Learning for Careers: The Pathways to Prosperity Network: An AYPF and JFF Capitol Hill Forum

In 2012, Jobs for the Future (JFF) and the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), in collaboration with states and regions across the country, launched the Pathways to Prosperity Network to reimagine how the education system – from K-12 through college – partners with employers and prepares youth for postsecondary success. A new book, Learning for Careers: The Pathways to Prosperity Network, by Network co-founders Nancy Hoffman of JFF and Robert Schwartz of HGSE summarizes this growing multistate initiative that seeks to ensure many more young people complete high school, attain a postsecondary credential with labor market value, and launch into a career. Stakeholders across education, business, and government lead the work in each Pathways to Prosperity state or region, with the long-term goal of creating statewide systems of career pathways spanning grades 9-14. Key sectors of the economy identified for building career pathways include STEM fields such as information technology, health care, and advanced manufacturing. This forum will explore main themes from the book, highlight how key actors in Delaware, a Pathways to Prosperity state, worked together to develop and implement a coherent strategic career pathways plan, and discuss how Delaware state leadership and prominent organizations also played a critical role. Specifically, speakers will share insights about how two education institutions and the employer community came together to create meaningful career pathways that cut across secondary and postsecondary education and are linked to growth areas in the state’s economy.