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Shape Delaware’s Workforce

Partner with Delaware Pathways to connect your organization with the next generation of skilled talent.
A group of students in a science classroom, one wearing safety goggles, working with lab equipment and microscopes, focused on experiments.

Delaware employers are hiring, but finding qualified applicants remains a challenge. Delaware Pathways bridges that gap by connecting businesses and organizations directly with students who are building real skills in high-demand career areas.

When you partner with Delaware Pathways, you help shape the talent pipeline from the classroom to the workplace. You gain access to motivated students, influence the skills they develop, and invest in the long-term economic health of your community.

Why Partner

Delaware Pathways Expands to Include Two
FOR EMPLOYERS

Build Your Talent Pipeline

Connect with students in your industry before they graduate. Host interns, mentor learners, and hire candidates who already have relevant skills and credentials.
Student Spotlight: Meet Our 2025
FOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

Strengthen the Workforce

Support career readiness programs, fund innovation in education, and help create equitable access to career opportunities across Delaware.
New Partnership with Leading Delaware
FOR POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS

Align Programs with Industry

Partner on dual enrollment, articulation agreements, and credential pathways that give students a head start and reduce time to degree completion.
The Impact of Partnership

What Your Partnership Makes Possible

In SY 2023-2024:

  • 5,200 students participated in work-based learning experiences with Delaware employers
  • 906 youth apprentices worked with 244 employers through Youth Apprenticeship Delaware
  • 97.8% of CTE concentrators and completers graduated on time
  • 22.91% of CTE students participated in a work-based learning immersion, up from 11.6% two years prior
  • 74.3% of postsecondary CTE completers were employed or continuing education within six months

These outcomes are only possible because of employer and community partners who open their doors to Delaware students.

Featured Partners

Our Partners

Our business and community partners play a crucial role in preparing students for successful careers and lifelong learning. By partnering with Delaware Pathways, these businesses and organizations help bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world experience, ensuring that our students are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in today’s dynamic workforce.

Work-Based Learning

Work-Based Learning: Where Employers and Students Connect

Work-based learning is a progressive approach to bridging the skills gap between school and high-demand careers in Delaware. Through structured employer engagement, students build on their classroom learning by developing technical and professional skills in real workplace settings.

The Delaware Office of Work-Based Learning, housed at Delaware Technical Community College, serves as the statewide intermediary connecting employers with secondary and postsecondary students. Types of work-based learning include:

  • Internships and cooperative education
  • Pre-apprenticeships and registered apprenticeships
  • School-based enterprises
  • Clinical experiences
  • Employer-hosted career exploration events

 

Successful work-based learning requires committed partners: state agencies, service providers, nonprofits, for-profit companies, and community-based organizations.

Ways to Get Involved

01

Engage with Students and Schools

Partner with the Office of Work-Based Learning to host career awareness events, mentor students, offer job shadows, or supervise interns. Support summer youth employment programs in Wilmington and New Castle County.
02

Support Education and Training

Help strengthen CTE programs delivered across Delaware high schools, adult technical centers, and the community college system. Become an Employer Sponsor for Registered Apprenticeship, combining paid employment with on-the-job training and classroom instruction.
03

Champion Workforce Innovation

Participate in Delaware Principal for a Day to see career education firsthand. Engage with Intern Delaware and the Delaware Young Professionals Network to support emerging professionals entering the workforce.
01

Engage with Delaware schools and students

02

Learn more about education and training models in Delaware

  • Support Career & Technical Education or CTE programs in Delaware which are administered across Delaware high schools, through our adult technical centers, and as part of our statewide community & technical college system
  • Support Registered Apprenticeship in Delaware by becoming an Employer Sponsor and helping youth to enroll in an Education and Training that combines compensated employment, on-the-job training, and related technical instruction
03

Support Education and Workforce Innovation

Industry Sectors in Demand

Where Employer Voices Are Needed Most

Delaware is expanding sector-based industry partnerships in key economic areas. If your organization operates in any of the following sectors, your input directly shapes how students are prepared:

  • Healthcare and human services
  • Information technology and digital technology
  • Advanced manufacturing
  • Construction and architecture
  • Financial services
  • Transportation and logistics
  • Agriculture and natural resources
  • Energy

Industry councils help design pathway curricula, provide work-based learning sites, and ensure that credentials align with what employers actually need.

Partner with Delaware Pathways

Help build the workforce Delaware needs. Connect with our team to get started.