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Credential Seekers

Whether GED or PhD, credential seekers come with a range of experiences and educational backgrounds. The scope of what constitutes a credential seeker is limitless: an adult planning to move from a GED classroom to a college campus; an inmate enrolled in postsecondary education with the goal of successful reentry: a recent immigrant seeking to verify professional credentials earned abroad; military veterans and their families transitioning to civilian life; adults age 50 and older starting an "encore career," or more common everyday—dislocated workers and displaced homemakers retraining to quickly return to the workplace. What they share is a drive to continue learning and build on their skills and knowledge, something today' economy demands.

Research & Reports

A Primer for Work-Based Learning: How to Make a Job the Basis for a College Education [PDF] highlights two partnerships of the Jobs to Career Initiative in Oregon and Arizona that successfully applied work- based learning processes in urban and rural environments.

More research & reports on credential seekers.

Resources

Work-based Learning.org is an Office of Vocational and Adult Education sponsored project that provides information, research, data, and tools for developing, implementing, and evaluating workplace education programs.

More resources for credential seekers.

What's Working and Where

Name: Jobs to Careers: Promoting Work-Based Learning for Quality Care

Location: Nationwide

Description: $15.8 million initiative to support work-based learning opportunities for frontline healthcare workers to help them advance in their careers.

Structures for Success:

  • Career paths are developed and readily available to frontline workers.
  • Employer and education partnerships improve access to and success in skill building efforts for working adults.
  • Frontline workers are recognized and rewarded as they build competencies to perform their jobs and advance to new positions.
  • Work-based learning activities link to job tasks requiring these competencies.

Measures of Success:

  • As of Fall 2008, two cohorts in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Behavioral Health Initiative, part of the Jobs to Careers Initiative, completed core behavioral health competencies and interpersonal skills/crisis intervention curriculum modules.
  • Findings on the impact of competency-based training will be available in 2010.

View more promising practices in career education and workforce development.

We Want To Hear From You!

Email us at lifelong_learning@ace.nche.edu to suggest a promising practice targeting career changers at your institution or organization.

 

Please direct questions about this page to:
lifelong_learning@ace.nche.edu
This page last updated on 08/28/2009