Wisconsin’s primary accomplishment during Phase One of the New Skills for Youth grant was developing a “shovel-ready” action plan that would build upon quality efforts under way and deliver high-quality career pathways within each of the state’s 16 technical college regions. The framework for this plan, called the Regional Career Pathways Project, draws on CEO champions within each region to drive workforce-relevant education and training aligned to local industry needs. The vision for this plan was driven by Wisconsin’s goal of leveraging career readiness strategies to reduce gender, racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps.
Phase One of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s New Skills for Youth grant extended from May to October 2016. With bold visions for improving career readiness in K-12 education, each Phase One state spent the grant period performing a diagnostic assessment of their career preparation system and preparing for implementation of a new action plan. This snapshot describes Wisconsin’s experience and progress in Phase One, including promising practices and innovations. Additional snapshots from other Phase One New Skills for Youth states are available here.
