What is the name of your solution?
Work-Based Learning Alliance (WBLA)
Provide a one-line summary of your solution.
Supporting female high school students to discover their passions, develop their skills, and better understand the career options available to them in STEM through mobile-first virtual work-based learning and internship experiences.
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
The Work-Based Learning Alliance (WBLA) aims to close the gender gap within STEM education and careers by providing all female high schoolers across the United States with access to high quality work-based learning opportunities such as internships that connect them to STEM related industries.
Research conducted by American Student Assistance (ASA) shows that 79% of high school students are interested in work-based learning, while only 34% are aware of opportunities for students their age and just 2% of students actually complete an internship. With approximately 16 million high school students in the United States, this means less than 500,000 girls complete internships prior to graduation.
Work-based learning has been proven to drive career pathway understanding & economic mobility, but it is simply not accessible enough for students, too cumbersome for schools to operate at scale, and often too complicated for industry to participate in. We provide an innovative solution to these challenges, that supports K-12 educators in effectively engaging girls in STEM in both classroom and afterschool settings.
We believe that the opportunities we give today’s high schoolers will shape the workforce of tomorrow, and that work-based learning is essential to creating intentional pathways between secondary education and postsecondary study and employment. While there has been progress in recent years, women continue to be underrepresented in the STEM fields. According to data from the National Science Foundation (NSF), women constituted only 28% of the workforce in science and engineering occupations in the United States in 2021. Likewise, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported that out of the 790,752 conferred STEM degrees for the academic year 2020-2021 in the United States, only 276,429 were awarded to women.
Our unique, scalable program model seeks to provide all girls - regardless of background or geography - with the opportunity to make informed decisions about their future choices by gaining exposure to different industries and roles. Through our programs they also develop in-demand employability skills, build social capital and are compensated for their time either through stipends, or course credit. We are committed to ensuring that no girl has to choose between earning and learning, while participating in our programs that support them to see themselves in STEM.
What is your solution?
Our unique internship model leverages a proven project-based learning approach where students work in teams to complete a real world project for an industry mentor. Students are teamed and matched with mentors based on their individual interests and current/future areas of study. Each project is scoped based on the needs of the industry mentor’s organization to ensure students are able to add value to the business over the course of their experience.
Throughout their project students receive feedback on their work from an industry mentor on weekly deliverables that build to a final report and virtual showcase presentation. Wrapped around each student’s project work is employability skill development. Students track, and reflect on this skill development over the course of their experience and also receive feedback on their development from their team members in the form of a team 360, and their industry mentor.
By delivering our model virtually via the Practera experiential learning platform, we are able to provide these quality-assured, structured student experiences at scale with in-depth and real-time data dashboards and reporting on student learning, skill development, participation levels, hours of engagement, and performance at work.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our program model has been specifically designed to address the needs of marginalized and underrepresented high school student populations, in particular girls, and those located in rural or geographically remote areas. By delivering our experiences virtually via a purpose built mobile-first experiential learning platform we meet students where they are, eliminating barriers that have historically prevented equitable access to these critical experiences.
Likewise, we are committed to removing financial barriers by ensuring that no student must choose between earning and learning, by either compensating students for their time spent outside the classroom at minimum wage or above, or awarding credit for programs completed within school curricula.
Our model drives impact by providing all students, regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status or geography with access to work-based learning that drives career exploration, industry exposure, the development of social capital and in-demand employability skills at scale. We seek to ensure that all students participating in our programs have a safe virtual work environment which empowers them to flex and refine the skills they’re developing. By doing so we provide an intentional on-ramp to further opportunities including in-person internships, apprenticeships, postsecondary study and employment in an equitable way - directly driving economic mobility.
Prior to forming WBLA, we spent considerable time meeting with & listening to schools, states, non-profits & industry regarding the root causes of barriers that existed to participation. We have seen firsthand the challenges of transport, geography, availability of opportunities, bandwidth of teachers & students having to choose between participation in work-based learning and working to support their extended families.
Our model successfully provides solutions to these challenges & barriers resulting in the rapid adoption & expansion of our work to date. Unlike other providers & platforms in the market today, we offer a turn-key end to end, quality assured solution that schools need & students want. We manage our programs on behalf of schools, engage industry directly to identify student projects & mentors, & act as the employer of record removing administrative hurdles.
