Greater Houston Partnership launches Ready Set Next, a regional career navigation platform built with Pathful

The Greater Houston Partnership is launching the first pilot phase of Ready Set Next, a new career navigation tool built to help connect individuals, employers, education, and community organizations across the Houston region in one place. Using workforce data, the platform's AI helps each user explore personalized career recommendations based on their interests, skills, strengths, and experiences, then surfaces the education, training, and community resources to help them take the next step.

“Houston has an unprecedented opportunity to bring our education, nonprofits and employers together around a shared goal: helping more people reach their full career and earning potential. If we get this right, Ready Set Next can create opportunity for generations of Houstonians while building the skilled workforce our region needs to grow and prosper.”

— Rafa Alvarez, Senior Vice President of Regional Workforce Development, Greater Houston Partnership

Who will use Ready Set Next in the first pilot?

The first live pilot phase runs through November, bringing together approximately 1,000 students and adults through 23 education, workforce, and community partners across the region. Forty percent of participants are adults entering the workforce, transitioning careers, or experiencing underemployment, while 60 percent are students in middle and high school.

“This partnership allows us to test innovative tools that help students validate interests, explore careers, and connect with high-demand opportunities. We're excited to see how this platform supports our district's long-standing commitment to preparing students for success beyond graduation.”

— Tanya Hagar, Executive Director of Career and Technical Education, Pasadena ISD

Why does Houston need a regional career navigation platform?

Houston has strong employers, schools, training programs, and community organizations, but navigating those resources as a connected system can be difficult. According to research from Good Reason Houston, nearly 90 percent of Houston students graduate high school, but only one in four completes a postsecondary degree within six years, and just 20 percent reach a living wage by their mid-20s. Employers also report difficulty finding qualified talent.

For Pathful, the Partnership's technology partner and a national leader in career readiness and development, that challenge aligned directly with Pathful's experience helping build a solution at regional scale.

“For years, we've built the tools that help districts connect students to career pathways inside the walls of a school. Ready Set Next takes that same muscle, personalized guidance at scale, real data on what's working, and points it at a different customer: the workforce boards and chambers of commerce trying to do the same thing for an entire region, adults included. We're not replacing what they do. We're giving them the infrastructure to do a lot more of it.”

— Ryan Hagedorn, CEO, Pathful

Future pilot phases will bring employers more directly into Ready Set Next, creating new ways to showcase careers, connect with emerging talent, and gain insights that help strengthen workforce pipelines and inform long-term talent strategy.

Who is helping build Ready Set Next?

Since 2025, the Partnership and Pathful have convened education, employer, and community organizations to help shape Ready Set Next around the needs and challenges they see firsthand.

“At SERJobs, we are committed to embracing innovative solutions that better prepare individuals for meaningful careers while helping employers build a stronger workforce. We are excited to partner with Ready Set Next as a founding pilot partner because we believe this technology has the potential to enhance workforce readiness, improve participant outcomes, and strengthen connections between skilled talent and employers.”

— Liliana Rambo, CEO, SERJobs

Explore the 23 pilot partners and learn more about Ready Set Next on the Greater Houston Partnership's site, or read the original announcement.

About the Greater Houston Partnership

The Greater Houston Partnership works to make Houston one of the best places to live, work, and build a business, convening regional leaders across economic development, public policy, and talent and economic mobility.

About Pathful

Pathful is the nation's leading career readiness and development company, serving over 3.5 million students and adult learners nationwide. Pathful delivers the most comprehensive career readiness solution available, combining authentic career exploration, industry-informed skill development, and work-based learning and CTE program management to create a seamless bridge between education and the workforce. Since 2013, Pathful has partnered with schools, districts, companies, workforce development organizations, and national associations to help learners discover careers they're passionate about, connect with industry professionals, and develop the skills needed to succeed in today's evolving economy.

Media Contact

Greater Houston Partnership
Julia McGowen
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
jmcgowen@houston.org