Young Learners in Lafayette, Ind. Have Greater Choices for Career Success Thanks to Microcredentials and Work-Based Learning

The good news is that there is more than one pathway to career success. The challenge for many learners and workers is finding one that is a good fit for their unique circumstances. High school students are no exception. Thankfully, in addition to traditional training pathways, there are a growing number of innovative pathways that provide greater flexibility and lower cost.  Successfully navigating these choices requires both guidance and opportunity.

Regional stakeholders in and around Lafayette, Indiana, are building just that through a unique, ecosystems-focused approach. Together, they have introduced Career+ Pathways™, a collaborative initiative that brings together Greater Lafayette Commerce (the regional economic development and workforce agency), Skyepack (a career curriculum and platform provider), local higher education institutions, and regional employers.

Launched in 2022, Career+ Pathways™ was initially available to more than 15,000 students enrolled at 21 schools in a seven-county area of west-central Indiana, and has since expanded to serve regions throughout the state. The program is founded on the principle that giving high school students more routes to career success strengthens regional talent pipelines. Students who take advantage of new options created by Career+ Pathways™, which include a unique microcredential program, are well-positioned to enroll in college courses and complete industry credentials while in high school. At the same time, Career+ Pathways™ prepares them to seize immediate employment opportunities that offer good wages and opportunities to complete additional postsecondary credentials at no additional cost.

"High school students shouldn't face an 'all or nothing’ choice when it comes to postsecondary education," said Eric Davis, CEO of Skyepack. "Career+ Pathways™ helps students capture the best of both worlds: immediate workplace experiences and skills that don't come at the cost of college ambitions."

There are three Career+ Pathways™ microcredentials, which students take in a progression starting in the eighth grade: Next Level, Workplace Communication, and Workplace Leadership. Integrated within classroom curricula, the microcredential series is completed in students’ senior year.

The microcredentials help high school students gain essential employment competencies, such as communication and leadership. They also incorporate "Career+ Pathways™ Experiences," which complement classroom education with work-based learning opportunities such as jobsite tours, boot camps, and virtual chats with industry veterans. The final microcredential integrates a regional hiring fair to help students land a job or college internship opportunity before high school graduation.

Greater Lafayette and Skyepack partnered with CAEL to solidify the link between the microcredentials' learning outcomes and employability in two high-growth sectors: health care and manufacturing. CAEL experts reviewed the microcredentials’ curricula and the competencies they delivered. They also met with key employers to complete a thorough assessment of their employment needs.

"Our goal was to demonstrate that these microcredentials, when coupled with work-based learning, can create a proxy for an industry-recognized credential that is aligned with talent needs for local employers," said CAEL Director of Initiatives Mohona Siddique.

Siddique led the development of career pathways that model the connections between the microcredential curricula and talent needs in high-priority occupations for regional employers. The pathways include competency maps, education and training requirements, expected wages, and functional entry and transition points to capture a continuum of career advancement.

The work was a natural fit within CAEL's emphasis on industry and sector partnerships, a priority that has seen it increase its engagement with chambers of commerce. As it does so, CAEL often functions as an intermediary, connecting the dots between employers and curricula. This capacity secures essential buy-in, validating the microcredential as a key tool for meeting regional talent needs and supporting long-term career success. "Chambers like Greater Lafayette excel by engaging employers,” said Siddique. "Integrating career exploration and work-based learning for high schoolers sets a gold standard for education and training partnerships."

CAEL's fifty years’ expertise in translating experiential learning into recognized credentials was key to bridging gaps, she added. "There's growing demand for skill assessment in nontraditional systems. For CAEL, that means applying our credit for prior learning expertise across employers, industries, and workforce ecosystems."

Such insights are crucial as national efforts expand pathways for young learners, said Dr. William McKinney, CAEL’s senior director of higher education initiatives. "As states are increasingly prioritizing work-based learning, advancing internships, apprenticeships, and experiential learning will require stronger collaboration among employers, educators, workforce developers, and chambers of commerce to align these efforts."

For information on how CAEL can help your region put the pieces together for an optimized education-employment ecosystem, contact cael@cael.org.