Essential Question 15 Home Essential Questions Quality Career Training Pathways Leading To Quality Jobs Are there quality pathways for students who engage in career-connected learning that lead to employment in quality jobs? About this Essential QuestionThis question examines the availability and effectiveness of career-connected learning pathways. Quality career-connected learning leads to meaningful employment opportunities with a living wage and growth potential. Program effectiveness can vary significantly, but career and technical education programs and work-based learning experiences that align with high-demand fields can yield better economic outcomes for participants. Emerging research also shows that career connected learning through the combination of career and technical education (CTE) and dual enrollment (taking college courses in high school) yields even stronger outcomes.1 Education and workforce development leaders can use this question to understand student pathways to quality jobs, identify industry partnership opportunities, and develop strategies to ensure that all students have access to career pathways that lead to sustainable employment outcomes.Probing QuestionsUse these probing questions to dive deeper on the essential question or approach it through a different lens. Feel free to adapt these questions further or come up with your own. How do community members and workforce development organizations define a “quality job” (for example, in terms of wages, benefits, and career advancement opportunities)? How well do available current career and technical education pathways align with local workforce needs? What opportunities are there to expand or strengthen partnerships between education providers and employers?How do students’ participation in career training programs and job placement rates vary based on where they live? How do they vary by race and ethnicity, disability status, income, and/or gender?How might we improve access to quality career-connected learning for all students, from early exposure to robust internships and apprenticeships? What policies or conditions could be improved? Who needs to be involved?How do systemic policies, school practices, and other conditions—such as expenditures on workforce development programs, access to in-demand CTE programs, or wages for students in internships or other placements—help or hinder access to quality pathways for career-connected learning?Explore Data for This QuestionTo help you answer this question for your own community, you can search for your state, county, or neighborhood in the Urban Institute data tool linked below. The tool integrates all available federal data from the metrics relevant to this essential question. Compare data between geographies, over time, and by breakdowns across race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and more. Search for your own state using the lefthand sidebar or click “Restart” to view data by county or neighborhood.EXPLORE DATA Related Indicators Outcomes & Milestones Transfer (if applicable) CTE pathway concentration Participation in work-based learning Employment in a quality job E-W System Conditions Access to in-demand CTE pathways and workforce programs Expenditures on workforce development programs Access to ongoing career skills development Related Evidence-based Practices K-12, Postsecondary, Workforce Career pathway programs Postsecondary Integrated basic skills instruction in occupational training Workforce Employer partnerships with CTE and workforce programs Youth workforce development programs Sector-oriented job training programs 1Velasco, T., Ryu, W., Schudde, L., Grano, K., Jenkins, D., & Fink, J. (2025). Promising combinations of dual enrollment, AP/IB, and CTE: The college and earnings trajectories of Texas high school students who take accelerated coursework. Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University. https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/publications/promising-combinations-dual-enrollment-ap-ib-cte.html