Tennessee was one of the 10 states selected to participate in New Skills for Youth (NSFY). NSFY, launched by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2016, is a $75 million, five-year initiative, aimed at strengthening and expanding high-quality career pathways for youth. As part of this initiative, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group worked with states to improve their career readiness systems.
This snapshot profiles the work Tennessee did to enhance its career readiness system across the entire NSFY initiative. Between 2016 and 2019, Tennessee:
- Established a statewide career pathways certification program: Tennessee established the Tennessee Pathways Certification, which recognizes career pathways that meet specific criteria for quality.
- Aligned regions and service delivery across state systems: To address fragmentation across state systems, then-Gov. Bill Haslam directed the Department of Education, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD), and the Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) to work together to align their service delivery regions and improve coordination.
- Hired and trained regional coordinators: In 2018, the Tennessee NSFY team hired and trained nine Tennessee Pathways regional coordinators to support the planning and delivery of high-quality career pathways within each of the Tennessee Pathways regions.
- Expanded access to early postsecondary opportunities (EPSOs): Throughout the NSFY initiative, Tennessee took steps to expand access to EPSOs for learners.
To learn more about the history of the New Skills for Youth Tennessee initiative, visit any of the following resources:
To learn more about 10 New Skills for Youth states, visit the New Skills for Youth Impact Snapshots series page.
