Career pathways programs offer academic and workforce training to students across the country who want to build content knowledge and skills in specific industries. By creating a pipeline of young talent, pathways programs help states meet the growing demand for highly skilled workers. While numerous federal agencies invest in career pathways efforts, program development and implementation largely take place at the state level.  

Bellwether’s “Pathways to Implementation” series draws upon nearly 40 interviews with leaders, experts, and advocates across 14 states to highlight model pathways programs and the innovative strategies they employ. Although this work is not without its challenges, interviewees across states and role groups repeatedly point to five common, effective strategies that consistently support successful pathways program implementation at scale. 

1. Foster collaboration across K-12, higher education, and workforce sectors 

State leaders in K-12, higher education, and workforce sectors often operate independently from one another, relying on their own sets of policies, funding streams, and goals to direct their efforts. However, experts agree that cross-sector collaboration is essential to creating effective, cohesive career pathways.   

In Massachusetts, multiple agencies — including the Massachusetts Departments of Education, Labor, and Workforce and Economic Development — meet regularly as a working group to refine and push forward the collaboratively developed state vision of career pathways. The state also works closely with employers through both the Massachusetts Workforce Skills Cabinet and the Massachusetts Business Alliance.  

Likewise, Indiana convenes stakeholders across sectors to ensure alignment and sustainability within its career pathways initiatives. For example, the state’s iLab — a network that connects more than 100 state leaders from a variety of government, education, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors — is developing a collaborative statewide youth apprenticeship program to build skills that meet workforce demand.  

2. Build student and family engagement through effective messaging 

Students and their families don’t always understand how state-level policies address their everyday concerns about pursuing viable career pathways. By creating communication strategies targeted to end users, state leaders can ensure pathways programs resonate with the students and families they were designed to reach and benefit.   

For example, leaders at the South Carolina Department of Education are using new social media tools, such as a series of videos that explore the state’s career clusters, to reach younger populations. In Ohio, representatives from its Department of Higher Education annually attend the Ohio State Fair, where they set up information booths and offer demonstrations of STEM-related activities that allow families to learn about career pathways opportunities. And in Massachusetts, state leaders credit effective early messaging for building and maintaining grassroots support for their career pathways programs.  

3. Keep the value proposition as the North Star 

To keep career pathways valid over time, state leaders must continuously maintain these initiatives. By establishing regular check-ins with business partners, state leaders can ensure that programs continue to meet labor market needs. And by periodically meeting with educators to discuss the alignment of program content with industry needs, state leaders can increase the likelihood that those educators will implement pathways programs with fidelity.  

In Colorado, the state’s Workforce Development Council conducts an annual review of competencies for their career clusters-based pathways program to maintain relevance to new statewide investments and in-demand careers. Similarly, Delaware leaders periodically review program data to ensure continued relevance, using the information to adjust pathways policies and programming to meet emerging needs and close equity gaps. And in Tennessee, state leaders keep certification criteria for the state’s Pathways initiative closely aligned to existing federal Perkins requirements, streamlining program implementation and building buy-in among educators and school leaders.  

4. Engage in partnerships beyond education and workforce  

State leaders often secure necessary implementation support by developing strong partnerships beyond typical education and workforce entities. For instance, state leaders have found that intermediary organizations (e.g., the Massachusetts Business Alliance) can support outreach to stakeholder groups and help build local buy-in, while philanthropic organizations can provide needed funding support for implementation efforts.   

For example, to support the initial implementation of the Tennessee Pathways initiative, leaders in the state worked with intermediaries to build regional steering committees. These committees of educators and employers continue to help translate state-level policies into context-relevant local programs. In Washington, the Career Connect Washington Program Builders grant program leverages philanthropic support, including private funding from JPMorganChase. The program funds the work of intermediaries, who help students connect to career-aligned academic and work-based learning experiences. 

5. Invest in human capital as a fundamental resource 

While funding is essential to successful implementation of career pathways, state-level conversations about resources often overlook the pivotal role of securing human capital to ensure program success. At the local level, educators are needed to teach courses and intermediaries are needed to build relationships with local businesses. At the state level, agencies need data analytics capacity to drive continuous improvement. 

State leaders in Ohio recently expanded the allowable uses of one of their main funding streams, Super RAPIDS, to include human capital investments in career field faculty. The state has also offset teacher salaries for skill-based courses using funding from local businesses. And Kentucky’s Center for Statistics, a hub for state data collection and analysis, enables the state to develop and maintain the human data analytics capacity necessary to help families understand statewide trends in student academic and career outcomes.  

These five core strategies, emerging from interviews in 14 states, offer examples to guide the efforts of other states seeking to implement career pathways. By applying these critical, effective approaches — including continuous cross-sector engagement, stakeholder-specific messaging, and working diligently with funders and intermediaries — state leaders can ensure that the career pathways programs they choose to implement are positioned to give students the best possible opportunities for sustainable employment in high-demand fields.