Evolving Education and Career Pathways to Catalyze State Workforce Development

We’re living through a time of seismic change in education and employment. Traditional higher education is under assault, with talk everywhere about the move toward a “skills-first economy.” No wonder everyone from individual families to state economic development agencies is taking a fresh look at the best strategies to prepare individuals for meaningful careers and to address workforce shortages in critical sectors.

But there’s ample evidence that the choice isn’t binary. We don’t need to pit four-year degrees against skills-based training to prepare individuals for the jobs of today and tomorrow. States around the country are discovering that they can address immediate economic needs through specialized workforce development and training programs that can take place in a wide variety of settings. Whether it’s in a classroom, at a community college, on an online learning platform or through public-private partnership programs, the focus is shifting towards preparing learners for opportunity — regardless of the learning experience. That’s because many high-demand fields, from real estate to allied health to financial planning, may not require a traditional degree to deliver meaningful career outcomes. What they do require are knowledgeable, well-prepared workers no matter where they earned their credentials.

These white-collar professions are attractive to many people seeking financial advancement, and they’re vital building blocks for statewide economic growth. To unlock that potential, we need a mindset shift: move beyond the “degree vs skills” paradigm and embrace multiple, flexible pathways to help connect people to the education and training they need for what are often called middle-skill professions. That could include exam prep, licensure and skill-building classes offered by community colleges, at four-year schools, or online through education benefits programs to workers at state agencies or in private businesses. And it’s already happening.

Consider the Florida Department of Corrections. Eager to improve recruitment and retention for demanding correctional officer jobs, the department began offering employees a benefits package that includes free access to a comprehensive catalogue of test prep classes including the state corrections exam, one on one career and workforce advising, and other kinds of educational support provided by Kaplan. That means workers and their dependents — and even prospective workers who would not otherwise be qualified to apply without a GED — could prepare to take the GED if they never finished high school, or to sit for the SAT if they plan to go to college. But they can also receive guidance and career advising on meaningful paths for career advancement that don’t necessarily require a college degree — but do require quality training and industry credentialing.

This approach to workforce development illustrates just how much is possible outside traditional higher education institutions. Meanwhile, higher education institutions are innovating, too. The same kind of assistance with professional credentialing can increase the appeal, and the immediate return on investment, of a four-year degree. And by offering such programs, colleges and universities that are sometimes faulted for not preparing enough career-ready graduates can gain important data and insights on student interests.

Leaders at Cleveland State University, for example, forged a partnership with Kaplan primarily to give undergraduates free access to high-quality graduate-level test prep. While the initial goal was to boost law, medical and business school admissions, to their surprise, a significant number of students wanted help getting ready for the FE (Fundamental of Engineering) exam required for licensure. This prompted the school’s College of Engineering to create a session for engineering students to learn more about the FE exam and provide them with additional support — and resulted in a record-breaking number of newly credentialed engineers.

Similarly, one community college in Illinois saw demand surge for EMT exam prep after a statewide initiative gave their students free access to Kaplan test prep classes. This approach to building practical skills, with hands-on assistance getting ready for licensure exams, stands in sharp contrast to traditional career services models that would simply give students the relevant test dates and wish them luck.

Investment in such workforce development solutions can serve as a powerful recruiting tool with benefits to the local community, incentivizing students and workers to stay within the region and improving the local job market. At a state or institutional level, such skills development programs can also increase equity, educational attainment, and financial opportunity across socioeconomic lines, removing financial barriers to enable students of all backgrounds to enter the workforce and fill critically needed roles.

Data-driven workforce solution

What’s more, making a variety of specific professional training opportunities available — both inside and outside degree programs — is more than just sound policy. It’s a data-rich strategy for driving smarter workforce development that can have a transformational impact within a state or region.

This can be seen at the micro and the macro levels. At the micro level, rising demand for training in fields like financial planning and real estate signals to employers that offering education benefits attracts ambitious, career-focused workers. At the macro level, institutions like the University of Texas system are partnering with Coursera^® to offer a wide range of industry-recognized microcredentials along with degrees, at no additional cost. Students increasingly want both: durable academic foundations and targeted, job-ready skills.

For workforce planners, this data is gold. It reveals which professional training fields are most popular, sending valuable signals on which regions are building a critical mass of well-prepared workers in fields like allied health, and where there are promising areas for new employer investments. Aggregate data including student usage, completion, exam preparedness and student job interest can help state workforce development leaders make valuable decisions. This could also help states to recruit large employers to the region with the promise of a rich pool of talent.

All this professional training data can address workforce shortages, or help displaced workers, in a very timely way. It’s a far more responsive approach than the traditional system of large, multiyear grants to state universities that might or might not align with evolving labor market needs.

Professional training — whether graduate readiness programs, licensure pathways, or state-supported test prep — isn’t just a tool for individual advancement. It’s a strategic asset. And it will provide actionable information that’s the key to collaborative partnerships between government, educational institutions, and training providers. The more we invest in building flexible learning ecosystems that address workforce skills development, the better positioned our states will be to foster economic mobility, attract employers, and remain competitive in a changing world.

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