The Workforce Pathways diploma. WBL documentation. Perkins V 5S1. Pathful was built for this.

Workforce Pathways diplomaAlabama's CTE-substituted diploma option, created by the 2024 Workforce Pathways Act (Option B), alongside the standard Option A diploma.
College and Career Readiness Indicator (CCRI)Effective for the Class of 2026, students must earn one of eleven qualifying indicators.
WBL ContinuumAlabama's three-stage framework: Awareness, Exploration, and Preparation, governed by the Alabama Work-Based Learning Handbook.
Perkins V 5S1Alabama's selected program-quality indicator: recognized postsecondary credential attainment.
Compendium of Valuable CredentialsThe state-approved list of credentials of value, published on the Alabama Talent Triad platform.
Business and Industry CertificationAlabama's international quality-management certification for its CTE program-quality system.

Alabama alignment

Alabama just rebuilt its workforce system. Pathful already fits it.

Alabama's governance runs through a small number of centralized bodies: ALSDE ("Alabama Achieves") owns curriculum, diploma pathways, and CTE program approval, the same role Michigan's OCTE and Ohio's ODEW play. The 2024 "Working for Alabama" legislative package renamed the Alabama Department of Labor to the Alabama Department of Workforce (ADOW), effective 10/1/2024 and fully transitioned by 10/2025, and merged the state's two former workforce boards into one Alabama Workforce Board. The same package's Workforce Pathways Act created a second, CTE-substituted high school diploma option. Every requirement running through that structure has a direct counterpart in Pathful.

~138–141 local boards of educationAlabama's local education agencies, count varies by year and source methodology.
386 public high schoolsServing 222,089 public high school students statewide.
23 community colleges / 71 area technical centersThe postsecondary CTE network administered by ACCS.

Why now

74,641High school CTE concentrators, latest reported enrollment.

487,937Success Plus credentials earned toward the 500,000 goal by April 2025 (97.6% of target).

98%Four-year graduation rate for 2022 CTE concentrators, per ALACTE.

2024"Working for Alabama" package restructured workforce governance, six bills signed by Gov. Ivey.

Alabama requires

Eighth-grade four-year graduation plan
Required under the Course of Study Career Preparedness requirement, continued as an annually revised portfolio through graduation.
College and Career Readiness Indicator (CCRI)
Effective Class of 2026, General Education Pathway students must earn at least one of eleven qualifying indicators.
Co-Op / WBL documentation
A signed parent application, WBL teacher/coordinator approval, and training-station and placement records for every Co-Op placement, per the Alabama Work-Based Learning Handbook.
WBL Coordinator certification
A valid Alabama CTE teaching certificate plus additional coursework, and two hours of annual child-labor-law professional development per coordinator.
Perkins V program quality: 5S1
Alabama selected recognized postsecondary credential attainment, not 5S2 or 5S3, as its secondary program-quality indicator.
Compendium of Valuable Credentials alignment
Credentials evaluated by the ACCQT against a 10-point quality process, published on the Alabama Talent Triad platform.

Pathful delivers

Career Plan builder
A living four-year course/career plan with counselor and parent visibility, plus portfolio components and goal-setting activities assignable and trackable year over year.
Concentrator/Completer & CCRI tracking
Pathful Planner's course-sequencing engine carries both diploma credit structures and flags which CCR indicator a student is on track to satisfy.
JobreadyWBL signature and permit routing
Flexible PDF-based form signing, including automated reminders, prefill options, automatic signer selection, and bulk form operations for parent applications and coordinator approvals.
Coordinator training records
Training records tied to the coordinator's profile, built to keep annual child-labor-law hours from falling through at renewal.
JobreadyCTE credential/IRC tracking
The anchor product for Alabama's Perkins V Local Application narrative, since 5S1 performance is a direct function of credential tracking.
Credential tracking
Credential tracking exists in CRD and JobreadyCTE; a direct data feed to the Compendium of Valuable Credentials is not yet confirmed.

