Education, Employment, and Community Programs

Workforce and Human Development

In schools, communities, and work settings, we build inclusive public-private partnerships, design systems, and construct standards-based programs and curricula with technology at the core.

We create and customize seamless education-to-employment systems, and we develop strategic cross-sector initiatives to sustain local capacity.

We support information communication technology (ICT) fluency for all learners, and nurture the interests and talents of young users and producers of technology.

Selected Products and Services

With industry partners, we developed skill standards articulating what professional and technical workers need to know and be able to do. Implementation strategies to help stakeholders strengthen their programs. Products include Making Skill Standards Work: Highlights from the Field, Project SMART: Work-based Learning in the Manufacturing Firm, Gateway to the Future: Skill Standards for the BioScience Industry, and the Gap Analysis, Curriculum Analysis, and Course Planning tools.

With educators and employers in 50 communities, Techforce expanded the participation of information technology (IT) companies in education programs and produced the IT Pathway-Pipeline Model: Rethinking Technology Learning in Schools and Developing Public-Private Partnerships: A Cross-Cultural Primer.

With national industry partners, we developed and validated the IT user skills needed across eight major industry sectors and worked with community college faculty teams in 10 states to pilot a set of problem-based resources to help all learners develop IT skills for success in the career area of their choice. Products include the IT Skills Self-Assessment and Rubrics for Assessing IT Skills in Practice.

Selected Projects

The National Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) Learning Resource Center. EDC staff and innovative ITEST partnerships in schools, museums, universities, and community organizations weave together best practices in cutting-edge mathematics, science, engineering, and technology. Together we leverage combined achievements into new knowledge that informs policy and practice in both formal and informal learning settings.

IT Career Cluster Initiative: Building Linkages in Information Technology. Policymakers and practitioners in 12 states developed and piloted a curriculum framework and the supporting implementation tools needed to design, develop, and deliver education programs leading to careers as “IT producers”—people who design, develop, manage, and support hardware, software, systems integration, and multimedia/Web services. Popular tools include the IT Career Development Model and the IT Program Planning Guide.

The Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies (FordPAS), developed with EDC’s Center for Educational Resources and Outreach, is an academically rigorous, standards-based program. Forging strong local partnerships with business and higher education, FordPAS prepares students for success in college and professional careers in such fields as business, engineering, and technology.

"Participation in the IT Career Cluster had a significant impact on our institution by helping us to recognize our own strengths . . . and to expand our vision and our services to students."

—Instructional program manager,
Applied Technology College, Utah