Aligning Pathful's Assessments with Local Workforce Needs

March 3, 2025

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Sam Spiegel

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As industries evolve and regional economies transform, schools face the challenge of preparing students for careers that may not even exist yet. Aligning students' career assessments with local workforce needs creates a win-win situation: students discover pathways with strong employment prospects, and local businesses gain access to a pipeline of well-prepared talent.

Workforce Development Boards and Economic Councils track employment data, identify emerging industries, and forecast future needs. Educators can establish communication channels with these entities to access labor market projections and understand growth sectors. They can collaborate with these entities to inform them of what interest trends they are seeing in their students.

Local Employers and Industry Associations provide on-the-ground insights that may not appear in formal reports. Regular advisory meetings, workplace tours, and employer surveys reveal specific skills gaps and emerging roles.

Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Agencies offer a broader view of regional economic strategy and can help educators understand how local initiatives will shape future employment opportunities.

Pathful's assessments bridge the gap between student interests and workforce opportunities through:

Interest Pattern Analysis: By aggregating assessment data across student populations, educators can generate reports showing the distribution of career interests and compare these patterns with local workforce needs to identify alignment gaps.

Skills Development Planning: Pathful's detailed assessments identify specific skills gaps between student competencies and employer requirements. Educators can then use FlexLessons to help students develop high-demand technical and essential skills.

Work-Based Learning Connections: The Work-Based Learning (WBL) Module matches students with industry-led projects and virtual job shadowing opportunities based on their assessment profiles, while tracking competencies developed through these experiences.

Regional Workforce Dashboard: Develop a living document that tracks key employment indicators, skill demands, and educational requirements for your region, updated annually with input from economic development partners.

Business Advisory Council: Form a diverse council of local employers who can provide regular feedback on curriculum, assessment interpretation, and work-based learning opportunities.

Labor Market Translation: Train career counselors to translate complex workforce data into actionable guidance for students based on their assessment results.

Targeted Career Events: Organize industry-specific events where students with matching assessment profiles can connect with local employers in high-demand sectors.

A regional high school district used Pathful's assessment data to identify students with interests matching the healthcare industry—a high-growth sector in their region. The district partnered with local healthcare systems to design a pathway with specialized courses, a dual enrollment program with the community college, and a summer internship program.