In February 2011, Harvard Graduate School of Education released the report, Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century. The report calls for an intensive effort on the part of employers, educators, and government leaders to build pathways that link work and learning and are aligned with regional labor market demand.
In response to the report, the local school systems, community colleges and workforce development boards (Northeastern, Region Q and Turning Point) in the Northeast Region of North Carolina have partnered to convene teams of stakeholders from business/industry, secondary and post-secondary education, and economic/workforce development to build career pathways aligned with high-growth sectors of the regional economy that combine rigorous academics with powerful technical education. This effort began in August of 2013 with this diverse group of stakeholders organizing the Northeast NC Career Pathways Partnership to oversee the development of pathways that focus on: 1) employer engagement; 2) a sequenced system of career awareness and counseling activities that begins in middle school and continues through high school; and 3) an aligned academic and technical curriculum that focuses on employer-identified skills and industry credentials.
The partnership leadership council examined the results of an asset mapping process and selected Health Science Careers, Agriscience/Biotechnology Careers, Advanced Manufacturing Careers, and Business Support Services Careers as four high priority business sectors on which to focus pathway development efforts. For the past four years strategic planning teams consisting of employers, educators, workforce development specialists and counselors have developed career pathways for the Health Care, Agriscience/ Biotechnology and Advanced Manufacturing business sectors. In February 2016, the Northeastern Health Care Pathway was the first pathway in North Carolina to be certified by the NCWorks Commission. In November 2016, the NCWorks Commission certified the Northeast Regional Advanced Manufacturing Career Pathway.
In the spring of 2017, a regional strategic planning committee was recruited to develop the Business Support Services pathways. These pathways focus on careers in Business Administration and Support, Information Technology, and Logistics and Distribution.
Pathway development includes much more than developing a sequence of course work. Career guidance, work-based learning, continuous collaboration among training providers, stackable credentials and local implementation strategies are all part of the pathway work.