How We’re Working Toward This Vision
Micro-Pathways
The Seattle Colleges are 1 of 6 colleges selected nationally to participate in the Community College Growth Engine Fund, catalyzing development of micro-pathways as a new form of training to meet the shifting demands of the workforce and of students, particularly “new majority learners”.
Micro-pathways are short bursts of training, consisting of stacked, unbundled, discrete skills. Each pathway:
- Is digitally available (offering in an online, hybrid, and/or competency-based format)
- Is digitally discoverable and portable (e.g., through Open Badges and/or an LER)
- Includes strong on-ramps for K12 students, working adults, and dislocated workers
- Includes strong off-ramps to living wage, in-demand employment
- Enrolls high numbers of students (600+ total in the first year) - helping dislocated workers get back into the workforce, and helping employers meet their workforce needs
Additional resources about the Community College Growth Engine Fund:
Digital Skills
Digital Skills are the new essential literacy alongside reading, writing, and numeracy. We must ensure that every member of our community has the requisite skills - and access - to engage with the increasingly digital education and workforce ecosystem. Failure to do so will result in a rapidly widening equity gap.
We are partnering with the City of Seattle, Seattle Public Libraries, Goodwill, and others as part of a Digital Skills Steering Committee. Together, we are working to develop a shared understanding of foundational digital skills region-wide, a shared digital skills assessment tool, and a shared language around digital skills for instruction and credentialing purposes.
More resources:
- 11 Foundational Digital Skills
Health Information Technology
The Health IT Pathway will train individuals to step into Epic Associate roles, paying a living wage with less than 1 year of training. Epic is the #1 healthcare management & records platform used by healthcare organizations in the Seattle metro area and across the country.
We are partnering with Seattle Children’s Hospital and other healthcare providers to develop the pathway. Given the ubiquity of the Epic platform across hospitals and healthcare provides, we are examining the feasibility of a fully-online program with statewide reach.
More resources:
- Epic Draft Pathway
Supervision and Management
The Supervision & Management pathway is an opportunity for incumbent workers to upskill into leadership roles with supervisory responsibility. The need for this training has been identified across a number of sectors, including social services, retail and hospitality, construction & building trades, small business and elsewhere. We are working toward a competency-based model for this pathway, giving working learners the flexibility they need to upskill while juggling multiple responsibilities.
Partners on this effort (to date) include Seattle Housing Authority, Catholic Community Services, REACH, Plymouth Housing, the YMCA Social Impact Center, and more.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is a rapidly growing field with the potential for high wages. It is a particularly relevant training pathway given the location and prominence of Amazon Web Services in our region. We are partnering with Amazon, YearUp, and others to build on-ramps for low-income and BIPOC individuals into the family of cloud computing jobs, starting with Foundational Cloud coursework.
Construction Management
The construction and building trades industry is also booming in the Seattle Metro Area, and the talent pipeline must be strengthened at all points along the pathway. We will focus on an upskill pathway for incumbent workers in the field who wish to step into Site Supervisor and Superintendent roles.
We are partnering with Blue Sound Construction, BIAW, the Construction Center of Excellence, and others on development of this pathway.
More resources: