathway refers to a career pathway program: “a combination of rigorous and high–quality education, training, and other services.” WIOA also tasks Local Workforce Development Boards with facilitating the development of career pathway systems: “The vision for the Local Workforce Development Board (Local Board) is to serve as a strategic leader and convener of local workforce development system stakeholders.” (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking §679.300). “The local board, with representatives of secondary and postsecondary education programs, shall lead efforts in the local area to develop and implement career pathways within the local area by aligning the employment, training, education, and supportive services that are needed by adults and youth, particularly individuals with barriers to employment. (WIOA, Sec. 107(d)).”