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The Employer’s Playbook for Unlocking Skilled Talent through Community College Partnerships
September 29, 2025
At a Glance
Community college career and technical education (CTE) programs offer a powerful solution to today’s talent challenges. This playbook introduces the business value of partnering with CTE, explains how these programs prepare learners with in-demand skills, and shows how employers can tap into this pipeline to meet current and future workforce needs.
Introduction
Employers across industries as varied as health care, IT, and manufacturing are grappling with talent shortages and evolving skill demands. An often-overlooked solution is likely nearby: Community college career and technical education (CTE) programs prepare local workers with the technical skills, knowledge, and hands-on experience that businesses need to thrive.
This playbook is a practical guide for employers who want to better understand the value of postsecondary CTE programs as a source of talent and learn how to engage with them as a strategic partner. It explains how community college CTE programs work and provides a clear path to collaboration.
Whether exploring a CTE partnership for the first time or aiming to deepen an existing relationship, this guide will help you tap into a reliable pipeline of skilled talent and align your workforce strategy with long-term business growth.
A Strategy Backed By Employer Experiences
The best practices, tools, and insights in this playbook were drawn directly from employer experiences, ensuring that every recommendation is grounded in what has worked across multiple sectors.
Jobs for the Future (JFF) has worked directly with employers to design and implement successful community college CTE partnerships since 2020 through the Talent of Tomorrow Fellowship, funded by the ECMC Foundation.
The fellowship is a professional development experience for human resources and talent leaders who want to recruit highly skilled workers and build teams of people with local roots who will make long-term commitments to their employers. JFF has engaged 61 fellows representing 45 companies so far. They represent industries including health care, IT, manufacturing, financial services, retail, and the skilled trades, with an estimated combined workforce of at least 4.8 million employees globally.
Through this work, JFF and our fellows have tested employer strategies for recruiting skilled workers through community college partnerships and CTE programs—yielding actionable insights to benefit employers nationwide.
The Business Case for Community College Partnerships and CTE
The Challenge
Many employers face a growing talent shortage. By 2030, Korn Ferry projects a global talent deficit of over 85 million workers, risking $1.748 trillion in lost revenue in the United States alone, or about 6% of its economic output. The rapid acceleration of AI and other technologies is widening these skills gaps, making it harder for businesses to find candidates with the technical and professional capabilities their growth demands.
This is more than a workforce challenge; it’s a direct business risk. Talent shortages drive up hiring costs, delay innovation, reduce productivity, and strain existing teams, according to many employers in JFF’s Talent of Tomorrow fellowship. The World Economic Forum reports that 39% of workers’ core skills will significantly change or become obsolete by 2030, and 63% of companies identify skills gaps as a top barrier to adapting their business for future growth in the next five years.
The Solution
Every year, CTE programs graduate more than 1.3 million people with in-demand, industry-aligned skills across sectors like health care, manufacturing, IT, and energy, according to JFF estimates based on federal data. Most graduates live in or near the communities where businesses operate.
Unlike other sources of talent, CTE programs actively invite employer engagement. Businesses can co-design curriculum, provide input on training needs, and help shape their future workforce, ensuring graduates are job-ready on their first day. Some 93% of employers that already recruit from CTE programs report a positive impact on their bottom line, according to Advance CTE’s national survey, and 90% believe expanding CTE programs will lead to a more adaptable and resilient talent pipeline.
The Bottom Line
Building or deepening any partnership can be challenging, but the payoff is clear for employers partnering with community college CTE programs: Partnerships offer employers a direct, cost-effective connection to a reliable talent pipeline. With the right approach, you can gain faster access to skilled workers and strengthen your workforce for long-term growth.
Understanding Postsecondary CTE
Community colleges are more than academic institutions; they are practical workforce engines preparing people for jobs in today’s economy. Postsecondary CTE programs combine technical skills, academic instruction, and hands-on learning. Other workforce-aligned institutions, such as technical and vocational schools, also offer CTE.
Depending on the program and institution, postsecondary CTE can prepare talent with:
- Short-term credentials: highly compressed learning experiences, often weeks in length, designed to quickly upskill or reskill employees for immediate business needs.
- Certificates: short programs, usually lasting a few months to a year, that provide focused training in a specific trade or technical skill.
- Associate’s degrees: broader two-year programs that blend general education with technical training, creating workers who bring both specialized skills and a stronger foundation for career growth.
CTE programs focus on high-demand industries and are regularly updated in partnership with employers and regional workforce boards, ensuring curriculum, credentials, and training align with current market needs. This close alignment means employers gain a talent pipeline that is skilled and responsive to evolving industry demands. Students graduate with job-ready skills and often hold industry-recognized credentials.
