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State Spotlight: Virginia’s Commitment to Career Pathways
Career pathways initiatives supporting both youth and adults can be found across Virginia. The state continues to make significant investments that ensure its learning opportunities closely align to its workforce prospects and employer needs and are coordinated across state agencies. In 2008, Virginia released Bridging Business and Education for the 21st Century Workforce, a report that accelerated career pathways activities already underway in the Commonwealth. Recommendations from the report called for:
- Developing a statewide framework that supports regional activities;
- Using data to inform and evaluate program development and success;
- Facilitating transitions among education and employment systems, programs, and services;
- Expanding support services such as advising and coaching; and
- Building a sustainable career pathways system supported across state agencies and prioritized by the business community.
A multi-agency work group brought together representatives from a host of state agencies to envision and commit to developing a statewide system that offered flexibility to meet regional workforce demands. All active partners in Virginia’s Career Pathways Work Group and Executive Committee participate in the strategic planning, operational support, and promotion of regional career pathways throughout the state.
Since that time, numerous career pathways initiatives have emerged to serve target populations. The career pathways system has become the principal model for workforce development in Virginia, bringing together nine state agencies with responsibilities for administering federal and state-funded career and technical education and workforce development programs including:
- Perkins,
- Workforce Investment Act (WIA),
- Wagner-Peyser,
- The Virginia Department of Education,
- Virginia Community College System,
- State Council of Higher Education in Virginia,
- Virginia Economic Development Partnership,
- Department of Business Assistance,
- Department of Labor and Industry,
- Department of Social Services, and
- Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services.
Adult Education Career Pathways Programs Making a Difference
Of particular interest to adult educators engaged in career pathways is the success experienced by the PluggedInVA (PIVA) initiative, which started in southwest Virginia in 2009. The first six-month pilot was launched in response to a need for qualified candidates at two local information technology companies. Program participants ranged in age from 18 to 44 and each earned a General Education Development (GED®) test certificate and Digital Literacy Certificate. Additionally, 77 percent earned Career Readiness Certificates and 69 percent completed 24 college credits. Encouraged by the success of the first cohort, PIVA has continued operating in southwest Virginia and has expanded to other regions of the state in a range of industries, including: construction and weatherization, health care, electronic medical records, entrepreneurship, and advanced manufacturing.
PIVA is a career pathways program that provides motivated adult learners a contextualized GED® curriculum integrated with technical training as a means to develop essential skills. The program has organized services in three areas: academic preparation—providing instruction in math, reading, writing, computer use, and technical training; counseling—supplying information on financial aid, stress and time management, study skills, business etiquette, personal support, and orientation to college life; and mentoring—helping orient learners to college activities and offering encouragement and support.
Another statewide initiative designed to increase credential attainment and employment of lower-skilled adults is the Adult Career Coach program recently launched by the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). Inspired by the success of Virginia’s high school career coach program, Adult Career Coaches are based at diverse entry points to Virginia’s workforce development system to provide one-on-one assistance with career and education planning, financial aid, college admissions, career assessments, and job placement. An interactive tool, Virginia Education Wizard, supports the coaches efforts in assisting adults obtain the information they need to identify and pursue a career with a centralized source for career pathways, education, and financial aid resources.
Additional VCCS programs supporting Adult Career Pathways include the Middle College and On Ramp initiatives.
Middle College allows individuals without a high school degree to increase their income and employability by simultaneously pursuing a GED®, community college education, and a workforce certification in a college environment. The program offers targeted remedial courses, access to workforce readiness courses, enrollment in community college courses applicable to a degree or industry-based certificate, and comprehensive support services.
The On Ramp program aligns the VCCS strategic plan, Achieve 2015, with career pathways planning and expanded rapid response assistance for unemployed and underemployed individuals. Colleges that serve local workforce investment areas with the highest unemployment rates in the state or which have been impacted by a significant layoff event are participating in the program. On Ramp offers a flexible training design framework to improve the employment rates of dislocated workers through career advising and postsecondary credential attainment.
Elizabeth Creamer, Virginia’s Director of Education and Workforce Development, says the state has nearly one million adults lacking a high school diploma or equivalent. “To significantly decrease that number requires the combined efforts and resources of multiple state and regional partners. Career pathways engage diverse stakeholders and offer effective, creative solutions to address challenges to the state’s economic growth.”
Special thanks to contributors: Kate Daly, Elizabeth Creamer, Caroline Thurston, and Scott Kemp.
Virginia Career Pathways Links:
- PluggedInVA
- http://www.pluggedinva.com
- Adult Career Coaches
- http://old.vccs.edu/WorkforceServices/CareerPathways/CareerCoaches/AdultCareerCoaches.aspx
- Virginia Education Wizard
- http://www.vawizard.org
- Middle College
- http://old.vccs.edu/WorkforceServices/CareerPathways/MiddleCollege.aspx
- On Ramp
- http://old.vccs.edu/WorkforceServices/CareerPathways/OnRampProgram.aspx
Featured ACP Resource
Adult College Completion Tool Kit
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, September 2012
This fall, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) released the Adult College Completion Tool Kit to help policymakers at state and local levels implement practical evidence-based solutions that increase the number of graduates earning the degrees and certificates necessary to compete for good jobs. The tool kit is designed to connect state administrators and local practitioners to strategies, resources, and technical assistance tools resulting from the department’s work. It focuses on three key areas: access, quality, and completion.
Each section of the tool kit includes state and local examples illustrating how programs can improve the college transition process for their students. The tool kit is aligned with the needs of four target student populations—veterans, adult basic education students, incarcerated individuals, and high-skilled immigrants—and provides handouts practitioners can use to encourage individuals in these target groups to prepare for and complete at least one year of postsecondary education and training.
The tool kit is available for download at: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/resource/adult-college-completion-tool-kit.pdfResearch and Policy Corner
Taking Root: The Virginia Career Pathways System
Workforce Strategy Center, September 2012
In 2008, Virginia embarked on the development of a statewide career pathways system. This report highlights the efforts of a multi-agency Governor-led task force and stakeholders from across the state to align publicly supported services and programs to build a workforce customized to the needs of regional labor markets.
The following lessons learned are supported with strategies and examples to offer insights to other states engaged in career pathways development.
- Create a statewide planning structure that balances agency authority with operational capacity. To ensure continuity, task force membership should be comprised of career positions empowered to make decisions for their agency rather than political appointees.
- Career pathways planning and implementation takes time and effort. Engaging an outside entity to facilitate the process can be important to prevent an initiative from being seen as the product of a single state agency.
- Effective communication is the key to success. A strong “elevator speech” can be vital to ensuring all stakeholders understand a complicated process.
The complete report is available for download at: http://old.vccs.edu/WorkforceServices.aspx
Email: info@acp-sc.org
Phone: 703-688-ACP7 (2277)
Kratos Learning, ACP-SC Project
2920 South Glebe Road
Arlington, VA 22206
Disclaimer: The Adult Career Pathways (ACP) News is a publication of the Designing Instruction for Career Pathways (DICP) initiative and was produced by Kratos Learning, in partnership with the Center for Occupational Research and Development, with funding from the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), under Contract No. ED-CFO-10-A-0072/0001. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Education, and no official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education should be inferred. This document is in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission.