How MorePathways Meets Central Houston's Needs
Sejal Gupta
Sejal Gupta
There is a struggle to employ middle-skill positions due to the "skills gap", a mismatch between job seeker skills and business needs. Middle-skill careers require more education than a high school degree but less than a four-year degree, make up 40% of Houston's economy (UpSkill), and provide reliable careers. Houston has seen significant economic growth. In May 2022, the region added 31,000 jobs, projected to grow 6%. Yet, high school career programming rarely mentions training programs that fill these hiring gaps.
BridgeYear (BY) connects underserved youth to careers and educational pathways that provide economic stability and independence. Middle-skill careers provide students a fast, structured path to financial success. BY exposes youth to training/education programs that lead to high-growth careers through Career Test Drive (CTD) fairs and MorePathways.org.
CTD fairs are hands-on experiences of non-4-year careers that are industry-aligned and feature realistic career stimulations. Each fair has six booths for students to explore different options they typically would not have exposure to.
MorePathways.org is an online resource for Houston training programs and middle-skill careers. It allows the user to sort training programs by location, price, educational requirements, mandatory drug/background testing, industry, etc., providing youth an accessible way to find affordable pathways to success, tailored to their direct needs and circumstances.
BridgeYear's Career Test Drive fairs are primarily in Title 1 schools (schools with at least 40% low-income students). CTD fairs and in-school advising are the main sources of BY's programming, so BY's services are concentrated in these schools.
A request that students often have is for access to programs close to where they live. Transportation is a large barrier between low-income youth and opportunities: having to compensate for gas expenses or the opportunity cost of a long commute can make a far-away training program unaffordable. MorePathways.org allows students to search based on location to find a training program near them.
The blue books represent schools in central Houston where BY has hosted a CTD fair. The red briefcases represent training programs listed on MorePathways.org.
By listing training programs within a short distance of a student's high school, MorePathways is a resource for youth to find an affordable, accessible education that leads to a successful career.
For instance, 93.4 % of students at NorthSide High School are economically disadvantaged (Texas Tribune). The Certified Nursing Assistant training is a free 12-week program that teaches academic, financial, and employability skills and prepares students for the CNA exam. The IT Networking Technology (HCC) training offers plenty of scholarships and prepares students for entry-level careers in technology. These programs are affordable options nearby Northside High School Students to begin a career journey with immediate financial return.
However, there is a critical population we cannot reach in schools. Opportunity Youth (OY) are young adults between 16-24 who are neither enrolled in school nor employed (nor enter the military). Houston has over 111,000 opportunity youth, 75% of which have completed high school. 55% of OY live in households with an annual income below $25,000 (Kinder Institute). Like low-income high school students, Opportunity Youth cite transportation as one of the top barriers to opportunities. These youth are disconnected from the resources typically available in high schools, so having an online, accessible resource like MorePathways.org to find training/educational programs close to where they live is crucial.
The red represents the number of Opportunity Youth per zip code (American Community Surveys) in central Houston. The blue represents training programs listed on MorePathways.org.
Having 10+ active training programs in central Houston ensures plenty of opportunities for OY to reengage and find training that directly leads to employment. Along with transportation, criminal backgrounds can be an obstacle to employment for Opportunity Youth (Kinder Institute). MorePathway's filter to find careers that do not disqualify candidates based on a background check can help a disconnected youth with criminal history find employers that are more likely to hire them. Furthermore, OY lack the career support high schoolers receive from their school counselor. With MorePathway.org's chat feature and the ability to connect one-on-one with a BridgeYear advisor, OY can find the encouragement and advice they need to begin their career.
MorePathways.Org is an effective tool to help low-income high schoolers and opportunity youth find career opportunities because it is a free, easy-to-use resource. Aside from meeting the two populations' need for close, affordable programs, MorePathways.Org helps users find programs that accept their educational qualifications and fit in with their career timeline.
Hovering over the red briefcases, it is evident that MorePathways.org offers a large number of careers in Education/Health Services and Construction. In UpSkill's analysis of Houston's workforce, they found that over 30% of Education/Health and Construction employees are middle-skill employees (significantly higher than average). The two industries are instrumental to Houston's recent economic prosperity, so the number of job openings for middle-skill employees in the sectors is projected to increase. Over 40% of the middle-skill careers in these industries meet Upskill's definitions of "High Priority" roles with high median incomes and projected job openings relative to the sector average. Through MorePathways.org, users can find stable, financially rewarding careers in growing industries.
Since its launch in January 2022, MorePathways.org has seen over 2000+ unique visitors. In other words, MorePathways.Org helped over 2000 people find accessible, affordable career pathways. With your support, we can support more opportunity youth and low-income high schools in Central Houston and beyond. Show people you believe there are many pathways to success. Donate today (at this link) to help students discover them.