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 educational attainment are all getting more technical. That bachelor's degree and higher is more of a need than ever," said Maggi Bienvenu, Ed.D., One Acadiana's director of business and education connections.

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 we 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's quarterly industry roundtables remain a cornerstone of its ConnectEd activities, and the format has grown more employer-driven. The first portion of each meeting is now reserved for employers and guided by an employer facilitator from within the industry, followed by structured discussion with educators and stakeholders in the room. "This is the only forum where employers are having a peer-to-peer conversation about workforce," Bienvenu said.

One Acadiana is also connecting employers with community partners who help rural learners build a pathway to a credential and higher wages, including South Louisiana Community College's Trio Educational Opportunity Centers. Those services span high school equivalency, career exploration, financial aid assistance and career coaching. The college is now building the infrastructure to serve as the region's main training provider for FAME, a two-year manufacturing apprenticeship that embeds professional expectations alongside technical skills.

A significant state change has sharpened this work. Louisiana's school accountability formula now factors in work-based learning. "That's something our schools can't do on their own," Bienvenu said. "So how do we use our position to help, to advocate, to have those conversations?" One Acadiana secured a grant to hire an intern to document the work-based learning already happening across the region, aligning its efforts with a new statewide task force.

Moving forward, Bienvenu said the organization will continue to address the needs of employers and rural learners alike while joining more statewide conversations about credentialing and career pathways for Louisianans. Above all, she said, One Acadiana will keep encouraging regional employers to build stronger connections with the education system by opening their doors to work-based learning.