Delaware Innovates to Build Strong Talent Pipeline
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High school students in Delaware are getting a jump start oncareers in growing fields including health care, hospitality, advancedmanufacturing and biomedical science. The Delaware Pathways program is part ofthe national Pathways to Prosperity Network aimed at preparing students for asecondary education and careers in high-demand fields.
Delaware Pathways was created to help fulfill the DelawarePromise: By 2025, 65 percent of Delaware's workforce will have a two- orfour-year degrees or professional certificates to match the percentage ofDelaware jobs that require them. In Delaware, because employers need middle-and high-skill employees, academic degrees and industry certificates are givenequal weight. The program is quickly expanding, in part due to a $2 million,three-year grant from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and a $3.25 million, three-yeargrant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
"Pathways is allowing students to explore career pathsthat heretofore they may have never thought about or considered," saidKurt Foreman, president and CEO of the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, thenonprofit that leads the state's economic development effort. “We know thatthere is demand for these positions. By giving high school students thetraining in these fields, Delaware is positioning the students and the statefor success. This makes Delaware that much more attractive to prospectivebusinesses."
The first pathway, advanced manufacturing, is"immersive," said Paul Morris, associate vice president for workforcedevelopment and community education at Delaware Technical Community College."Students come to Delaware Tech every other day," Morris explained."The two-year program has 600 hours of training and education."
In allied health, students can earn credentials that willmake them job-ready when they graduate high school. They can become a licensed,certified nursing assistant, a certified phlebotomist and nationally certifiedpatient-care assistant. The program also is a bridge between high school andcollege. While certain pathways don't require 600 hours, they let students explorehigh-demand fields.
Workplace experience is an essential part of the model. InDelaware, 85 percent of employers surveyed said they were likely or very likelyto hire the student they had engaged with for an immersive work-based learningexperience.
