ADVANCE Integrated Education and Training (IET)

IET Strategies in Action is a six-part series intended to provide adult educators with a snapshot view of the ways in which some IET programs have implemented IET models and practices that serve diverse student populations in a variety of settings.

Promising Practices for Regionally Responsive Integrated Education and Training Programs 
describes four strategies that some state adult education agencies and local programs have used to respond to regional needs and learners’ career interests.

Promising Practices for Collaborating with Industry and Workforce Development Partners in Integrated Education and Training Programs highlights how IET program providers can collaborate with industry and workforce development organizations to establish IET program design with learner-worker training or work-based learning opportunities.

Promising Practices for Integrated Education and Training Pathways to Postsecondary Education highlights promising practices for how IET providers can connect IET programs to credit-bearing credentials and pathways to associate degrees.

Promising Practices for Integrated Education and Training Programs That Serve Beginning-Level Learners describes how two strategies – bridge programs and stackable credentials – help beginning-level learners access and succeed in IET programs.

ADVANCE IET: Integrated Education and Training logo

The ADVANCE IET project (2022–2025) provides new training opportunities and resources to assist state adult education offices, professional development providers, and local program staff in enhancing and expanding IET programs for adult education participants.

Building upon the inaugural Increasing IET Opportunities for Adults project (2019 – 2022), which resulted in an IET Design Toolkit and Train-the-Trainer resources to support the design and development of IET programs for adults, ADVANCE IET  will provide:

  • Two Basic IET Design Camp cohorts in spring and summer 2023
  • Five Advanced Design Camp cohorts in winter and spring 2024
  • Deployment of a National IET Coaching Cadre to provide customized and targeted state technical  assistance
  • Curation and distribution of IET program and instructional resources
  • A new IET video series documenting implementation strategies, promising program design, and specialized models that serve diverse learners in a variety of settings
  • Three new online self-paced IET courses 

IET QUALITY INDICATORS ARE NOW AVAILABLE! The indicators can be used by states and programs to review existing IET programs and plan new ones, identify priority areas for improvement over time, develop action plans to incorporate best practice strategies and promote shared learning.

The ADVANCE IET project is being conducted by the American Institutes for Research in partnership with World Education, Inc. and funded by the U.S. Department of Education under contract number GS-00F-347CA. The project started in September 2022. For more information, please email Sudie Whalen, the Project Director, at swhalen@air.org, or contact IETDesignCampInfo@air.org.

The First ADVANCE IET Strategies in Action Video is now Available! 
This engaging video highlights how state adult education agencies and local IET program providers have responded to the specific needs of the beginning-level ABE and ESL learning demographic while also addressing the labor market needs of the region. The video introduces two strategies for responding to regional and local needs: incorporating bridge programming and embedding stackable credentials within the IET pathway.

ADVANCE IET WEBINARS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE! 
Our quarterly IET webinars, led by industry experts, bridge basic to advanced concepts that will resonate with adult education IET practitioners of all levels.

THE FIRST OF THREE IET COURSES IS AVAILABLE NOW!
NOW AVAILABLE! ADVANCE Integrated Education and Training (IET): IET Fundamentals. 
This online course introduces the foundational concepts, requirements, and core elements of IET design and implementation.

COMING SOON!  ADVANCE Integrated Education and Training (IET): Foundations of Curriculum and Instruction.
The course introduces foundational concepts that basic skills and workforce training instructional teams can use to codevelop and teach an IET curriculum. This course builds on the concepts introduced in IET Fundamentals, the first course in the ADVANCE IET series.

Visit courses.lincs.ed.gov for more information.

 IET Basic Design Camp Application Opening on October 14, 2024! 

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education is pleased to announce that it will sponsor an additional cohort of ADVANCE IET Basic Design Camp (BDC) in 2025. The BDC and IET Design Toolkit materials are designed to help state/territory and local adult education providers better plan, design, implement, and assess integrated education and training (IET) programs. This next BDC training will also include new content on improving access to and success in IET for all learners, including learners with disabilities. 

If your state/territory has never participated in a BDC, this is a great chance to join and collaborate with colleagues, share ideas with IET practitioners from other states/territories, and learn about IET strategies to increase career pathway access for your diverse learners. Participation as a state/territory team can also foster a variety of viewpoints and approaches to problem-solving and improved decision-making. 

If your state/territory has already participated in a BDC, we encourage you to consider sending new team members to leverage your state’s/territory’s prior learnings and add to your growing bank of IET knowledge, strategies, and experts, leading to expanded, high-quality IETs.

Time frame: The BDC will be offered in winter 2025. Nine synchronous sessions are scheduled over five weeks between Friday, February 7, 2025, and Friday, March 7, 2025. Sessions take place on Zoom.

Apply for the IET BDC here: https://forms.office.com/r/y8dViy7XKE

(Please note that only state/territory directors or their designees can apply on behalf of a state/territory team.) [Note for Review: The application link will be added to the registration site once it opens on October 14.]

The BDC application will launch on October 14 and close on November 26, 2024.

Questions? Please read our frequently asked questions or contact Design Camp coordinators at ietdesigncampinfo@air.org.

Help Us Expand the IET Resource Repository!

We are looking for quality, IET-supporting resources from the field to add to the IET Resource Repository. Do you have a great resource that you feel can support other organizations and practitioners in the design, implementation, evaluation, and improvement of their IET programming? Please check out this guidance document regarding the types of resources we are seeking. Are you ready to share a resource for consideration? Please complete this form. Please note that a team of reviewers vets all resources received against a rubric to ensure the quality of the resource.

About Integrated Education and Training

Our nation’s economy and global competitiveness depend on an educated, skilled workforce that can quickly adapt to changes in technology and business processes. Adult educators understand that adult learners need opportunities to obtain workplace and career management skills through work-based learning experiences that prepare them for the complex future they face. 

The federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) has changed the landscape of adult education by focusing the field on workforce development outcomes and programming that support the integration of education and training and career pathways. Integrated Education and Training (IET) is an educational practice grounded in adult learning theory. IET programs help adults who lack basic skills, relevant occupational skills, and essential workplace skills to attain the competencies and credentials needed for in-demand careers. 

The Increasing Integrated Education and Training Opportunities for Adults project (2019–2022) developed resources to assist state adult education offices, professional development providers, and local program staff in enhancing and expanding IET programs for adult education participants.  The project built on prior OCTAE investments in developing career pathways for adults, including the Policy to Performance Toolkit (OCTAE, 2012), the Career Pathways Planner (OCTAE, 2016), and the Career Pathways Checklist (OCTAE, 2017).

The Increasing Integrated Education and Training Opportunities for Adults project was conducted by the American Institutes for Research in partnership with Safal Partners and funded by the U.S. Department of Education under contract number GS10F0240U/ED-ESE-15-A-0009. The project concluded in September 2022. For more information, please email Amanda Ahlstrand, the Project Director, at aahlstrand@air.org, or contact IETDesignCampInfo@air.org.