The Ohio Bridges to Opportunity Initiative (Bridges) is transforming state policy so that more working adults earn the education and credentials necessary to succeed in a knowledge-based economy. The success of Bridges depends on Ohio's workforce education institutions working together more closely and better aligning their various missions -- workforce preparation, degree education, and remediation -- in ways that better serve Ohio's low-wage working adults and their employers.

Currently, Bridges is developing and providing recommendations to policymakers that will help more working adults access higher education:

• State-level stakeholder group
  Because many barriers to income improvement for low-wage workers exist at the state level, the Ohio Bridges to Opportunity Initiative stakeholder group has developed a strong action plan for policy improvement. The 50-member group includes Ohio's community and technical colleges, career-technical schools, employers, and human service agencies.
  Their policy agenda includes:
  • building pathways for job and educational advancement for low-income adults;
    
  • recruiting low-income adults into education and training programs that help them advance;
    
  • retaining low-income adult students;
    
  • advocating public polices that support the educational and career advancement of low-income adults.
    
    
• Convening groups of influencers
  KnowledgeWorks Foundation has convened a joint Community College President and Career Centers Superintendent Group to collaborate on practices and policies to improve student success.
  
• Advocating for policy
  Some adult students never pursue additional credentials because career-related coursework they've completed at one institution is not recognized at another. Members of the Ohio Bridges to Opportunity Initiative stakeholder group advocated for articulation and transfer of industry-recognized coursework and credentials between public adult workforce education centers and two-year campuses. By strengthening the connections between these institutions, the articulation and transfer policy will make higher education and training shorter and less expensive for low-income students.
  
• Building Career Pathways
  KnowledgeWorks Foundation has provided nearly one million dollars to three Ohio community colleges to form Career Pathways, an extension of Bridges. Pathways seeks to connect adult educational programs with employer needs, including on-the-job training and support services, that enable students to combine school and work. The goal is to provide adult students with the opportunity to advance to better jobs while improving Ohio's economic base.
  
  
  Learn more about Career Pathways.