We also recognize that the needs of populations are ever changing and evolving, in particular those impacted by systems of oppression and historical inequities. As such, we are committed to ensuring our program model evolves accordingly. This evolution is driven by program data and participant feedback, as well as through direct engagement with the communities we're serving. We engage directly with the very high schools we partner with to ensure we have a thorough understanding of the unique needs of their school and student body.
How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?
The Work-Based Learning Alliance is a female led non-profit on a mission to create an equitable world where all high school students - in particular girls - in the United States have access to high quality, virtual work-based learning that connects them with industry & develops the skills they need to succeed in tomorrow’s workforce. The Work-Based Learning Alliance firmly believes in the value of proximate leadership.
Our team hail from education and industry via non-traditional career paths, so there is a thorough understanding of the value and need for career exploration, and we have a shared lived experience with teachers, schools and representatives from industry organizations. Being three females in STEM, our team also shares a knowledge of the challenges of representation in industries and jobs more broadly. One of our team members is an African-American woman who has worked closely in underserved and underrepresented communities. All of our experiences as professional women in various fields, not only limited to STEM, have encouraged us to help carry the torch towards change for all women and girls. We have an understanding that in order to create change, we must start by laying the foundation during the most formative years: K-12.
We are also committed to incorporation of constituent voice of the communities which we serve. Currently, our program model incorporates constituent voice in three ways.
- By removing traditional barriers to participation by students, school and industry. These barriers have been identified through thorough discussion and engagement with all three groups. Barriers have included geography, transport, bandwidth to source and support experiences, and the challenges associated with employing minors.
- We engage directly with high schools within any state or region we partner with to ensure we understand the unique needs of their school and student body. This includes but is not limited to CTE programs, technical high schools, geographically remote schools, and schools serving marginalized and underrepresented student populations.
- We engage directly with industry - ranging from small startups to large multinational organizations to provide real- world projects for students to work on, and understand their unmet hiring needs. We will also engage statewide industry bodies such Business Roundtables to ensure our experiences align to in-demand industry jobs, tasks and skills.
Our team knows first hand that the opportunities we give students today will shape their futures, and we are committed to providing accessible, equitable and sustainable opportunities for all.
Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
In what city and state is your solution team headquartered?
Cambridge, MA, USAWhat is your solution’s stage of development?
Growth: An organization with an established product, service, or business model that is rolled out in one or more communities
How many people does your solution currently serve?
Since formation 9 months ago, we have seen rapid adoption of our model. Between March and August 2023 we will have had over 1000 students from more than 100 high schools complete upwards of 75,000 hours of industry connected work-based learning.
Our goal for the 2023/24 school year is to double our numbers of students served to 2000+ and 150,000 hours of industry connected work-based learning, while strengthening and expanding our school partnerships in particular across Massachusetts and Arizona.
Why are you applying to the Challenge?
Being selected as an MIT SOLVE Gender Equity in the STEM Challenge winner would be absolutely game changing for the Work-Based Learning Alliance. We have achieved so much in such a short time, but we have SO much more to give to schools and students across the country. Everyday we are energized by the sheer positivity and commitment that teachers and administrators have, and we feel honored to be able to support them by providing crucial opportunities to their students.
Students tell us, "It's clear that WBLA staff cares about our individual growth and success, and I appreciate having such an incredible opportunity before I go to college and enter the real world!" As a team we grow more passionate by the day about the work we do and the real impact we deliver.
Participating in MIT SOLVE’s six month support program would provide our team lead and broader team with the resources to further develop, scale and share our unique and impactful model, setting WBLA up for future success.
In addition to the support program and funding, we hope that MIT Solve and Tiger Global Impact Ventures will instrumental on our path to:
- Build a robust national industry partner pipeline - the purpose of this pipeline is to support the continued growth of our programs and impact. This national pipeline will be particularly crucial for the success of our future direct to school model. We anticipate that by leveraging MIT Solve and Tiger Global Impact Ventures' profile and network, we would be able to accelerate our exposure to partners from all industries - encompassing small, medium and large businesses. This national pipeline would supplement our existing state-based pipelines.
