Greater Washington Workforce Development Collaborative Request for Proposals: Accelerating Advancement Initiative Program Objective: The Accelerating Advancement Initiative (AAI) will help low-income adults acquire the skills and credentials they need to advance their careers and wages. To this end, AAI will provide support for programs that help low- income adults earn a post-secondary credential. AAI grantees will help workers address barriers to post-secondary success and connect workers to career pathways in key industries and occupations. “Credentials” include noncredit and credit-bearing certificates and degrees offered by accredited US higher education institutions. Deadline to Apply: Proposals must be submitted via the Community Foundation’s online application system no later than 4pm on April 13, 2012. Applicant Information Webinar: An applicant information webinar will be held March 22 nd at 10am. All applicants are strongly encouraged to participate. To register, please contact Benton Murphy at [email protected]. Eligible Applicants: Grants will be awarded to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations, including post-secondary institutions. Joint applications from multiple organizations (“partnerships”) are encouraged. A 501(c)3 nonprofit organization must serve as the lead applicant and fiscal agent for each partnership. Because this grant aims to help workers obtain a post-secondary credential, at least one partner must be an accredited US higher education institution. The lead applicant for all proposals – by individual organizations or partnerships – must have a physical location in the metropolitan Washington region and have been operating in the metropolitan Washington region for at least one year. Grants Available: Up to $350,000 will be awarded. Grants will range from $50,000 to $150,000 and will last 24 months. Awards Announced: Awards will be announced by early July 2012. Contact: Please direct all questions to Benton Murphy, Program Officer, at 202- 263-4765 or [email protected].
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Request for Proposals: Accelerating Advancement Initiative
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Greater Washington Workforce Development Collaborative
Request for Proposals:
Accelerating Advancement Initiative
Program Objective: The Accelerating Advancement Initiative (AAI) will help low-income adults
acquire the skills and credentials they need to advance their careers and
wages. To this end, AAI will provide support for programs that help low-
income adults earn a post-secondary credential. AAI grantees will help
workers address barriers to post-secondary success and connect workers
to career pathways in key industries and occupations. “Credentials”
include noncredit and credit-bearing certificates and degrees offered by
accredited US higher education institutions.
Deadline to Apply: Proposals must be submitted via the Community Foundation’s online
application system no later than 4pm on April 13, 2012.
Applicant Information
Webinar:
An applicant information webinar will be held March 22nd at 10am.
All applicants are strongly encouraged to participate. To register, please
The Greater Washington Workforce Development Collaborative (“Workforce Collaborative”) invites
interested nonprofits to apply for funding through our new Accelerating Advancement Initiative (AAI).
AAI aims to help low-income adults acquire the skills and credentials they need to advance their
careers and wages. To this end, AAI will provide support for programs that help low-income adults
earn a post-secondary credential. AAI grantees will help workers address barriers to post-secondary
success and connect workers to career pathways in key industries and occupations.
An initiative of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, the Workforce
Collaborative is a coalition of philanthropic and business investors working to build a stronger
workforce development system for the metropolitan Washington region. The Workforce
Collaborative’s contributors include the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Consumer Health
Foundation, the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, the Herb Block Foundation, Kaiser
Permanente, Microsoft, the Moriah Fund, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the National
Fund for Workforce Solutions, the Northern Virginia Health Foundation, Patricia Weiss Fagen,
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, United Way of the National Capital Area, and the Washington Area
Women’s Foundation.
Through the generosity of the Workforce Collaborative’s contributors, up to $350,000 will be
awarded through the Accelerating Advancement Initiative in 2012. Grants will range from $50,000
to $150,000 and will last 24 months. Proposals must be submitted via the Community Foundation’s
online application system no later than 4pm on April 13, 2012.
Background
Many working adults in our region are employed full-time but struggle to make ends meet. Based on
Wider Opportunities for Women’s Family Economic Security calculations, a single adult worker with
no dependents would need to earn a minimum of $31,656 a year to achieve economic security in
our region.1 Yet, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2010, more than 345,000 workers in
metropolitan Washington worked in occupations where the average annual earnings for full-time
workers fell below this level.2 Moreover, many of these workers are not single adults, but parents
and caregivers with additional family financial obligations. As shown in Table 1 below, the cost of
economic security is significantly higher for these workers.
1 The Basic Economic Security Tables™ are tabulated by Wider Opportunities for Women and the Center for
Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis as part of the National BEST Initiative led by WOW.
See http://www.wowonline.org/ourprograms/dc/dc_fess/documents/DCBESTReport.pdf 2 Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2010 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and
Table 1. BEST Estimates for the Washington Metro Region by Family Type
In order to achieve family economic security, many low-income workers need to increase their skills
and credentials. Nearly half of today’s jobs are “middle-skill” occupations requiring more than high
school but less than a four-year college degree. Another third require a four-year degree. As a result,
nearly 8 in 10 jobs are beyond the reach of workers who lack a postsecondary credential.3 Moreover,
the potential earnings gap between low- and high-skilled workers has grown from 40 percent in
1980 to 74 percent today. If the current trend of demand continues, this gap is projected to increase
to 96 percent in 2025.4
Research has found that acquiring a post-secondary credential can be a “tipping-point” for low-
income workers on their path to family-sustaining employment. A study of Washington State
community college students found that students who took at least one year’s worth of college
courses and earned a credential earned significantly more than students who did not reach that
threshold.5
Unfortunately, many adults encounter barriers that delay or derail their pursuit of a post-secondary
credential. Academic readiness is a significant challenge for many adults: about 60 percent of
incoming community college students are referred to at least one developmental (remedial) course.6
Less than one quarter of community college students who enroll in developmental education
3 National Skills Coalition, Toward Ensuring America’s Workers and Industries the Skills to Compete (2009):
http://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/assets/reports-/toward-ensuring-americas.pdf 4 Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, The Undereducated American (2011):
http://www.agu.org/education/pdf/undereducated_american.pdf 5 Jenkins, Davis, Community College Research Center, A Short Guide to "Tipping Point" Analyses of Community
College Student Labor Market Outcomes (CCRC Research Tools No. 3 - April 2008):
http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?uid=600 6 Bailey, Thomas, Community College Research Center, Challenge and Opportunity: Rethinking the Role and
Function of Developmental Education in Community College (Working Paper No. 14 - November 2008):
program.html 9 Jobs for the Future: Breaking Through: Helping Low-Skilled Adults Enter and Succeed in College and Careers
(2004): http://www.breakingthroughcc.org/sites/default/files/BreakingThrough.pdf 10 See http://sbctc.edu/college/e_integratedbasiceducationandskillstraining.aspx and
http://flightline.highline.edu/ibest/
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a developmental companion course taught by the same instructor, allowing them to earn
post-secondary credits faster.11
Compressing material from multiple courses into the time requirements of a single course—
an approach sometimes called “accelerated learning.”
