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Digital Jobs Pathways Toolkit

February 19, 2026

At a Glance

Jobs for the Future has developed this Digital Jobs Pathways Toolkit to serve as a strategic, action-oriented resource to help intermediaries build data-driven, learner-centered, and employer-aligned pathways to digital jobs.

Download the toolkit
Practices & Centers

Various types of organizations, including workforce development boards and community-based organizations, can serve as intermediaries, and there can be multiple intermediaries in a single region.

Also known as backbone organizations, intermediaries may offer direct services, but their primary role in a pathways ecosystem is to act as the “glue” coordinating the activities of partners from multiple sectors to achieve a common set of goals and fulfill a collective regional vision. They’re also instrumental in building scalable and sustainable work-based learning programs.

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This toolkit is a capacity-building and systems-change resource designed to empower intermediaries to lead partners from multiple sectors in collaborative efforts to design and enhance sustainable pathways in the digital jobs ecosystem. It supports practical action across the three key phases of pathway development:

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1. Understanding Sector, Stakeholder, and Regional Needs

Intermediaries can take the lead in establishing a shared understanding of the regional digital jobs landscape by assessing the unique needs of all local stakeholders, identifying key partners and assets, and analyzing labor market supply and demand dynamics with employer input.

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2. Building Pathways and Strengthening Partnerships

Intermediaries can help regional stakeholders forge formal partnerships with one another so they can co-develop models and devise coordinated plans for designing and operationalizing digital jobs pathways.

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3. Sustaining Services, Systems, and Strategies

To create pathways that are resilient and able to evolve over time, intermediaries can develop strategies for ensuring that these initiatives have long-term funding and offer workers and learners wraparound supports so they’re better able to persist in and complete their training. Intermediaries can also engage with partners from multiple sectors to help them build relationships that last beyond the initial implementation phase.

In the sections that follow, this toolkit discusses each phase in depth, addressing five cross-cutting priorities that guide the development of digital jobs pathways:

  • Strengthening Pathways and Partnerships
  • Building Employer Commitment
  • Facilitating Network-Building
  • Advancing Regional Supportive Services
  • Managing Programs Effectively
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Each section offers tools that can facilitate the work of an intermediary in each phase, along with key takeaways, discussion prompts, and lists of additional resources. While each tool can be used independently based on an intermediary’s specific needs, they are designed to build upon each other.

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Phase 1: Understanding Sector, Stakeholder, and Regional Needs

This section equips intermediaries with strategies for assessing the makeup of a regional digital jobs workforce and designing pathway strategies that are aligned with local employer demand.
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Phase 2: Building Pathways and Strengthening Partnerships

This section provides tools that can be used during Phase 2 of the pathways development process to build out pathway models, assign roles and responsibilities, and deepen partnerships—especially with employers.
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Phase 3: Sustaining Services, Systems, and Strategies

This section provides tools that intermediaries can use in Phase 3 of the pathway development process to embed support structures, secure funding, and cultivate partnerships to ensure that pathways are capable of enduring, adapting, and growing over time.
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Join the Movement

Building resilient digital jobs pathways that are broadly accessible is a long-term endeavor—one that demands collaboration, adaptability, and a commitment to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has an opportunity to pursue a career in IT.
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Download the full toolkit

Jobs for the Future has developed this Digital Jobs Pathways Toolkit to serve as a strategic, action-oriented resource to help intermediaries build data-driven, learner-centered, and employer-aligned pathways to digital jobs.
Jobs for the Future (JFF) transforms U.S. education and workforce systems to drive economic success for people, businesses, and communities.
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