Career Pathways in Action

How Chambers Are Strengthening Talent Pipelines Through Employer-Driven Models

Career pathways work succeeds when it is grounded in employer reality, aligned to regional labor markets and sustained through collaboration. Two chamber-led initiatives, one in Detroit, Michigan, and one in Forsyth County, North Carolina, illustrate how this work moves from concept to measurable impact by focusing on credentials that matter, clear progression and systemwide alignment.

Detroit Regional Chamber

Using Career Pathways to Drive Workforce Mobility

The Detroit Regional Chamber’s career pathways work began with a fundamental challenge. Employers struggled to fill critical roles while students were earning credentials that did not lead to family-sustaining wages.

In response, the chamber launched its Credentials of Value initiative in 2021–22 to define which credentials met three employer-validated thresholds: wage, demand and growth. Employers helped set these benchmarks and identify which credentials truly led to opportunity, rather than relying on generalized labor market assumptions.

That analysis revealed a deeper issue. Many high-demand jobs, particularly in health care, did not meet wage thresholds at the entry level, yet served as gateways to long-term careers. This insight shifted the chamber’s focus toward career pathway mapping, creating visual maps across six occupations in three priority industries that highlighted on-ramps, off-ramps and advancement opportunities at every credential level.

Health care quickly emerged as the most active sector. Employers facing acute shortages partnered with the chamber to use pathway maps as recruiting and retention tools. One health system developed maps for entry-level, non-clinical roles, enabling recruiters to show candidates long-term career progression rather than a single job offer. Beyond recruiting gains, the maps prompted broader internal conversations about training, tuition assistance and advancement opportunities.

Building on this momentum, the chamber launched the Health Care Talent Collaborative in 2023, a deeper employer-driven effort focused on addressing shortages while developing and retaining the existing workforce.

Education Strategy Group supported the career pathways work through labor market analysis, employer and higher education engagement, pathway design and sustainability planning. Their ability to translate data into insights usable by both educators and employers helped ensure the pathways reflected real hiring and advancement practices.

The chamber reviews usage metrics, but it also evaluates success through systems change. Indicators include whether education partners adjust programs to align with pathways, whether employers increase use of tuition benefits and whether workers move along documented career routes that lead to higher-skill, higher-wage roles.

Greater Winston-Salem Inc.

Aligning Workforce Partners to Strengthen Talent Pipelines

In Forsythe County, the challenge was not the absence of workforce programs, but the difficulty employers and job seekers faced navigating a fragmented system.

Forsyth Works was created to align existing workforce development efforts into a shared, accessible ecosystem. Led by Greater Winston-Salem Inc., the initiative brings together education providers, workforce organizations and community partners to help individuals explore careers, pursue training and connect with employers in industries critical to the regional economy.

Employers report clearer access points into the workforce system and stronger alignment between training programs and their evolving skill needs. Increased collaboration allows employers to provide input that directly influences program design, while education and training partners gain clearer signals about demand across sectors such as advanced manufacturing, aerospace, construction, information technology and health care.

Career pathways have also reshaped how employers talk about growth. Through Forsyth Works initiatives such as World of Work, which reaches every 10th grader in the county’s public school district, employers engage students in conversations about credentials, skill building and long-term career progression. Employers are encouraged to formalize these commitments through the Forsyth Works Employer of Choice credential, signaling their investment in retention, development and workplace culture.

Forsyth Works is funded through ARPA resources from Forsyth County Government, along with corporate and community sponsors. Ongoing relevance is maintained through continuous employer engagement, labor market data and partner feedback, allowing pathways and resources to adapt as industry needs shift.

Impact is measured through short-term indicators such as participation and employer feedback, alongside longer-term signals including workforce participation and employment trends in key industries. Programs like ASPIRE WS, which embeds a work-ready credential into the local school district’s CTE curriculum, and the Job Seeker Resource Group for adult learners show how aligned pathways support students, families and employers. A video testimonial from a participant who secured employment after attending a workshop underscores how this work is translating into real outcomes.

For chambers ready to take pathways work further, ACCE’s Designing Employer-Driven Career Pathways training offers practical tools to collaborate with businesses, document roles and skills, build accessible pathway visuals and guide employers in strengthening talent pipelines. The spring 2026 session includes both cohort-based bootcamp and self-guided online options to help chamber professionals turn workforce strategy into sustained regional impact.