Through our research, we encountered several examples across the country, and the world, of evidence-based practices that address the employment roadblocks MemWorks identified. We continue to share case studies from around the country to showcase their impact and what we can learn from them that could help inform our efforts in Memphis.
Naviance addresses difficulties in postsecondary education application management and career planning. Organizations that use Naviance provide students with career and college readiness tools, including modules for building socio-emotional and academic skills, researching postsecondary options, planning course sequences, and taking career assessments and personality tests to support aptitude alignment for future career choices. Research indicates students using Naviance have higher college application rates and improved college access. Naviance has been a leader in the industry for more than a decade and is adopted by a variety of educational institutions, particularly in the K-12 space.
Xello seeks to address the lack of structured career planning and awareness among students. The tool guides students through career awareness activities, facilitates skill development, and uses proprietary tools like “Matchmaker” to align skill and career interests with career clusters. Xello also provides insights into career matches through its “Find Out Why” feature. Like Naviance, Xello has broad adoption by workforce organizations.
YouScience similarly addresses the misalignment between student interests and aptitudes by providing middle and high school students with a series of nine brain games and an interest survey that uncovers their aptitudes and interests. The results are used to match them with more than 600 possible careers. YouScience offers analytics, advising tools, and exposure to career and technical education pathways and postsecondary options.
Lessons for Memphis
Seven in 10 industry credentials earned by Tennessee K-12 students do not enhance employment outcomes. Insufficient support is available to help people align their professional aptitudes with living-wage career pathways. Tools like Naviance, Xello, and YouScience enable workforce organizations and K-12 schools to use data and scalability to connect students’ skills and interests with living-wage career paths.
Effective implementation of these aptitude alignment technology tools relies on robust technological infrastructure and significant investment, which could be a challenge for Memphis’ fragmented workforce ecosystem. Ensuring all schools and educators are adequately trained is essential for successful implementation.
Some organizations across Memphis use tools like Naviance, YouScience, and Xello, but an increase in adoption, particularly for the purposes of aptitude alignment, will better support Memphian job seekers who are pursuing living-wage career paths.
