Career Pathways
Career Pathways is a workforce development approach to building a knowledgeable workforce. Career pathways are comprehensive — articulating education and training steps between occupations in an industry sector, combined with support services, to enable individuals to enter and exit at various levels and to advance over time to higher skills, recognized credentials, and better jobs with higher pay.
Each step on a career pathway is designed explicitly to prepare individuals to progress to the next level of employment and/or education. Individuals are aware of the pathway, connections are transparent, and next steps are clear to reach their career goals. Career pathways strategies target jobs in industries of importance to local and regional economies and build strong relationships with employers. Career pathways operate at two levels — systems and individual program levels.
Career Pathways Program
A Career Pathways Program is a clear sequence of connected education coursework, training credentials, short- and long‐term work‐based learning and sustainable support services aligned with employer‐validated work readiness standards and competencies that enable individuals to secure employment with livable wages within a specific industry or occupational sector and advance over time to successively higher levels in that sector; and promote equitable and inclusive access and increase the supply chain of diverse qualified workers in the target industry.
Career Pathways System
A Career Pathways System is a broad approach to serving populations seeking employment by reducing systemic barriers and creating opportunities for individuals to advance within specific fields through career pathways programs.
A Career Pathways System alters the way the workforce system delivers services and enhances the relationship with partner organizations and stakeholders to the development of a skilled knowledge‐economy workforce by expanding access in an equitable and inclusive way that produces diverse workers who gain industry‐recognized and academic credentials necessary to work in careers that are in‐demand.
Career Pathways Systems transform the role of employers from a customer to a partner and a co‐leader and co‐investor in the development of the workforce.
Eight Core Elements of Our Career Pathways System
The DC Health Care Workforce Partnership is managed by the District of Columbia Hospital Association Program Services Company, Inc.
The DC Health Care Workforce Partnership is funded wholly or in part by the Government of the District of Columbia Workforce Investment Council (WIC).