Four Trends Driving Career-Connected Learning in 2024

Career-connected learning is attracting more attention and resources from educators in K-12 and higher education alike. Catalyze grantees are at the forefront of career-connected learning innovation, providing opportunities for students to gain relevant real-world skills and career insights. From our unique position as a funder collaborative with a wide network of for-profit and nonprofit grantees, these are the trends that will drive the field forward in 2024 and beyond.

Student-centered programming 

Career-connected learning is most successful when it centers student agency, giving them the power and resources to fulfill their own potential. Hopeworks, for example, integrates trauma-informed care into their skills development programs for high school students in Camden and Philadelphia. By providing support tailored to their students’ unique experiences and needs, Hopeworks successfully helps students build resilience that enables long-term upward mobility. 

Accounting for industry needs

It is more clear than ever that career-connected learning can’t succeed without bringing employers to the table. It is imperative that educators understand which industries and roles are most in-demand, both in their region and nationally. Collegiate Edu-Nation — a Texas-based nonprofit that spurs rural economic growth by connecting young people to local industries through work-based learning — focuses on rapidly growing fields in their state, such as sustainable energy. 

Understanding the value of durable skills

At Propel America, a nonprofit that offers tuition-free job training for healthcare careers, they regularly heard from employers about the importance of durable skills such as communication, problem solving and time management. Their biggest differentiator as a program, said director of client services Joseph Tollefson, is the personal career coach assigned to each student to guide them through training and prepare them with durable skills needed for the world of work. 

The takeaway? Even in a field sorely in need of new workers like healthcare, soft skills are not discounted. In 2024, career-connected learning will need to include soft skill development as part of successful programming. 

Inclusivity 

To maximize the potential of career-connected learning, educators must serve all students effectively. Regardless of students’ background, and whether they are college-bound or entering the workforce directly, career-connected learning can help guide them on the path to a fulfilling career. Inclusive practices may include setting a foundation for career-connected learning at a younger age, meeting the needs of both urban and rural students, and serving bilingual learners and students from immigrant families.