Coalition on Adult Basic Education

Day #2 of Jobs for the Future (JFF) , Horizons 2024 conference ended yesterday. As I headed home, I mulled over some really interesting themes that I heard throughout the meetings, presentations, and general sessions that I attended. During the early morning "No Dead Ends" policy discussion, it was great to hear Congressmen Kaine and Lloyd Smucker share their vision to bring scalable credentials and pathways through the trades to the forefront of legislation. Luke Rhine, also shared, along with Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education, both of whom are doing really exciting work in these spaces. Interestingly, I met Cristina Barillas-McEntee, of National Center for Women's Equity in Apprenticeship and Employment/Chicago Women in Trades who is a former plumber, passionate about breaking down barriers for women! The morning general session with Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo (United States Department of Commerce)was inspirational as was the afternoon session with Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona of the U.S. Department of Education, one of our keynotes at the COABE 2022 conference in Seattle, WA. Both Secretaries spoke about the need to break down silos and barriers, and help Americans get the education and credentials they need to obtain family sustaining jobs. I then had the pleasure of attending a session that was hosted by Shawn Martell (Walmart) that showcased the informative work of Roadtrip Nation and Digital Promise. The theming of helping adults reimagine their future by obtaining the necessary education and credentials continued. Each of the adults on the stage had a compelling story to share about hitting a roadblock in their journey which was showcased in the must see documentary that we had sneak peek of during the session. This theme continued on in the next session, "Aligning Business and Skills First Education for the Next Generation of Inclusive Growth" where the presenters once again focused the discussion on evidenced based research to practice for what is truly needed to help adults scale barriers and silos between education and the workforce. During the closing session it was great to connect with a "boots on the ground" service provider that works at the local and state level in Vermont, scaling workforce solutions in concert with Vermont Adult Literacy. I also enjoyed meeting Jessica Cornell, MBA and Omid Fotuhi of WGU Labs and learning a bit about their innovative work in credentialing, AI, research and much more! #COABEIsOnTheMove #AdultEducation #Workforce #JFF #COABE #BreakDownBarriers Coalition on Adult Basic Education

🚀 BIG News! 🚀 The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has released the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the first bucket of funds for the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program! 📅 Applications are due by September 23, 2024. To help you navigate, NDIA will host a webinar on Friday, August 2, at 1 p.m. ET with info and tips about the NOFO. Stay tuned for more details about the webinar, and keep an eye out for our upcoming blog post with even more insights! For more information on the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program, visit NTIA's webpage: https://lnkd.in/d9q85xqx #DigitalEquity #Grants #FundingOpportunity #DigitalInclusion

Coalition on Adult Basic Education is on the Hill participating in TESOL International Association’s Advocacy Day in Washington, DC.