Many CTE students are already in the workforce while pursuing their credentials. They include adult learners, people who are the first in their family to attend college, veterans, and single parents. They bring to their jobs a wide range of life experiences, resilience, and a strong commitment to career growth in their communities.
By the Numbers: Who CTE Serves
There are more than 1,000 community colleges in the United States. While there is no exact count of postsecondary CTE programs or students, a look at community college students nationwide provides a glimpse of the learner population.
41% of all U.S. undergraduates are enrolled at community colleges.- 48% of Hispanic students, 43% of Native American students, and 39% of Black students in undergraduate education attend community colleges.
- 13% of community college students are single parents, balancing education with caregiving.
- Over 80% of community college graduates stay and work in their local region, contributing to the local economy.
- 4% of community college students are veterans.
- 32% of students at community college are the first in their families to attend college.
- 73% of full-time students and 82% of part-time students work while attending community college.
Source: American Association of Community Colleges, AACC Fast Facts 2024.
Built With Industry in Mind: A Case Study
Wake Tech Community College, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, shows how CTE programs can be built with industry needs at the center. The college works closely with employers, workforce boards, and peer institutions to identify real-time talent demands across North Carolina and the region. This collaboration ensures that training programs focus on high-demand, high-growth sectors such as health care, manufacturing, IT, and skilled trades—industries that are critical to the regional economy and projected to see continued job growth.
For example, Wake Tech worked with an industry partner to design a six-month apprenticeship program tailored to the company’s operational goals, creating a clear pathway to employment for a pilot cohort of 12 apprentices. The college also aligns certifications and curriculum with job postings and industry standards, while providing wraparound supports that help students succeed on the job.
Wake Tech is just one example of the many community colleges nationwide that employers can connect with to develop targeted, responsive workforce solutions.
How to Build Your CTE Partnership: A Life Cycle Approach
Employers can engage with community college CTE programs in various ways, depending on where they are in the life cycle of their partnership. Each stage presents its own opportunities and challenges. To help companies navigate, we break the process into five stages:
Discover
Co-Create
Activate
the partnership
Optimize
and adapt
Scale
what works
This approach is designed to meet your company exactly where it is today. It helps your team focus on the actions that matter most based on your current level of engagement and supports long-term success. Below, you’ll find a summary of best practices for each life cycle phase, along with valuable tips for moving your work forward.
Discover: Identify talent gaps and explore local resources
- Identify one or two high-priority roles with persistent hiring challenges, focusing on key business units or geographic areas. Define what “job-ready” means by outlining the required critical technical and professional skills.
- Explore local community college CTE programs through catalogs, websites, or conversations with faculty. Review curricula and student outcomes for alignment, and attend an advisory board meeting or facility tour to see training in action.
- Contact the community college CTE program lead, dean of workforce, or career services team to start a partnership conversation. Map internal and external stakeholders to understand who influences training and partnership opportunities.
- Connect with your State Director of CTE and/or local economic development organizations to learn about priority industries, funding opportunities, and the right community college contacts.
Tip:
Build on what’s already in motion by leveraging initiatives your company has piloted in other regions, expanding on work underway at your existing community college partners, or aligning with internal projects that are showing promise.
Co-Create: Design a mutually beneficial agreement
- Work with your community college partners to identify what is already working well. Co-design enhancements that maximize outcomes and expand reach, building on strong foundations instead of starting from scratch.
- Draft an agreement that outlines roles, timelines, and shared goals, and formalize it with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) or similar documentation.
- Establish clear metrics for success, such as student learning objectives, internship completions, or job placements.
- Invite faculty or program leads to visit your workplace to deepen mutual understanding, and participate in advisory boards or program steering committees to stay connected.
Tip:
Involve faculty, curriculum designers, and administrators early to align on goals and timelines. Industry needs can shift faster than academic processes, so flexibility and open communication are key to designing programs that work for employers and jobseekers.
Activate: Launch and manage the partnership
- Announce the initiative internally to generate awareness, buy-in, and accountability across the company.
- Pilot initial activities, such as job shadowing, internships, guest lectures, or student projects. Incorporate student retention strategies, such as pairing learners with mentors or sharing clear pathways for skill progression, so students see tangible value in their participation.
- Schedule regular check-ins to monitor progress, address issues, and maintain engagement.
- Document early wins as proof of concept and share stories internally to build broader support.
Tip:
Start with small, high-impact activities to build momentum. Early, visible successes will help you secure internal support and make the case for expanding the partnership over time.
