Upward Mobility Through Industry-Aligned Pathways

One Acadiana is working to ensure the South Louisiana region remains competitive by boosting educational attainment and strengthening relationships between businesses in key industry sectors and education and workforce training providers.  

The economic development organization represents a nine-parish region, including many rural communities. Historically, many of these communities offered high-paying jobs that didn’t require higher education.

“From an economic development standpoint, how do we help change the conversation in our area? A lot of the jobs that have traditionally not required very much education attainment are all getting more technical. That bachelor’s degree and higher is more of a need as ever,” said Maggi Bienvenu, Ed.D., One Acadiana’s manager of workforce and policy initiatives.

Bienvenu said that these companies provided robust internal training for residents who got into those pipelines. Helping employers understand that things like validating the training that they already have is going to help boost the region’s overall education attainment rate.

One Acadiana has set out to address the region’s educational attainment challenge through two key strategies:

• Establish industry-aligned training and career pathways.
• Leverage training and career navigation services.

“The work that we’re doing for rural workers is looking at how we can bring employers into the conversation,” Bienvenu said. “How can help them understand the resources that are available to help their employees while also having the conversation about how the region’s education attainment rates impact broader economic development issues, like what companies are willing to relocate to the area? “

The organization has launched quarterly industry roundtables. These interactive meetings create a platform for businesses to discuss their workforce needs with education and training providers. It’s also been a great venue for industry peers to discuss shared challenges and best practices for recruiting and retaining talent.

One Acadiana is also working to connect employers with community partners who provide the services and support to help rural learners create a pathway to a credential and higher wages. Working with South Louisiana Community College’s Trio Educational Opportunity Centers, the organization is raising awareness for services that can benefit their employees’ upward mobility and create more effective workforce pipelines for their industry. These services include high school equivalency, career exploration, financial aid assistance, career coaching and other support services.  

“We’re working with the employers to figure out what is the best way and what materials they need to ensure that their employees are taking advantage of as many of these resources as possible,” Bienvenu said.

Moving forward, Bienvenu said the organization will continue to find ways to address the needs of employers and rural learners alike. It will continue to work with employers to enhance their workforce strategies for a changing economy. The organization is also participating in more conversations statewide about what credentialing and career pathways look like for Louisianans. Finally, Bienvenu said the organization is encouraging regional employers to build stronger connections with the education system by being open to work-based learning opportunities.