Pathstream Skills Certificates

Adults in low skills jobs today have few options to enter the modern economy other than pursuing lengthy degrees or expensive alternative education programs. Pathstream creates a learning experience that allows students to learn a new skill like data analytics or digital marketing in 3-6 months and then directly connects them to job opportunities. Our programs are developed with leading technology companies so that they are industry-relevant and delivered by universities so students can earn credit for these certificates that count towards degrees. Our curriculum is hosted on our custom platform that features lab environments where learners can practice using new software in a step-by-step way and complete project-based assignments aligned with real job tasks. Upon completion, students are matched with a career coach who helps them find a job within 6 months through our network of employer partners, staffing agencies and job boards.

The supply of digitally skilled workers is not meeting demand in the U.S., and workers have few options to upskill. Eighty two percent of middle skills jobs are now digitally intensive (source: Burning Glass), and estimates show 30% of the workforce may need to learn new skills and find new work by 2030. This is a result of automation and advanced technology, the changing higher education landscape, and hiring managers’ difficulty to recognize signals that would indicate someone is prepared for a job. This is exacerbated by Covid-19, with more and more Americans looking for work.

To gain critical skills, adults are often forced to choose between lengthy and expensive degree programs that do not directly prepare them for jobs or alternative programs like bootcamps. At Pathstream, we believe partnering with accredited higher education institutions and technology companies to offer affordable certificates helps us provide learners with the best of both worlds. Our programs are industry-relevant and delivered through community colleges and online four-year universities to ensure they are accessible to students outside of major cities and are financial aid-eligible and offered for-credit for those who need it.

Pathstream has built five certificate programs that consist of between three to six college-level courses. Our programs are built in a proprietary online learning environment that utilizes active learning, student/instructor interaction, and embedded labs so students can practice technical skills in the platform itself. Our application integrates directly with a college’s learning management system and we offer 24/7 help desk support. We are able to track student performance, measure time spent in platform, collect student feedback, and troubleshoot technical needs. Learning outcomes and curriculum are determined through backwards design from a job-task analysis to ensure students gain the skills needed for entry-level positions. 

Upon program completion, students emerge with a portfolio of real work samples and projects and are matched with a career coach who connects them to employment opportunities based on their background and goals. We create our programs in partnership with tech companies like Salesforce that can then facilitate introductions to their network of clients looking to hire individuals with Salesforce skills. We also work with staffing agencies and job boards that repeatedly source and hire for the entry-level roles that we prepare students for.

We are serving a wide range of adults who need to reskill or upskill to have successful careers. Our current students range from a single father pursuing a new career at a community college in New Mexico to a woman in northern California looking to reenter the workforce after ten years of caregiving responsibilities. Pathstream has conducted extensive user research with potential, past, and current students to understand their goals and what type of learning experience would best address their needs. We solicit feedback from both students and instructors on our curriculum to understand if it helped them achieve their goals, and track performance and outcomes.

Our solution addresses their needs by offering an effective, fast, and affordable path to growing career areas in today’s economy. In 3-6 months, learners gain practical skills, build a portfolio of work to showcase to future employers, and earn a Certificate of Completion branded with a college or university partner and a leading technology company. Our programs are flexible to fit the schedule of working adults and parents, are accessible to learners with no prior digital skills, and are available in different formats with different partners to serve a range of learners.

Job-seekers today struggle to stay relevant, understand the changing job landscape, and pursue affordable and high-quality programs to help them achieve their goals. Pathstream’s solution provides a low-cost, short-term solution that provides credibility through technology and higher education partners, hands-on practice in digital skills, and career services to help students become job-ready. We’ve built our certificates to help adults enter or re-enter the workforce, transition careers, or upskill to meet increased demands by focusing on skills and customized career support. Our solution can assist all Americans unemployed or seeking new work.

We have grown our business throughout 2021 and are preparing for growth in the remainder of 2021 and beyond. We have been serving our core product to learners across the United States for about 2 years.