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Communities looking to bolster work-based learning programs can vie for funding 鈥� and clout 鈥� through a new grant program launched in April by the U.S. Department of Education.

The Career Z Challenge is designed to highlight innovative efforts to provide real-world learning to high school students. It鈥檚 part of a Biden Administration initiative launched last fall called aimed at helping prepare students to fill millions of jobs as they graduate high school. Finalists will receive a portion of $2.5 million in funding to help guide the department鈥檚 efforts to expand sustainable, high-quality programs nationally. 

鈥淎n education system reimagined for the 21st century engages youth of all ages in the power of career-connected learning and provides every student with the opportunity to gain real-life work experience, earn college credits and make progress towards an industry credential before they graduate high school,鈥� U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona . 

Amy Loyd, assistant secretary of the department鈥檚 Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education said they hope to expand promising examples of collaborative work between educators, businesses, industries, nonprofits and other community stakeholders.

What these efforts look like will vary, she acknowledged, pointing to examples like , a nonprofit that embeds college and career readiness advisers in public high schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and to match students with employers offering work-based learning opportunities. 

The administration wants to scale up apprenticeship programs in high schools, particularly in rural areas where students struggle to find lucrative careers and companies often have trouble finding skilled workers. 

Loyd also emphasized the department鈥檚 interest in helping communities access remote work-based learning opportunities.

She hopes to see career pathways that may be 鈥渓everaging technology in new ways so that students can stay in their hometown 鈥� and stay connected to the community and the global economy.鈥� 

The deadline to for the is June 7. The department will reward new work-based learning programs and expansions of existing ones.

Apprenticeships, trade schools expand

of all U.S. high school graduates were ready for college or career last year as employers scrambled to fill more than 11 million job openings, especially in sectors like tech, clean energy and health care, according to a report from the Education Trust.

There has been a growing movement to create more internships and apprenticeships for young people, both to help their job training and fill open positions as people shift careers after the pandemic and Baby Boomers retire. 

The number of , before dipping during the pandemic. The department鈥檚 is part of a national push. 

At the same time, 鈥� just as enrollment at traditional four-year colleges and universities has .  

Enrollment in mechanic, culinary and repair programs saw enrollment increases of more than 11% from spring 2021 to 2022, . And enrollment in construction courses increased by 19.3%. 

Students typically cite affordability and a desire for a clearer career path as rationales for choosing trade programs over a more traditional college path.

To prepare students for such programs, career academies and similar efforts that allow students to earn college credit in high school have grown. But such programs hinge on the needs of local communities.

That鈥檚 why the department is looking at how such communities are designing work-based learning programs to 鈥渞espond to the needs that employers have today and the needs that we’re projecting into the future,鈥� Loyd said.

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