BEYOND THE BREAKOUTS
An NCPN CONNECT Blog Series
Welcome to Beyond the Breakouts: The NCPN Blog
Each year at NCPN CONNECT, powerful ideas take shape—insights are shared, conversations spark new directions, and professionals across education, workforce, and industry leave inspired.
Beyond the Breakouts continues those conversations. This blog offers a space for presenters, partners, and practitioners to go deeper, reflect on lessons learned, and explore new strategies in career pathways development.
All posts are correlated to the four components of the Framework for Career Pathways Alignment developed by the Center for Occupational Research and Development (CORD), NCPN’s parent organization.
Framework Components
Examples:
- Local, regional, or state cross-agency partnerships
- Workforce system/board partnerships
- Enhancing/sustaining partnerships
- Federal and state funding to support pathways (WIOA, Perkins, foundation, etc.)
- Connecting education partners across the community
- Policy and program alignment
Examples:
- Strategic employer relationships
- Work-based Learning (for example: internships, co-ops, experiential learning, externships)
- Apprenticeship/Pre-apprenticeship
- Industry-recognized credentials
- Business and Industry Leadership Team (BILT) Model
- Employability skills/soft skills/power skills
Examples:
- Credit for prior learning
- Curriculum models that support all learners (IET, Corrections, etc.)
- Dual and articulated credit
- Stackable credential/micro-credential models
- Continuous Improvement and sustainability
- Pathways for emerging careers
Examples:
- Support strategies for every learner
- Mental wellness and career development
- Career coaching and advising
- Supporting special populations
- Recruitment and retention strategies
Featured Blog Post
- Support Completion
Career Planning: Focused Yet Flexible
Past Blog Posts
Filter by CORD Framework Component
- Employer Engagement
Skills-First Education: Building Talent Pipelines through Data Analytics and AI
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