A Typology of State-Supported Work-Connected Learning Programs

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October 8, 2026

UpSkill America, and Economic Opportunities Program

Jorge Ugaz

Senior Research Scientist at Craft Education.

States invest in work-connected learning through dozens of distinct funding streams, grant programs, and agency initiatives, often developed independently over time by different administrations and agencies pursuing different goals.

The result is a landscape that can be hard to see holistically. Consequently, policymakers struggle to identify gaps, researchers struggle to assess program impact and compare programs across states, and funders struggle to determine where new investments would add the most value.

The typology we present here organizes that landscape into eight bands of program types.

Each band is defined by the population it intends to serve, the approach the state uses to intervene, and the role it plays in helping people move between training and employment. The typology is intended for two audiences: policy and program leaders who need a clear map of the work-connected learning landscape in their own states, and researchers and evaluators who need a consistent vocabulary for comparing or evaluating program design and data availability across states.

How to use this framework

This typology is a flexible starting point. Mapping a state’s programs and funding streams onto its bands can reveal gaps, such as disconnected young adults who fall outside school-based programs, as well as overlap, such as multiple agencies running similar programs for the same students and employers. With both in view, states can make deliberate choices about where to invest, consolidate, or differentiate.

Policymakers can use the framework to see their state’s full investment portfolio and decide whether to consolidate, differentiate, or redirect overlapping programs and develop new approaches to support underserved populations.
Researchers can use the common bands and program types as a shared vocabulary for comparing investment patterns across states and for identifying where stronger data infrastructure is needed to track program reach and outcomes.
Practitioners can use it to show where participants fall through the cracks and where duplicate eligibility rules, applications, and reporting requirements may confuse employers, schools, and students.

A Typology of State-Supported Work-Connected Learning Programs

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About UpSkill America

UpSkill America, an initiative of the Economic Opportunities Program, supports employers and workforce organizations to expand and improve high-quality educational and career advancement opportunities for America’s front-line workers.

About the Economic Opportunities Program

The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.

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