Advancing Career-Connected Learning: Insights from a Funder Collaborative

The way we learn and work has undergone massive change in recent years, from AI-driven innovations to post-pandemic norms in workplaces and classrooms across the country. The need for more intentional pipelines from education to career has never been more critical. 

Catalyze has brought together nine funders to provide more than $15 million in funding to 40 organizations focused on career-connected learning, impacting more than 43,000 learners to date. As part of a growing movement of funder collaboratives investing in critical areas, we’ve unearthed unique insights about what’s next in career-connected learning and what’s needed to get there.

Increased cross-stakeholder collaboration

In our work to date, it’s become clear that collaboration is essential to success in this space. Collaboration among funders is one area of high potential impact. 

“We’ve witnessed first-hand what we can achieve when funding organizations come together to share their expertise, resources and platforms toward a shared vision for career-connected learning,” said Brennan Brown, director, educational partnerships at the Charles Koch Foundation. “Collaboration has been critical to addressing the diverse needs of stakeholders in the career-connected learning ecosystem, including educators, postsecondary institutions, students, workers and employers.” 

The significance of collaboration extends beyond funders, too. In order to ensure the needs of these diverse stakeholders are met, employers in particular need to be invited more often as collaborators. Employer partnerships are critical to building career-connected learning experiences that result in high-quality, high-paying jobs.

Equity-centered approaches 

Career-connected learning opportunities are most effective when they are accessible to all and ultimately foster a more inclusive and diverse workforce. At its core, this model of learning recognizes that there is no one-size-fits-all solution that addresses the diverse needs of all workers and learners. Equity must be similarly incorporated into the ways we fund and build career-connected learning experiences. 

Catalyze grantees integrate equity into their work in a multitude of ways — 58% of learners served by grantees represent historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. Grantees, such as Hack the Hood and Hopeworks, offer wraparound services — from financial literacy courses to trauma-informed care — that ensure students are set up for success, no matter their background or circumstances. Other grantees, including nXU, extend career-connected learning opportunities to students as young as middle school.

Improved adaptability

The future of work will require continued adaptation not only from students and teachers, but also from everyone — lifelong learning is increasingly becoming a necessity for the modern workforce. Funders of career-connected learning experiences should likewise prioritize flexibility by seeking opportunities to learn, measure and improve, ensuring that initiatives remain relevant and effective for the learners they serve. Catalyze works to contribute to the space as a whole by providing open access to learnings and insights from our broad network of grantees and funders. 

The power of career-connected learning is clear. To ensure it continues to empower and drive economic mobility for learners and workers, the space must innovate and adapt to ever-changing workplace needs and realities.