Optimize: Evaluate progress and adapt
- Assess outcomes regularly using the goals defined in your agreement. Focus on metrics like completion rates, hiring success, and student readiness.
- Collect feedback from faculty, students, and internal teams to identify what is working and where adjustments are needed.
- Use findings to adjust curriculum, training formats, or partnership structure collaboratively.
- Develop a simple shared dashboard or scorecard to visualize progress and ensure accountability.
Tip:
Assign a clear point of contact to own the relationship and keep the work on track. Regular check-ins and shared progress tools help maintain alignment and responsiveness.
Scale: Expand and sustain what works
- Celebrate and communicate key successes, both internally and externally.
- Identify opportunities to expand the partnership to other departments, job functions, or geographic locations.
- Deepen engagement through activities such as curriculum co-design, equipment donations, or faculty externships.
- Explore public funding or regional partnerships that can support program growth.
Tip:
Building or adapting CTE programs often requires additional resources, but your company does not need to fund the entire effort. Contribute strategically by offering subject matter expertise, equipment, or work-based learning opportunities, and collaborate with workforce boards, chambers of commerce, or state agencies to leverage external funding and support.
Set Your Team Up for Success
To get the most value from your CTE partnerships, your company needs the right internal structures, processes, and people in place.
Align HR Practices With CTE Pathways
As your company deepens its engagement with CTE programs, ensure that your internal HR and talent practices reflect the value of these partnerships. Recognize industry certifications in hiring, promote based on demonstrated skills, and offer tuition assistance for employees pursuing relevant credentials. Consider adopting credit for prior learning to help employees advance more quickly. These steps can strengthen your talent pipeline, expand access to career opportunities in your region, and support long-term business growth.
Develop Active Internal and External Champions
Building effective partnerships with community college CTE programs requires coordination within your company and strong relationships with external contacts. Learning and development teams, HR leaders, and frontline managers all play important roles in bringing these efforts to life. Internal champions can mentor students, support work-based learning experiences, and help align your talent practices with the skills that CTE programs are developing.
Equally important is identifying a point of contact at your community college partner who can help navigate the institution, answer questions, and coordinate opportunities. Having strong champions on both sides builds trust, streamlines communication, and creates a foundation for long-term success.
Build Your Business Case
Use the questions below to connect the insights from our playbook to your company’s talent strategy. Whether you are just beginning to explore CTE partnerships or want to deepen existing efforts, these prompts will help you identify high-impact opportunities.
What are your most urgent talent challenges? Consider persistent hiring gaps, high-turnover roles, or skill sets that are hard to find.- What is the cost of inaction? Think about the impact on productivity, morale, customer experience, or growth if these challenges remain unaddressed.
- Where could early-career, hands-on talent make an impact? Identify roles that align with the training and credentials offered through CTE programs.
- How well do your current practices recognize skills-based learning? Reflect on whether your hiring and advancement processes value certifications, non-degree pathways, or applied experience.
- What level of engagement is realistic for your team right now? Think about the types of activities that your company could support, such as job shadows, curriculum input, or tuition assistance.
- What is one concrete step your team could take this quarter? Identify a low-lift action and who on your team is best positioned to lead it.
- What business results could come from taking action? Consider how stronger CTE partnerships could reduce time-to-hire, decrease turnover, improve workforce readiness, or support company goals.
Use your responses to tailor your company’s approach. Whether you’re preparing to pitch leadership, coordinate with HR, or connect with local colleges, grounding your strategy in your company’s specific needs will help move the work forward.
Take the Next Step With Expert Support
CTE partnerships don’t need to be complex to be effective. Start small, build momentum, and grow from there.
If you want to go beyond the strategies in this playbook and design an approach tailored to your business, JFF can help. Our team works directly with employers to cut through complexity, align with the right CTE partners, and build workforce solutions that deliver measurable impact.
Now is the time to act.
Partner with JFF to cultivate your pipeline of skilled workers.
Discover Our Implementation Blueprint for Employer-CTE Partnerships
Community college CTE programs offer a practical solution to today’s talent challenges. They provide access to skilled, local, and motivated candidates who are prepared to contribute on day one.
There is no single way to partner. What matters is starting with a clear goal and a willingness to learn together. Whether you begin by joining an advisory board, offering job shadowing experiences, or co-designing curriculum, every step creates value for your business and your community.
Are you ready to move forward? To dive deeper into implementation, click here to explore our blueprint for employer-CTE partnerships. This resource offers detailed guidance and practical resources to help you build and sustain impactful CTE partnerships.
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