Bolster Postsecondary and Career Navigation to Facilitate Transition Milestones

Developing meaningful postsecondary education, service, and career plans requires schools to proactively address a range of challenges and barriers. Many learners lack consistent exposure to a wide range of career pathways and may have limited awareness of the education, credentials, or experiences required to pursue them. In rural communities, geographic isolation, limited access to industry partners, transportation barriers, and fewer local postsecondary opportunities can narrow learners’ perceptions of what is possible. Schools in rural and urban settings also face structural challenges in providing this exposure, including limited counselor-to-student ratios, time constraints within the school day for individualized advising, and inequities in access to career exploration tools, internships, and dual-credit opportunities. Supported by philanthropy, nonprofits and community-based organizations can provide high-quality resources to aid leaners’ exploration of available pathways and supplement the more limited human capital capacity of districts with fewer resources.1

Learners need more than standalone conversations or disjointed information about postsecondary options for career advising to truly be successful. Consistent career exploration, intentional work-based learning experiences, and community partnerships can give learners the exposure they need to plan for their futures. To optimize support for learners and ensure success as they define the next steps in their postsecondary journey, they should be supported in developing a plan that outlines their career aspirations and the postsecondary education and training needed to pursue that path. Our education system should prepare learners for their first jobs and future opportunities, as well as inform them of the further credentials or training that may be available throughout their careers as part of their lifelong learning journey.

All learners should develop and continually update a postsecondary plan through structured advising and career exploration experiences that help identify their strengths, interests, and long-term goals while mapping the credentials, education, service, and work-based experiences required to pursue their chosen pathway.2 Schools, colleges, and service organizations should work collaboratively with employers, workforce agencies, and postsecondary institutions to ensure learners have access to high-quality career counseling, labor market information, and experiential learning opportunities such as internships, apprenticeships, and dual-credit programs. Embedding career planning into the educational experience and revisiting these plans regularly can help learners make informed decisions, adapt to evolving workforce needs, and transition more successfully into meaningful employment and lifelong learning.