Funding context

$29,496,950Perkins V Basic State Grant, FY2025 total to Alabama.

10%Perkins V reserve fund, FY2025.

Grades 5–8Middle grades eligible for Perkins V funding.

Workforce Pathways ActCTE-center construction/retrofit funding, appropriation-dependent.

ACCS Short-Term Credential ProgramScholarships administered by the Alabama Community College System.

$60,000Perkins V leadership funds reserved for non-traditional careers, FY2025.

0.1%Perkins V leadership funds reserved for state correctional institutions, FY2025.

Two products, one solution

Everything Alabama needs, connected end to end.

Pathful CRD and Pathful Planner handle career planning, course sequencing, and readiness. Jobready handles WBL placement administration and CTE credential tracking, the anchor for Alabama's Perkins V 5S1 indicator.

The exploration, planning, and development layer. Maps to the eighth-grade four-year plan, annual portfolio revision, and CTE Concentrator pathway exploration.

Alabama requirements covered

Eighth-grade four-year plan and annual portfolio revision through the Career Plan builder.
Career assessments including interest, values, skills, and Holland Code (RIASEC) profiling.
Pathful Planner course-sequencing across both diploma pathways and eleven CCRI options.
Pathful Junior for earlier career-awareness activities ahead of the eighth-grade plan.

The compliance and credential layer. Handles Co-Op documentation, WBL Coordinator training records, and Compendium-aligned credential tracking for the Perkins V 5S1 indicator.

Alabama requirements covered

Co-Op parent application and coordinator sign-off routing for every WBL placement.
WBL Continuum coding across Awareness, Exploration, and Preparation stages.
Credential and IRC tracking for Perkins V 5S1 reporting, Alabama's anchor indicator.
Audit-evidence tooling built for the documentation load of Business and Industry Certification renewal.

What educators & districts say

“

Pathful is an excellent way to teach my students about Career Education. We learn so much each time that we join a presentation. We really appreciate the diversity of the programs. We love the staff who assists the presenters during our presentation. Our favorite part is interacting in person with people from around the world.

Mary S.

SPED Educator

“

Jobready360 has revolutionized the way we manage work-based learning in our district. What once took hours of manual effort is now done in a fraction of the time. This has freed up our staff to focus on building meaningful partnerships with local businesses.

District WBL Administrator

Career content

Career content students love to use.

Career readiness and development content that supports Alabama's requirements so students are building toward something that counts, backed by a live-session network of 60,000+ industry professionals, not a static video library.

Virtual Job Shadow

Social Media Influencer

Learners step behind the scenes with a successful influencer to discover the strategy, creativity, and business savvy behind a legitimate profession with real earning potential, one that resonates with today's digital-native students.

Virtual Job Shadow

Robotic Weld Technician

Explore the high-tech world of advanced manufacturing, where robotic weld technicians earn competitive salaries in a field facing a critical shortage, showing how skilled trades offer stable careers without a four-year degree.

Virtual Job Shadow

Bat Conservationist

Journey into wildlife conservation with Dr. Kristen Lear, whose passion for bats led to groundbreaking research protecting endangered species across three continents, proof that childhood curiosity can become a meaningful scientific career.

Live guest speaker

Sports Psychologist

Students connect with a professional sports psychologist in a live, virtual session, bringing specialized expertise directly to learners and eliminating geographic barriers to authentic career exploration.

Live guest speaker

Industrial Engineer

STEM expertise can lead to unexpected places, like creating scents for everyday soaps, revealing creative career paths most students would never associate with traditional engineering roles.

Live, virtual field trip

Aerospace & Structures Engineer

Tour real workplaces, no permission slip required. Students explore facilities, observe professionals in action, and ask questions about daily operations, expanding their sense of what's possible.

Ready to see Pathful built for Alabama?

Talk to an Alabama-focused Pathful expert. We'll walk through exactly how the platform maps to the Workforce Pathways diploma, WBL documentation, and Perkins V 5S1 credential tracking.

Talk to an expert