Strada works toward systems change across that landscape while aiming for a triple win: better results for learners, more agile education and workforce systems, and stronger, more resilient economies.
Strada focuses its work on the critical juncture where education meets career.
We’re working toward systems change across that landscape while aiming for a triple win: better results for learners, more agile education and workforce systems, and stronger, more resilient economies.
So today, we share a few moments from 2025 that edge us closer to that future we want to see — one where capable learners and eager employers can find one another and every person, no matter where they start, can envision a way ahead that is filled with opportunity.
From the momentum behind the college cost transparency movement to increased efforts by states striving to put their education and employment data to work for all, that future is coming into focus.
For decades, the connection between education and work has been obscured by a data blind spot. But today, writes Strada Senior Vice President of Clear Outcomes Jon Furr, data gaps are closing.
Instead of only a handful of states collecting data on occupation, work location, or hours worked, a majority — 28 states — are now either collecting or working to implement at least one of these enhancements. The availability of these data represents significant progress in how Americans understand the connection between education and work.
“We can expect to see these enhancements accelerate across our national employment data landscape,” writes Furr, who also pointed to Strada’s recent publication, What States Should Know About Education and Work — But Don’t. It details the elements that empower states to answer fundamental questions about how education translates into employment opportunities.
Applications for Strada’s 2026 summer internship program are now open. The interns, based in either Indianapolis or Washington, D.C., are immersed in projects and daily work in research, policy, philanthropy, and operations, and they help drive the organization's commitment to strengthening the connection between education and opportunity.
Do students enrolled in nondegree programs at community colleges see a positive return on investment in completing these occupational training, non-credited programs? A new study analyzes wage growth following occupational training in community college noncredit programs among 128,000 students enrolled in Texas community colleges.
Counting Credentials 2025, a new Strada-supported report from Credential Engine, documents every type of credential, including diplomas, badges, certificates, certifications, occupational licenses, and degrees of all types and levels. In addition to extensive exact counts, the report also uses computational models to estimate the vast amount of credentials in the United States.
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