Essential Question 15

About this Essential Question

This question examines the availability and effectiveness of career training pathways. Quality career training 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. 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 Questions

Use 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 do systemic policies, school practices, and other conditions—such as expenditures on workforce development programs or access to in-demand CTE programs—help or hinder access to quality pathways for career training?  
• How might we improve access to quality career training pathways for all students? What policies or conditions could be improved? Who needs to be involved?