Career Coaching & Supporting Learners for What’s Next

Welcome to the Career Coaching resources page on the IET Blueprint!

Here you’ll find tools, guidance, and resources to support your career coaching journey.

Whether you’re just beginning as a coach or you’re building up your skills, visit this page often for updates.

Career Coaching for Adults: Supporting Learners for What’s Next

The resources on this page provide tools, strategies, and guidance on supporting learners as they develop their career goals and identify training and career opportunities.

2026 Spring Career Pathways PLC: Career Coaching and Supporting Learning for What’s Next

Materials from the Professional Learning Community (PLC)

This five-session PLC)in the spring of 2026 focused on the theories behind career coaching for adults, the elements of effective career coaching, research around promising practices, and tools and strategies to map out the student journey along their career path. The PLC was structured in two parts; all shareable resources from the PLC are available below.

Part I. Sessions 1 & 2 were developed and facilitated by Celeste Hall with the Virginia Community College System (VCCS).

Review the presentation for Sessions 1 & 2 here, focusing on the theories and strategies that support career coaching: Career Development Theory: The Foundation of Career Work

Part II. Sessions 3, 4, & 5

These sessions were developed and delivered by Dr. Barbara Endel, and focused on what it means to be an effective career coach, including intervention strategies, career pathways mapping, and establishing sustainable networks to support learners.

Session 3: Level-Setting: What We Mean by Career Coaching Effectiveness, Video Archive

Pre-work

Strada Education Foundation’s “Quality Coaching” Report (2024)

What It Adds: This is a comprehensive recent research report on what constitutes effective career coaching. Based on 56,000+ student surveys, it defines quality coaching through three essential elements: timely information (labor market data, program outcomes, earnings potential); personalized guidance (career exploration, goal setting, pathway mapping); and support (overcoming obstacles, navigating challenges)

Jobs for the Future (JFF): “Meet Adult Learners Where They Are” Blog Post (March 2024)

What It Adds: Based on focus groups with 57 adult learners and surveys of 645 adult learners and 131 advisors across 9 community colleges in Virginia, Michigan, and New Jersey. This research provides: adult learner voice – what THEY say they need; early career coaching as difference-maker for completion; Credit for Prior Learning (CPL), an underutilized acceleration strategy; and gender disparities in information access.

Adult Learner Promising Practices Executive Summary Slide Deck, Barbara Endel, Principal Researcher

Session 4: Career Pathways Mapping and Intervention Strategies, Archived Video

*Student Journey Map from Sessions 4 and 5

White Paper: CHEPP (Collaborative on Higher Education & Postsecondary Policy): “Online by Design: Improving Career Connection for Today’s Learners” (July 2024)

This white paper specifically addresses online and hybrid adult learners with emphasis on: Competency-Based Education (CBE) as career connectivity tool; embedded career development into curricula (not separate services); technology solutions for career services access; and strategies for workers who “go to school” vs. traditional students

20 Ways to Use a Career Pathways Map: Pennsylvania Adult Education Resources

Session 5: Action Planning and Building Sustainable Career Coaching Infrastructure, Archived Video