Ensuring a strong talent pipeline requires alignment and coordination across state systems, including Career Technical Education (CTE), K-12 education, 2-year and 4-year institutions of higher education, technical training programs, apprenticeships programs and more. To help states align systems in support of a coordinated workforce development strategy, the College and Career Readiness and Success Center at the American Institutes of Research developed a brief to identify the intersections and opportunities across three federal laws: The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V), and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
This easy-to-use guide provides state leaders, even those with limited background in ESSA, Perkins or WIOA, the foundational knowledge to identify opportunities for coordination in their own states. The brief uses an organizing framework that examines goals and expectations, outcomes and measures, resources and structures, and pathways and supports across each of the three federal laws. This is a helpful tool for local education agencies and state leaders to coordinate and plan their education and training delivery systems to strengthen the talent pipeline and secure a stronger future workforce.
Additional documents to support state coordination — including a workbook and interactive tool — are available from the College and Career Readiness and Success Center here.
