Career Pathways

*From Pennsylvania Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Consolidated State Plan

Supporting Meaningful College and Career Pathways

PDE is committed to ensuring that all students throughout pre-K to postsecondary education have access to high-quality learning opportunities to explore and identify interests, build skills, and identify and explore careers that align with their interests and skills that will help them succeed in a connected, knowledge-based, global economy.

LEAs may use Title IV, Part A, and other federal funds, such as Title I-A and Title II-A, to support college and career exploration and advising, including hiring school counselors and other support staff to help all students, and especially underrepresented students, have the information and tools they need to gain awareness of college and career pathways and make informed decisions regarding their postsecondary future.

Research suggests that the demand for education and training to fill high- and middle-skill jobs of the future in Pennsylvania will continue to increase. According to the Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University, 63 percent of jobs in Pennsylvania will require a postsecondary credential by 2025.73 In addition, the overwhelming majority of STEM jobs in Pennsylvania (91 percent) will require some form of postsecondary education and training.

Currently, only 41 percent of Pennsylvanians have a postsecondary degree or other industry-valued credentials, and there are more than 1.4 million adults in the commonwealth who have earned at least 20 postsecondary credits but haven’t earned a degree or credential. Research suggests that these individuals are more likely to experience financial hardship due to student loan debt and lower earnings than those who have student debt but have earned a credential.

To help Pennsylvania meet the challenge of competing in a rapidly changing, global economy, in November 2016, the Pennsylvania State Board of Education approved a motion to support the adoption of a statewide postsecondary attainment goal for the commonwealth: 60 percent of Pennsylvanians with a postsecondary degree or credential by 2025.