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Our Work

Industry Partnerships & Education and Career Pathways

How We Partner

Industry partnership bring together industry representatives and other partners to meet the needs of employers, employees, and candidates for employment. They benefit from information provided by, actions taken by, and investments made by industry that are strongly connected with those of other partners. A key result is equitable career pathways aligned with industry priorities.

Career pathways are not linear, one-way streets. They are individual journeys in progress that, together, weave the tapestry of our nation’s most critical resource: the workforce. These pathways can sustain equitable economic mobility, but only if they entail access to on- and off-ramps that adult learners and workers can navigate with clarity and confidence. But CAEL cannot do this work alone. 

Developing these pathways requires coordination at every phase of the education-employment cycle. From apprenticeships to CPL, industry partnerships connect academic advancement and on-the-job experience, present and past. Only such partnerships, which include educators, trainers, employers, and workforce developers, can vet, validate, and encourage recognition of credentials to ensure they align with rewarding occupations in growth for in-demand industries, and that there are supportive private and public sector policies and practices. 

These links are crucial to mapping career pathways that sustain equitable economic mobility.

CAEL’s industry partnerships provide the following:

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Empower individuals to assess skills and interests

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Develop personalized pathways aligned with individual interests and in-demand employment

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Provide services that meet industry and individual needs related to career pathway progress

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Establish and maintain policies and practices that support success

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Create access to the education and training needed for successful progress toward goals

In a rapidly evolving employment landscape, such pathways must be flexible and affordable. Our pathways solutions not only accelerate opportunities to build new competencies, but also integrate prior learning and work experiences to shorten the distance to personal, professional, and educational goals.

This work to connect adult workers and learners to higher wages and career advancement spans the following industries and more:

  • Advanced manufacturing
  • Construction
  • Finance and insurance
  • Energy
  • Healthcare & BioScience
  • Information Technology
  • PetroChemical
  • Retail and Accommodation
  • Semiconductor
  • Telecommunications
  • Transportation and Logistics

Examples of CAEL initiatives include:

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Adult Learner Centered and Equity Framework (ALCEF)
Adult Learner Centered and Equity Framework (ALCEF)
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Archways to Opportunity
Archways to Opportunity
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BankingOnMyCareer
BankingOnMyCareer
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BioOhio
BioOhio
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Build Better Careers
Build Better Careers
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Energy Providers Coalition for Education (EPCE)
Energy Providers Coalition for Education (EPCE)
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Exponential Pathways
Exponential Pathways
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Ivy Tech Credit for Prior Learning Crosswalks
Ivy Tech Credit for Prior Learning Crosswalks
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Military-Connected Learner
Military-Connected Learner
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Nursing Career Lattice
Nursing Career Lattice
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National Alliance for Communications Technology Education and Learning (NACTEL)
National Alliance for Communications Technology Education and Learning (NACTEL)
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PetroChemWorks
PetroChemWorks
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Regional Upskilling Alliance
Regional Upskilling Alliance
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SEMI career exploration platform
SEMI career exploration platform

Whether bringing stakeholders together for the first time, managing partnerships or enhancing them, CAEL catalyzes constructive collaboration among stakeholders who invest in, educate, provide services to, and/or employ adult learners/workers, and who work to bring about improved systems outcomes on their behalf. CAEL often engages with partners in an ecosystem approach, allowing the multiplier effect of strategically coordinated stakeholders to benefit entire regions. CAEL’s large membership and strong relationship with clients is a significant success factor. Our work with our partners is designed so that we all can succeed!

For example, CAEL is working with a Fortune 500 company and its suppliers to build career pathways and provide training to upskill and develop the suppliers' current workforce. The program provides relevant training opportunities for suppliers' employees and utilizes training providers for their expertise and management capabilities. This effort will assist in retaining staff and creating upward mobility for their current workforce to support current and upcoming needs in the supply chain.

CAEL also leads the Build Better Careers initiative, launched in 2022 with support from the Truist Foundation, which develops partnerships among industry leaders, workforce development, and postsecondary education providers in the financial services sector. The initiative seeks to better map and develop connected and supported career pathways to create talent pipelines; hire, retain, and advance more people of color and women in the industry; and promote systems change through enhanced funding and policies that expand employment opportunities in the sector. Implemented in 5 regions across the southeast, Build Better Careers has launched in Charlotte, Memphis, and South Florida. Regional partners include the University of Memphis, the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council, Charlotte Works, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont; Career Source South Florida, and OIC of South Florida. Our national partners include CAREERWORK$, CollegeApp, PAIRIN, Riipen, and Lightcast.

Two examples of long-established CAEL industry-education partnerships are EPCE and NACTEL

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Energy Providers Coalition for Education (EPCE)

The Energy Providers Coalition for Education (EPCE) is the premier source of online energy education, built to address the critical employment needs of the evolving utility industry. CAEL partners with EPCE employers and with preferred education providers to offer quality online education and training to better prepare individuals for the future of the energy industry. More than 1,138 employees in 30 companies were trained through EPCE in 2022.

Energy Providers Coalition for Education (EPCE)
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National Alliance for Communications Technology Education and Learning (NACTEL)

The National Alliance for Communications Technology Education and Learning (NACTEL) is a unique partnership of communications industry employers and unions working with quality educators to create and sponsor online education programs that meet the needs of current and future telecommunications professionals. CAEL worked with these employer members to support the training of 270 employees in 7 NACTEL companies and labor organizations in 2022.

National Alliance for Communications Technology Education and Learning (NACTEL)