- Expand our State-based presence - the purpose of this expansion is to continue to grow our programs and state networks across the country. States, regardless of whether they’re red or blue, generally have a strong commitment to their youth and are driven to support the economic development and economic mobility of their cities, towns and population. To date, we have looked to partner with State Governments and State-based organizations to leverage their connectivity to both high schools, and industry. Through these partnerships we aim to embed our scalable model within their existing ecosystems to drive greater access and equity. As a new non-profit we believe that the profile of this challenge would be incredibly beneficial to driving our continued expansion.
Empowering educators and administrators, and supporting every girl’s growth is at the heart of our mission, and with the support of the MIT SOLVE and Tiger Global Impact Ventures the sky is truly the limit when it comes to our potential impact across the United States. We are thrilled by the opportunity to (hopefully!) continue our journey and as a winner, together deliver catalyzing change, by creating an equitable world where all girls have access to high quality, virtual work-based learning that connects them with industry and develops the skills they need to succeed in tomorrow’s STEM workforce.
Who is the Team Lead for your solution?
Nicole Davis - Director of Programs
How is your Team Lead connected to the community or communities in which your project is based?
Our Team Lead has dedicated her career to supporting communities of students from marginalized and underrepresented populations, in particular girls.
Nicole started her career as a special education teacher, so has a genuine lived experience with all the teachers we serve across our school communities each day. Prior to joining WBLA, Nicole spent 13 years working with Sylvan Learning, an organization that supports students with individualized academic needs, helping them to catch up, keep up, or get ahead depending on their learning profile and goals. During this time, Nicole worked tirelessly with students from pre-k through high school in areas related to study skills, math, SAT Prep, and STEM programming. A major goal of her work while at Sylvan Learning was to drive engagement in the organization’s STEM programs, which included robotics, engineering, coding, and accelerated math experiences. She worked to craft experiences that were appealing to all students, encouraging girls and young women to try something new and explore STEM concepts in fun, more accessible ways than they may have found in the classroom.
Outside of work, Nicole is also a Girl Scout troop leader and service unit advisor in her community. In these roles she inspires girls through activities and programming that support one of the four pillars of Girl Scouts: STEM. In an organization that specifically aims to provide diverse and robust experiences to girls of all ages, Nicole is driven to find new and exciting opportunities and activities that provide Girl Scouts with real and impactful insights into STEM concepts and careers. In all that she does Nicole is focused on providing her troops with the ability to ‘see what they could be’ by connecting them with other girls and professionals involved in STEM activities and careers.
We are so honored to have Nicole as not only our team lead but our Director of Programs at WBLA. Her passion is infectious, and every day she brings authenticity and proximate leadership to our work and the communities which we are committed to serving in-line with our mission.
What makes your solution innovative?
Our program model has been designed to catalyze scalable career exploration & industry exposure in high school while removing traditional barriers to participation for students, schools & industry. The result being the creation of an equalizing foundational experience that provides all students with an on-ramp to existing more selective experiences & employability initiatives including in-person internships, apprenticeships, postsecondary study & employment. The structured, quality assured nature of our programs create unique value by enabling the development of technical & in-demand employability skills while building social capital through industry engagement.
Prior to forming WBLA, we spent considerable time meeting with & listening to schools, states, non-profits & industry regarding the root causes of barriers that existed to participation. We have seen firsthand the challenges of transport, geography, availability of opportunities, bandwidth of teachers & students having to choose between participation in work-based learning and working to support their extended families.
Our model successfully provides solutions to these challenges & barriers resulting in the rapid adoption & expansion of our work in only 9 months. Unlike other providers & platforms in the market today, we offer a turn-key end to end, quality assured solution that schools need & students want. We manage our programs on behalf of schools, engage industry directly to identify student projects & mentors, & act as the employer of record removing administrative hurdles.
We believe that our model has the potential to provide all high school students in the United States with access to high quality work-based learning that develops the skills they need to succeed beyond the classroom.
What are your impact goals for the next year and the next five years, and how will you achieve them?
At the Work-Based Learning Alliance we are committed to our mission of providing every high school student - in particular girls - in the United States with access to quality assured work-based learning.
Since formation 9 months ago, we have seen rapid adoption of our model. Between March and August 2023 we will have had over 1000 students from more than 100 high schools complete upwards of 75,000 hours of industry connected work-based learning.
Our goal for the 2023/24 school year under our current state-based approach is to double our numbers of students served to 2000+, while strengthening and expanding our school partnerships in particular across Massachusetts and Arizona.
