From Labor Market Information to Pathways Design: Foundational Information for Intermediaries

Career pathways aligned with regional labor markets are foundational structures put in place to ensure that youth are best positioned for economic advancement. While it is not difficult to describe an aligned pathway (also called a program of study) at a high level, actually designing a pathway with all of the required details is challenging. The purpose of this guide is to aid stakeholders in the task of researching and assembling the appropriate knowledge base needed to design and communicate about career pathways experiences that are aligned with local labor markets. This guide aims to assist in the following ways: (1) Define, distill, and provide resources for assembling each critical element of a pathway, including adapting for new regional labor market pathways; (2) Highlight how information should be communicated to young people at each stage of the adolescent developmental continuum; and (3) Keep equity front and center by noting for each topic how the information can be presented to both prepare youth for barriers they may face in a particular sector and to ensure that they understand the benefits of all sectors that pay well and provide satisfying work.