What’s Working to Connect Learners to Economic Opportunity: Insights on CTE, Work-Based Learning, and K–16 Pathways 

July 2, 2026

For many learners, the journey from high school to college and career is filled with hidden gaps that can derail their path to higher education before they ever reach their goals. This holds true especially for first-generation college students, working adults, and those from low-income households. Economic mobility depends on connection: between what is taught and what employers need, between one level of education and the next, and between the systems that serve learners at every stage. This Spotlight highlights three WestEd resources that explore what it looks like to build those connections in practice.

Why CTE Alignment With Local Labor Markets Matters 

Career and technical education (CTE) programs are gateways to high-demand careers and practical skills, but their impact depends on how well they are aligned with the communities they serve. In this Q&A blog post, WestEd’s Angela Estacion and Alisha Hyslop of the Association for Career and Technical Education reflect on the state of CTE at community and technical colleges and what it will take to strengthen it. 

Key insights for leaders working to expand access and improve outcomes are as follows: 

• CTE programs are most effective when grounded in local labor market data and responsive to employer needs, but acting on those data requires dedicated resources and sustained relationships.
• Community and technical colleges face real structural challenges: limited funding, faculty shortages in fields like cybersecurity, and insufficient capacity to maintain the employer partnerships that keep programs relevant.
• Expanding access means more than open doors. Students need transparent information about program costs, credentials, and job outcomes, plus advising that connects them to funding options beyond traditional financial aid. 

Alignment between CTE programs and local labor markets is a first, foundational step, but it only creates opportunity if learners can also gain real experience in those fields. 

Read Driving Economic Mobility Through Career and Technical Education. 

Building the Bridge: Work-Based Learning in Action 

Even well-designed CTE programs can fall short if learners don’t have chances to apply their skills in real settings. Work-based learning (WBL) bridges classroom instruction and the world of work. WestEd created a professional development course to help community college faculty bring WBL into their teaching, and the experience of the San Diego & Imperial Counties Regional Consortium shows what implementation at scale can look like: 

• Scaling WBL requires a shift from “education or work” to “education and work,” a change that demands ongoing relationship building between educators and employers.
• The San Diego & Imperial Counties Regional Consortium, composed of 10 community colleges, partnered with WestEd to build a shared language, hire employer liaisons and WBL coordinators, and launch an online WBL Professional Development Course. As of spring 2024, nearly 175 instructors had completed the course.
• Students who participate in quality WBL gain experience, mentorship, and connections that research links to stronger career outcomes, which is especially meaningful for students who may not otherwise have access to professional networks. 

WBL is a critical mechanism for making pathways real, but individual programs and experiences need to be part of a larger, coherent system that carries learners from high school all the way through to employment. 

Read Work-Based Learning: Creating Real-World Relevance in Education 

Scaling Coherence: A Regional Model for K–16 Pathways 

WBL and strong CTE programs are most powerful when embedded in a broader, coherent pathway connecting learners from high school through college and into employment. This blog post shares foundational strategies for building high-quality K–16 pathways, drawing on California’s Regional K–16 Education Collaboratives Grant Program, which WestEd’s Center for Economic Mobility supports through technical assistance. 

The model is replicable and locally responsive: 

• Without clear connections between education segments, navigating from high school to college and career falls on students themselves. 
• The five recommendations are dual enrollment options, employer commitment to work-based learning, clear student-facing pathway maps, articulation agreements between community colleges and 4-year institutions, and next-step course sequencing across all education levels. These give regional leaders practical steps for building a more connected system.
• California’s regional collaborative model shows that when K–12 schools, community colleges, universities, and employers work toward shared goals, it becomes possible to shift navigation responsibility away from individual learners and onto the systems meant to serve them. 

When regional systems are designed this way, the gaps that so often determine who reaches economic opportunity and who doesn’t no longer fall on learners to navigate on their own. 

Read Five Recommendations for Creating K–16 Pathways for All Students 

Partner With WestEd to Strengthen Pathways to Economic Opportunity 

WestEd’s Center for Economic Mobility partners with community college and university leaders, regional workforce consortia, and state agencies to strengthen the systems that move learners toward economic opportunity. 

Learn more about WestEd’s Economic Mobility, Postsecondary, and Workforce Systems focus area, and fill out our Work With Us form at the top of this page to connect with a WestEd expert.