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Did you know there are STEM jobs other than scientist, mathematician, and engineer? The National Air and Space Museum’s webcast STEM in 30 has released an episode titled "Unexpected Careers in STEM." This episode discusses how career interests such as writing or cooking can lead to a career in the aerospace industry.

Y4Y has a new professional development course to help afterschool practitioners support students in exploring career pathways. The course is divided into four parts, an introduction to supporting college and career readiness, implementation strategies, guidance for coaching staff, tools, and links to external resources.

The U.S. government’s Youth.gov website has a new toolkit to help youth prepare for postsecondary education and careers. Tools address topics such as evaluating education options, financing education, career exploration, technology, making an education and career plan, and how to learn about existing jobs.

Afterschool programs can help students develop the mix of skills they need to be ready for postsecondary education and careers. For those programs that don’t have a college and career readiness program in place, the idea can seem daunting. A blog post from the American Youth Policy Forum lists five ways afterschool programs can promote college and career readiness. It also provides an overview of what this looks like in an afterschool program.

Out-of-school time is an opportunity for students to connect with job skills and expand career readiness in authentic and engaging settings. This brief from the College & Career Readiness & Success Center at AIR looks at ways expanded learning professionals can leverage afterschool time to prepare students at every stage of career development, from career awareness in kindergarten through sixth grade to career training in eleventh and twelfth grades. The brief offers recommendations for state leaders who are interested in using afterschool programming for career readiness.

This archived webinar from the Afterschool Alliance provides information about the recently reauthorized federal CTE law (Perkins V) and the increased ways afterschool programs can help students find meaningful career pathways. The webinar outlines opportunities for afterschool programs in Perkins V and shares experiences from afterschool leaders who are connecting expanded learning to CTE.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, CareerOneStop is an online resource to help individuals explore careers; learn about salaries and education and skill requirements of different jobs; find local training; and match skills with careers and jobs. Afterschool programs can use this site to help students explore careers that interest them and set education and career goals.

Increased student attendance and engagement in school, higher academic achievement, and graduating with the necessary skills, experience, and education to pursue postsecondary education or career are all components of college and career readiness. Because high-quality expanded learning programs are associated with these outcomes, some city leaders are looking to afterschool and summer learning programs to ensure that young citizens are college and career ready. This report from the National League of Cities provides examples from promising expanded learning programs and describes ways that their local communities can support them.

The workforce sector, which includes all state and local actors directly involved in workforce development, and afterschool and youth development fields all recognize the need to help youth develop critical skills and competencies to participate in the workforce. Instead of collaborating, however, these different sectors work in isolation. A new white paper by the American Youth Policy Forum explores how afterschool and workforce systems can align to help better meet the needs of youth and the workforce.

Because they provide a wide range of experiences and learning opportunities, expanded learning programs can help bridge the gap between students’ skills and employers’ needs. This issue brief from the Afterschool Alliance outlines the foundational skills and competencies that the workforce needs today and is expected to need in the future. The brief also provides strategies and examples of how afterschool programs can help students develop these skills.