Outcomes

Actualization of a CAP Commission could provide means to a variety of outcomes and capabilities, including:

• A Statewide Career Experience Virtual Platform - similar to the Massachusetts Connecting Learning Platform. A larger, comprehensive, and sustainable platform is necessary to reduce duplicative efforts, and. provide access for underserved regions. Currently, PA has a variety of regional WBL platforms like Career Street Erie, Career Ready Berks, and Career Ready Lancaster which require constant recruiting, updating, and attention. PCD's proposal to L&I (2019) included connector capabilities for training and education, employment, and online credientials.

• A Statewide Vision - collaboration between agencies and relevant stakeholders to set statewide metrics, goals, and a supported, sheltered plan to achieve them.  Starting framework to achieve this is available for review from American Student Assistance: Working to Learn and Learning to Work. Per the report,  Washington State's "Career Connect Washington (CCW) initiative offers an example of a robust quality and accountability for work-based learning programs."

• Career Academy System - similar to Kentucky's Career Academy model, PA could work to achieve a comprehensive network of public/private career academies in each PA Prep region, capable of filling gaps as CTE school demands grow, and to potentially align and support a CTE course graduation requirement, like Rhode Island.

• Inventory - recognize, review, support, and develop existing/new Career Awareness & Preparation ecosystems, programs, and initiatives for a more equitable, accessible, and comprehensive system. This capability would help to recognize, address, and fill service gaps. Additionally, a cross-sector statewide language "lexicon" and standardized set of metrics could be developed from existing regional efforts.

• Supporting and Self-Supporting - capturing a combination of public/private state & national funds, through grantwriting and development would foster the creation of a potentially self-sustaining system, with sheltered funding to support the future of PA's workforce.  PA's investment in this work will pay for itself in a robust future workforce.