In the next five years our aim is to exponentially grow our impact. With the right partners, we believe that we could reach 50,000 students and deliver more than 3,000,000 hours of industry connected work-based learning across the United States. We recognize that no single organization can make work-based learning equitable and accessible to all. Our mission requires sustained collaboration between employers, education institutions, industry associations, non-profit organizations, governments and education innovators.
How are you measuring your progress toward your impact goals?
Work-based learning is essential to creating intentional and meaningful pathways between secondary education and postsecondary study and the workforce - in-turn driving economic mobility. Studies including those conducted by Strada have shown that students who participate in work-based learning are more confident in the workforce, and on average earn more than their peers who have not had exposure to work-based learning experiences. At WBLA we are committed to our mission of providing every high school student - in particular girls - in the United States with access to quality assured work-based learning for these reasons.
Our mission directly aligns to a number of UN Sustainable Development Goals, Targets and indicators. In particular those Indicators associated with the following Targets:
Target 1.2 - By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions
Target 4.3 - By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
Target 8.5 - By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
Target 10.1 - By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
Given the virtual nature of the model, rich data is captured throughout our programs. During each and every program we report on outputs such as student learning, skill development, participation levels, hours of learning delivered, and performance at work. We also gather qualitative impact data through feedback from students, schools and industry. Additionally, we are actively exploring opportunities to conduct longitudinal studies in conjunction with state and national partners. The purpose of these studies would be to measure the impact of our programs as a student progresses from high school towards their first living wage job.
Program performance and quality outcomes are regularly evaluated and assessed based on data captured to ensure continuous improvement and iteration of the program model to meet the needs of the communities which we serve. Additionally, the ongoing alignment of our programs to in-demand industry jobs, tasks and skills ensures the evolving workforce labor needs of any given state and region are captured and incorporated.
To date, the immediate impact of our programs and our progress towards our mission are evident. We have seen 97% completion rates, with 8.7/10 willingness to recommend scores. 100% of students feel they developed 2 or more employability skills during their program, and 89% of students believe they increased industry awareness as a result of their program.
We are committed to the ongoing measurement of our progress towards our mission of creating an equitable world where all students have access to high quality, virtual work-based learning experiences that connects them with industry and develops the skills they need to succeed in beyond the classroom.
Describe in simple terms how and why you expect your solution to have an impact on the problem.
We believe that by working together with educators and industry, we can successfully support students at scale to discover their passions, develop their skills, and better understand the career options and education pathways available.
Our program model creates an intentional, accessible and equitable on-ramp to existing work-based learning and career pathway initiatives across the country including postsecondary study and employment. To date a scalable turnkey, quality assured program model which is impactful for students, without being cumbersome for schools & industry has not existed.
The structured, quality assured nature of our program creates unique value for students, in particular girls, by enabling the development of technical & in-demand employability skills including communication, teamwork & problem solving - while building social capital through industry engagement. Students also gain insights into real-world work practices through receiving industry feedback.
Likewise, for industry, participating in our program model supports the development of a diverse and skilled talent pool that aligns to the future needs of organizations and the United States’ workforce of tomorrow. This provides intentional job matching pathways and directly addresses economic demands such as unmet hiring needs and skills gaps/disconnects.
By delivering our model virtually, we are able to engage students, schools and industry organizations at scale across the country, regardless of geography - driving economic mobility and supporting regional students and industry organizations.
We are confident that our program model has the capacity to deliver catalyzing change, by creating an equitable world where all girls have access to high quality, virtual work-based learning that connects them with industry and develops the skills they need to succeed in tomorrow’s STEM workforce, while also supporting all students towards a living wage.
If your solution is tech-based, describe the core technology that powers your solution.
We deliver our unique model virtually via the mobile-first Practera experiential learning platform. Founded in 2010, Practera has been delivering digitally enabled experiential education for over almost 15 years across Australia, Europe and the United States.
Practera enables us to deliver quality-assured, structured student learning experiences at scale, and provides in-depth and real-time data dashboards and reporting on outputs such as student learning, skill development, participation levels, hours of engagement, and performance at work.
Practera also supports the safe storage of this data. The platform uses multi factor authentication, encryption and is GDPR and FERPA compliant. The platform is also compliant with SOC2, and is hosted on AWS.
Which of the following categories best describes your solution?
