Career Pathways for Florida’s Adult Education and Literacy Programs

Career pathways is the wave of the future for Florida’s adult education and literacy programs.  In early November, ACE of Florida, the Florida Department of Education and other partners broadcasted a webcast about building career pathways for Florida’s adult students.  This is a link to the recorded webinar – it’s about 3 hours long, and gives viewers a clear picture of where the industry is headed with this initiative and how adult education and literacy programs can participate.

To help launch this initiative, each Regional Training Council (RTC) is conducting Career Pathways workshops.  Each workshop is on the January 2011 calendar on the Florida TechNet site and is free to attend.

This is the quick breakdown of offerings – each session will cover the same information, so you just need to attend one.

• 8:30 a.m.- 4 p.m., Monday, Jan. 10, at Northwest Florida State College (Niceville, Fla.) Register
• 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 11, at Tallahassee Community College (Tallahassee, Fla.) Register
• 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 12, at Florida State College Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.) Register
• 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Friday, Jan. 14, at Mid Florida Tech (Orlando, Fla.) Register
• 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 18, at Hillsborough Instructional Services Center (Tampa, Fla.) Register
• 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 19, at Lee County Public Education Center (Fort Myers, Fla.) Register
• 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 20, at Lindsey Hopkins Tech (Miami, Fla.) Register
• 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Friday, Jan. 21, at Fulton-Holland Ed. Services Center (West Palm Beach, Fla.) Register

Workshop overview:  An adult career pathway is a systemic framework that connects adult education programs, work, and postsecondary education. Each step in a career pathway is designed to prepare the student for the next level of work and education. Adult Career Pathways includes the guidance, remediation, curricula, and other support elements required to enable career limited adults to enter the workforce and progress in rewarding careers.

Purpose: This workshop will lead participants through practical strategies to analyze and develop the components of an adult career pathways system.

The workshop includes topics such as:
• Adult Education and Florida’s Economic Development
• Steps in Designing Adult Education Career Pathways
• Career Pathways Maps
• Student Recruitment, Orientation, and Placement
• Contextualized Curriculum and Instruction
• Career Development
• Data Collection and Analysis for ACPs

Does your program already offer career pathways/transition programs for students?  If so, tell us about them in the comment section below.  If not, what do you feel the challenges are?  Did you watch the webcast earlier this month – if so, what were your thoughts?

We look forward to your comments and conversation.