The Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development (LPED) and CareerPathway.com have begun an exciting partnership to share career readiness resources and help businesses, students and job seekers connect in new ways.

Currently, CareerPathway.com functions similarly to a social media platform that gives employers an outlet to look for talent to fill job openings, as well as students that are trying to figure out career opportunities and paths. Businesses post their own content, ranging from photos, videos and more that shows what their companies do and how job seekers can connect to their business. The platform was built in collaboration with Lincoln’s Don’t Panic Labs.

“CareerPathway.com was built to help students and job seekers find their path to a rewarding career, to help colleges fill classrooms and to help businesses find talent,” says Bo Jones, CEO and Founder of CareerPathway.com. “This partnership with the community leaders of Lincoln is a huge step toward a workforce outcome where everybody wins.”

Through this partnership with LPED, the CareerPathway.com platform will expand to include industry-level and business specific career pathways and additional career readiness resources. The goal is to get the community working together to solve workforce related challenges by involving public and private entities, giving students and job seekers the ability to search for a wide range of career options that they have interest in and what pathways lead to these careers.

“Through cultivating a talent pipeline and working closely with our local partners, resources such as CareerPathway.com are crucial to developing a workforce that meets the needs of our community and aligns with the goals of our Vitality Lincoln Strategic Plan,” says Luke Peltz, Vice President for the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development. “The development of CareerPathway.com is one of many ways in which we can position Lincoln as a place that truly celebrates and champions innovation and economic diversity by involving public and private partners.”

The City of Lincoln allocated funding for the partnership between LPED and CareerPathway.com through the City’s American Rescue Plan Act Workforce Development training grant. Since ARPA funds were made available in 2021, the City has allocated $13.5 million for workforce development.

“This new partnership brings key workforce development stakeholders together to help build career pathways for job seekers that will grow our economy and cultivate rewarding career success for our workforce,” said Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, Mayor of Lincoln. “Through both our partnership with LPED and the ARPA funds we directed to this initiative, we have made meaningful investments to advance opportunities for residents and businesses in Lincoln.”

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Other entities already involved with CareerPathway.com include Lincoln Public Schools, Southeast Community College, American Job Center of Lancaster and Saunders Counties and numerous local businesses who are poised to benefit from CareerPathway.com, including Bison, Inc.

“We are excited about the opportunity to get Bison, Inc. in front of more of the current and emerging workforce that might be considering our industry as their profession,” says Nick Cusick, CEO of Bison, Inc. “We have many great positions available that most people don’t even know about. CareerPathway.com is like a continuous job fair but it requires far less effort from our team,” Cusick concludes.

In the coming months, CareerPathway.com will add local employers as the platform grows to include industry-level and business specific career pathways, detailed high-wage, high-skill and high-demand occupations and increased career readiness resources. Businesses are encouraged to create their account and get started, through uploading content and being in a position to capitalize on the expansion of CareerPathway.com’s platform and build on their company’s success story.

"The mission of Lincoln Public Schools is to prepare ALL students for successful careers, lifelong learning, and civic engagement," said LPS Superintendent Paul Gausman. "To help us work towards our mission, CareerPathway.com has collaborated with us to ensure student privacy while connecting our students with local organizations and help them explore possibilities."

“Post-secondary education remains a critical component of workforce development,” says Dr. Joel Michaelis, Vice President of Instruction at Southeast Community College. “It is perhaps more important than ever before to make sure that at SCC, we are providing options that lead to opportunities in as many careers as possible and this platform will help ensure we are staying connected with students, job seekers and local companies and what they are needing.”

“CareerPathway.com is an important platform to help match job seekers with the employment opportunities they need to thrive,” Dylan Wren, Workforce Administrator for the City of Lincoln and American Job Center of Lancaster and Saunders Counties.

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