A new business model or process that relies on technology to be successful
Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:
In which US states does your solution currently operate?
Our current focus states include Massachusetts, Arizona, Illinois. We also providing programming in CO, CT, LA, MD, NJ, NY and TX
In which US states will your solution be operating within the next year?
Next year we will continue to expand our impact in Our current focus states include Massachusetts, Arizona, Illinois. We also providing programming in CO, CT, LA, MD, NJ, NY and TX. We also anticipate expanding our number of focus states based on resourcing and our strategic partnerships.
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
How many people work on your solution team?
At the Work-Based Learning Alliance we currently have 2 senior full time employees, an experienced full-time program administrator and a proven network of contractors who leveraged to support the development and deployment of our programs where necessary.
We will be looking to actively recruit and grow over the coming year in-line with our revenue projections and student numbers.
How long have you been working on your solution?
The Work-Based Learning Alliance was formed in August 2022, however our program model leverages a team-based project learning model, and technology that has been studied, reviewed and evaluated extensively over the past 10 years. Program outcomes have also been included in numerous peer-reviewed research studies including NSF grant #1725941 - Broadening Participation in Experiential Learning Opportunities to Enhance Learner Engagement and Develop In-Demand Professional Skills through Northeastern University.
What is your approach to incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusivity into your work?
Diversity, equity and inclusivity is at the heart of our mission. As a female led non-profit we are committed to creating a more equitable world where all high school students - in particular girls - across the United States are set up for success in tomorrow’s workforce.
We firmly believe in the value of proximate leadership, and we ensure it is employed in the development of our programs and the way in which we engage with the communities we serve. Our two key leaders hail from education and industry via non-traditional career paths, so have a deep understanding of the value and need for career exploration, and have a shared lived experience with teachers, schools and representatives from industry organizations.
Additionally, our lead program administrator and student advisor is an African-American woman who has worked closely in underserved and underrepresented communities throughout her career.
Being three females in STEM, our team also shares a knowledge of the challenges of representation in industries and jobs more broadly.
We work tirelessly to ensure equal access for all students, regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status or geography. We also seek to ensure that all students participating in our programs have a safe virtual work environment which empowers them to flex and refine the skills they’re developing.
Our team knows first hand that the opportunities we give students today will shape their futures, and we are committed to providing accessible, equitable and sustainable opportunities for all.
What is your business model?
Our program model has been designed to catalyze scalable career exploration and industry exposure in high school through removing traditional barriers to participation for students, schools & industry. The result being the creation of an equalizing foundational experience that provides all students with an on-ramp to existing more selective experiences & employability initiatives including in-person internships, apprenticeships, postsecondary study & employment.
To date a scalable turnkey program model which is impactful for students, without being cumbersome for schools & industry has not existed.
Through our program model, high school students are able to engage in quality-assured, structured industry aligned career exploration while developing technical and in-demand employability skills including communication, problem solving, and leadership. Students also build social capital through industry engagement, and through receiving industry feedback gain valuable insights into real-work industry practices.
Likewise, for industry, participating in our program model supports the development of a diverse and skilled talent pool that aligns to the future needs of organizations and the United States’ workforce of tomorrow. This provides intentional job matching pathways and directly addresses economic demands such as unmet hiring needs and skills gaps/disconnects.
By delivering our model virtually, we are able to engage students, schools and industry organizations at scale across the country, regardless of geography - driving economic mobility and supporting regional students and industry organizations. Additionally, this virtual delivery combined with the predominantly asynchronous structure of our experiences, and either paying students for their work, or creditizing our experiences provides all students regardless of background or situation (including those who have been impacted by COVID-19) with access ensuring participation equity and future workforce diversity.
Do you primarily provide products or services directly to individuals, to other organizations, or to the government?
Individual consumers or stakeholders (B2C)What is your plan for becoming financially sustainable?
Since formation in August 2022, our funding has comprised state government grants, industry and foundation grants, and corporate contracts. We anticipate that these sources will continue to be key to our revenue in the coming years. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we ensure fiscal responsibility in order to drive maximum impact for the communities we serve.
Solution Team
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Prue Clifford Executive Director, Work-Based Learning Alliance
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Nicole Davis Vice President, Programs, Work-Based Learning Alliance
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What is the name of your organization?
Work-Based Learning Alliance Inc