Workforce Development
Workforce development at CETE is a cross-cutting strategic focus supported by multiple program areas and partnerships. Workforce development helps individuals, educators, employers, groups, and communities build the knowledge, skills, and supports needed to thrive in a changing economy.
CETE partners with agencies, employers, schools, professional associations, corporations, and communities to translate evidence into practical workforce solutions. Aligned with CETE’s mission, workforce development helps individuals and organizations foster thriving communities that prioritize well-being and economic prosperity through actionable practices.
445,747
Assessments delivered
150,000+
Students served annually
30,000+
Educators reached
26,000
Adult learners supported
through Ohio Aspire
22%
Wage growth improvement
in CAREER 500
2801
Students with disabilities
supported
A Center-wide Approach to Workforce Development
At CETE, workforce development is not confined to a single program area. It is a center-wide commitment that spans multiple forms of research, design, implementation, evaluation, and professional learning. Across our programs, we help define workforce needs, design and improve training, measure learning and competence, support credentialing, strengthen educator and family capacity, and evaluate whether workforce initiatives are producing meaningful results.
This work reflects CETE’s translational mission. We collaborate closely with partners to understand real-world problems, develop practical solutions, and improve systems through evidence, iteration, and sustained engagement. CETE’s workforce development portfolio reaches across Ohio and beyond, serving learners, workers, educators, employers, agencies, corporations, and communities in education, healthcare, construction, digital technology, energy, financial services, public service, and other sectors.
CETE’s workforce development work helps individuals, educators, employers, and communities build the knowledge, skills, and supports needed to thrive in a changing economy.
How CETE contributes to workforce development
Assessment and credentialing. CETE develops evidence-based assessments that measure work-related knowledge, skills, and competence for high-impact workforce development systems and credentialing programs. This includes large-scale assessment design, item development, standard setting, secure test delivery, and technical support.
Curriculum and training design. CETE designs education and training solutions for adult learners and workforce systems, conducts needs assessments, identifies training gaps, and develops training frameworks, on-the-job materials, and professional learning experiences.
Job analysis and competency modeling. Through DACUM and SCID-related work, CETE identifies the real work people do, producing competency data that inform workforce planning, curriculum, credentials, standard operating procedures, and performance improvement.
Evaluation and continuous improvement. CETE evaluates workforce initiatives so partners can understand what is working, where barriers remain, and how to strengthen outcomes over time.
Family and educator capacity-building. CETE supports workforce readiness by helping educators, families, and school-connected professionals better prepare young people for postsecondary pathways, careers, and transitions.
Educator pipeline development. CETE also contributes to workforce development by helping prospective educators complete training tied to Ohio alternative licensure pathways.
Why this work matters
Workforce development is strongest when it is informed by evidence, aligned with real work, responsive to learners and employers, and supported by systems that can improve over time. CETE brings these elements together through translational, partner-centered work that helps move research into practice and practice into measurable impact.
