Catalyze Insights: Why Deeper Employer Engagement is Essential for Career-Connected Learning

Employer engagement and industry partnerships are critical to the success of career-connected learning and its impact on students. Effective programs enable learners to gain industry exposure and develop relevant skills to pursue pathways aligned with their strengths and interests.

In part two of this series, we’ll delve further into a Spring 2024 comprehensive analysis of Catalyze’s Round One and Round Two grantee portfolio and 850 applications from Round Three. We will highlight the importance of partnerships and employer engagement in career-connected learning, what is working well and where opportunities exist for deeper collaborations.

Levels of employer engagement across programs.

More than 90% of Catalyze grantees are engaging employer partners to enhance career-connected learning in some capacity — with the depth of engagement varying across programs.

Our analysis found that there are three levels of employer engagement among career-connected learning programs that range from “low lift” first tier activities to “high lift” third tier activities: 

• Tier 1: Career awareness and exploration, 67% of grantees. This level builds awareness of various careers and helps inform career decisions.

• Tier 2: Career training and preparation, 75% of grantees. This level supports career readiness and includes direct engagement with industry professionals.

• Tier 3: Employment and advancement, 27% of grantees. This level occurs at employer worksites and prepares students for employment. 

How engagement enhances career-connected learning.

All programs that reported employer engagement participate in first tier activities, the career awareness and exploration level, which is foundational for impactful career-connected learning programming. 

Our analysis indicates that more career-connected learning is needed with employers in the third tier of employment and advancement. This deepest level remains a challenge, with even highly engaged employers hesitating to hire recent high school graduates directly from grantee programs. 

For example, Hopeworks is successfully implementing third tier activities, including securing job placements and supporting learners in maintaining long-term employment. They also offer high school seniors a dual enrollment program that allows them to participate in paid internships and create tailored hiring pathways for employer partners.

Scaling existing programs that engage employers in this way presents opportunities to further the field’s learnings about how to build and scale third tier practices of employment and advancement successfully. 

Opportunities for employer partnership growth with younger and rural learners.

Our analysis suggests a need for more innovation in middle school and high school career-connected learning programming that includes employer engagement across a continuum. Of Round Three applications, 25% focused on employer engagement, and of those applications: 

• 45% served learners ages 19-22.

• 44% served learners ages 14-18.

• Just 11% focused on employer engagement at the middle school level.

Our analysis also suggests a need for further innovation with younger learners and in rural areas. Of the grantees engaging employers in the first and second tiers, only 32% serve middle school students, and only 26% of programs serve rural populations. 

Oregon STEM is a Catalyze grantee serving rural students and engaging employers in rural Oregon. Spark Oregon is an earn-to-learn model designed to help rural Oregon students enhance their career awareness, workforce readiness, and professional networks. The initiative assists students in obtaining summer internships, including those offered at Keith Manufacturing in rural Madras, Oregon.

Empowering learners and employers through deeper engagement.

As Catalyze continues to explore ways to cultivate deeper industry and employer engagements, it’s evident that career-connected learning thrives when employers, educators, and learners work together. By scaling and deepening these partnerships, we look to create more equitable opportunities for all learners, preparing them for rewarding careers while providing employers with eager talent who possess industry-relevant skills.