Modular approaches to instruction that break developmental courses into smaller chunks,
allowing students to take only the modules they need.
It is also worth noting that recent research has called into question the validity of some placement
exams and found that some students tracked into development coursework are, in fact, capable of
passing post-secondary coursework without remediation.12 These findings suggest that another
strategy to reduce barriers to academic success might be to utilize a broader range of placement
tools to identify those students who truly need developmental coursework vs. those who are likely to
succeed without it.
Traditional tutoring, peer supports, and cohort learning approaches may also help adult students
increase their success. Above and beyond academic readiness, the Aspen Institute Workforce
Strategies Initiative has identified several other noteworthy barriers to post-secondary success, as
well as promising solutions:13
Barrier Sample Traps Promising Solutions
Enrollment
and
Registration
Difficulty navigating/lack of familiarity
with process
Difficulty completing applications
correctly
Financial holds
Testing issues
High-touch enrollment
process/navigation assistance
Assistance with financial holds
Testing support (practice tests, etc.)
Financial
Aid Application process
Timing
Aid policies
High-touch application assistance
Advance financial planning
assistance
Supplemental assistance
Counseling College counseling is transactional –
student: counselor ratios very high,
no follow-up
Students face many non-academic
challenges – counselors not
equipped to help
College counseling set up for needs
of traditional transfer students
Specially trained, highly skilled
counselors provide extra counseling
for adults with barriers
Case management model- usually by
nonprofit.
Long-term, intensive relationships
with students
Assistance with supports (child care,
transportation, etc.)
11 See
http://faculty.ccbcmd.edu/~padams/ALP/Site%20Folder/Fall%202010/others/alpdescriptionOther.html 12 See Scott-Clayton, Judith, Community College Research Center, Do High-Stakes Placement Exams Predict
College Success? (2012): http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=1026 and Belfield, Clive & Peter
M. Crosta, Community College Research Center, Predicting Success in College: The Importance of Placement
Tests and High School Transcripts (2012): http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=1030. 13 Webinar (08/17/11): Overcoming Common College Traps: Strategies to Help Struggling Students Navigate
the College System
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Barrier Sample Traps Promising Solutions
Transition
to
Employment
College counselors lack industry
connections/knowledge
No opportunities for employer
networking
Students lack realistic employment
expectations
Training completion vs. employment
is traditional goal of colleges
Sector-specific training
Personalized career coaching
Job placement services
Meaningful employer engagement
Training in simulated work
environment
Internships
Post-graduation follow-up services
Connecting Workers to Career Pathways Career pathways - also referred to as “career ladders” or “career lattices” – are an approach to
workforce development that allows workers to continually advance their careers and wages within a
specific industry or occupation through sequential education, training, and work experience
activities. Career pathways link occupations with shared skills via “stackable” credentials. Table 2
provides an example of the basic framework for common career pathways:
Table 2. Basic Career Pathway Architecture
In the perfect world, workers would be able to take time off from work to focus on education and
training until they reached their ultimate career goal. This scenario simply doesn’t reflect the reality
for most workers, who often forego the long-term economic benefits of education and training to
take the first job that comes available so they can support their families. Career pathways attempt to
reconcile near-term economic needs with the longer-term goal of family-sustaining employment by
breaking education and training into chunks that can be completed over several years in shorter
timeframes and/or at the same time an individual is working to support their family.
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Career pathways help workers be aware of the career opportunities available to them and
understand the specific education, training, and work experience they need to advance their careers.
They also help to demonstrate how some entry-level jobs can be a stepping stone to more rewarding
opportunities in the future. Finally, they articulate and provide for smoother student transitions
across the education continuum, from pre-college developmental education to post-secondary
education and from training to employment.
When utilizing career pathways to assist workers, workforce providers typically engage in two
activities: pathway mapping and career coaching.
Career Pathway Mapping To assist workers in goal-setting, workforce providers work with employers to “map” selected
pathways. For example, a basic career pathway map for an individual pursuing a career in the retail
industry might look like Table 3:
Table 3. Sample Career Pathway: Retail
For many high-demand occupations, career pathways are already well-documented and may be
adapted from existing maps created by other organizations. In other instances, it may be necessary
to develop a new map by working with employers to understand the skills, credentials, and
experience they expect workers to acquire for specific occupations. The Kentucky Community and
Technical College System and KnowledgeWorks Foundation have created a guide that provides
helpful questions for workforce providers to consider when mapping a career pathway – see
http://bit.ly/zDxsKe.
Career pathways must target key regional industries and occupations. Career opportunities are,
ultimately, driven by employers’ skill needs. Post-secondary education and training programs that