Meaningful Diploma Strategy: Partnerships for Pathways

Robust cross-sector partnerships are vital to ensuring that students’ pathways from education to career are aligned to labor market demand and provide value-add opportunities.

An ever-increasing number of states and local school districts are working to increase access and quality of Career and Technical Education programs, work-based learning opportunities such as internships and apprenticeships, and early career awareness for younger students to explore and learn about careers. In the 2022-2023 school year, 31.5% of high school graduates received an industry certification, up from 11.9% in 2021-2022 and 14% in 2018-2019, respectivelyⁱ. The chart below highlights the percentage of high school seniors that completed varying levels of coursework in Career and Technical Education programs.  

Figure 1

Kentucky High School Graduates with CTE Participation

Source: Kentucky School Report Card

At the same time, the percentage of high school graduates in Kentucky choosing to enter the workforce directly out of high school is increasing.

Figure 2

Kentucky High School Graduates Directly Entering the Workforce

Source: Kentucky School Report Card

As K-12 schools work to meet the postsecondary and workforce needs of students, partnerships are critical to building and sustaining successful pathways for students.  

What Roles Partners Play

• Secondary and postsecondary educators collaborate to develop career pathways enriched with early postsecondary opportunities, ensuring students gain relevant skills and knowledge demanded by the regional job market.  
• Employers and industry associations play a crucial role in identifying the credentials necessary to address their workforce needs. They also define entry-level professional and technical skills and competencies, which are integrated into K-12 and postsecondary curricula. Employers are key partners in offering work-based learning opportunities like internships, apprenticeships, and other early career exploration experiences that may begin as early as elementary or middle school.  
• Intermediaries facilitate collaboration between secondary and postsecondary education and between education and industry. An intermediary, whether a single organization or a consortium of several organizations, plays a vital role in facilitating the seamless design and implementation of pathways. They serve as the catalysts for connecting and building relationships amongst key stakeholders, while supporting cross-sector partnerships in delivering high-quality programs and services to students. Intermediaries often provide additional staffing, infrastructure, and capacity to support pathway systems and work-based learning programs.  

While partnerships between schools, businesses, and other stakeholders may not always be easy to cultivate and sustain, they are necessary to achieve the desired outcomes, including:

• A better-educated and more skilled workforce
• Greater opportunities that lead to post-high school success
• Community well-being and quality of life

Considerable research has been conducted on what key practices are critical to ensure the development of effective partnerships beginning at both the secondary and postsecondary levels, and between education institutions and the employer community. Findings suggest several key principles of effective partnerships^{ii iii}:

• Know Your Employers: Local school districts must position themselves as valuable partners to employers by staying informed about local industry and labor market needs.
• Establish a Shared Sense of Value: At the outset of any partnership, it's crucial to articulate a mutual value proposition. This shared understanding fosters deeper alignment on common goals and strategies. Cultivate employer champions who can advocate for collaboration.
• Develop Leadership Buy-In: Strong support from education and employer leadership promotes the longevity and effectiveness of partnerships. When leaders are committed to collaboration, partnerships are more likely to thrive.
• Cast a Wide Net: Strengthen relationships by engaging with members at various levels of the organization, not just leadership.
• Cultivate and Maintain Relationships: Building strong relationships takes time and effort, and ongoing communication is key to sustaining partnerships. Effective relationship management involves identifying dedicated points of contact.  
• Collaborate on Data: Access to education and employment data promotes alignment by facilitating a shared understanding of partners' needs, strengths, and opportunities.
• Make Employer Participation User-Friendly: Streamline processes and coordinate efforts to make it easy for employers to participate in partnership activities.
• Focus on Producing Systems Changes: Aim to effect broader systemic changes that benefit both parties, rather than focusing solely on programmatic outcomes.

Programs and Practices Within This Strategy

• Aligned and Coherent Pathways
• Leverage Technology to Expand Pathways
• Work-Based Learning: Internships, Co-ops, Apprenticeships
• Establish durable skills learning benchmarks

See it in Action

• Warren County Groundswell Spotlight (coming soon)