Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) is committed to building the workforce pipeline and they have demonstrated this through their education, workforce, and civic engagement programs and initiatives. CFA’s goal has always been to take promising ideas and put them into action for the betterment of Arizona and all who call our state home. CFA is partnering with Edge Factor in this common mission to inspire learners to explore training and career opportunities in their own community.
With a special focus on preparing learners for the future, CFA offers a workforce program that helps learners of all ages prepare for future success. The Possible Futures Career Exploration Curriculum provides opportunities for learners to develop essential soft skills, and employability skills and to connect Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM) with real-world careers. CFA is partnering with Edge Factor to provide everyone in Arizona with age-appropriate tools to inspire, engage and connect with learners preparing to launch rewarding careers in high demand industries. This partnership will provide young people with access to multimedia tools they can use to prepare for a successful career and become effective future leaders.
Arizona: Reimagining the Future
The Possible Futures Career Exploration Curriculum consists of six interactive units that help learners explore productive, family-supporting careers in STEM industries ranging from Healthcare, Information Technology, Engineering & Design, and Cybersecurity. CFA supports schools utilizing the curriculum by partnering to determine outcomes for learners, and develop a framework for career exploration journeys. CFA also provides free educator professional development opportunities to access and navigate materials, lessons, and leverage the connections to Arizona Department of Education’s My Future Az and Edge Factor media.
“We know that as the labor market and world of work continues to change, fewer educators and families have what they need to keep pace and help young learners envision and plan for their future careers,” said Maya Watts, Project Manager at CFA. “Through the CFA and Edge Factor partnership, the Possible Futures Career Exploration Curriculum and the accompanying Edge Factor playlists are made free to Arizona educators and students. The lessons and media components are easy to use and are compatible with a variety of learning and teaching models, including remote or hybrid classrooms.”
Discovering Careers Through the Power of Storytelling
How do we inspire students and reach parents? At Edge Factor, we believe it all begins with a good story! We travel the globe to film real people working in diverse industry sectors to create high-impact career exploration media. Our e-learning resources provide educators and students with the tools they need to dig deeper and make meaningful connections.
Edge Factor uses the power of cinematic storytelling to take students and job-seekers on a journey from "I have no idea what I want to do with my life" to discovering industries, careers, CTE and postsecondary programs, Soft Skills, STEAM and local opportunities. We have criss-crossed North America to produce thousands of videos and interactive activities that highlight every industry and deliver these tools through our platform.
“Extraordinary people are working together, behind closed doors in companies across Arizona. Every day, families drive past these buildings with little to no idea of what’s going on inside,” said Jeremy Bout, Founder of Edge Factor. “Using the power of storytelling and together with our strategic partners in workforce development, we are equipping Arizona students, parents, families, and classrooms to showcase what it’s like to work in these industries and companies, and highlight training and career pathways.”
Partnering with industry and educational leaders like CFA, Edge Factor has filmed and published career exploration media featuring real life stories of people pushing back the edge of what’s possible and using their minds, hands, and technology to build the future and impact lives. We are proud to share free access to this media (and much more!) on an all-new landing page where Edge Factor has aligned our multimedia tools to support “Possible Futures Career Exploration Curriculum”. This landing page highlights careers, tools and equipment, soft skills, and STEAM topics that come alive on the job. Educators can access this free page directly or download the career exploration SCORM files per industry sector to easily share using their district's learning management system.
Students become inspired to launch their own training and career pathways
CFA and Edge Factor are equipping educators with tools to help students explore careers in various industries such as:
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Industry Overviews - Learners explore what it takes to work in each industry, the types of careers involved and how our everyday life intersects with various industries.
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Career Profile videos- Students explore what a "day in the life" looks like in diverse careers while highlighting typical responsibilities, tools, and skills used on the job.
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Virtual Workplace Experiences - These walk and talk tours help students discover careers, tools, equipment, skills and processes used in various companies.
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Inspirational films - These cinematic documentaries are based on true stories of individuals who have overcome obstacles to launch rewarding careers.
Together, CFA and Edge Factor understand the tremendous need to empower companies with tangible tools to build their workforce pipeline. With this new landing page CFA will engage families and job-seekers at home and online, and reach educators, school counselors, and students in classrooms.
Learn more about Possible Futures Career Curriculum or access the Edge Factor platform today to begin exploring training and career opportunities in Arizona.
Learn more about Edge Factor
If you are interested in learning more about what an Edge Factor membership can unlock, create your free account or register for an upcoming live webinar.
Questions? Feedback? Contact us.
Email: info@edgefactor.com or message us on the Live Chat. We’d love to hear from you.
About Center for the Future of Arizona
Center for the Future of Arizona is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that brings Arizonans together to create a stronger and brighter future for our state. We listen to Arizonans to learn what matters most to them, share trusted data about how Arizona is doing in those priority areas, bring critical issues to public attention, and work with communities and leaders to solve public problems. We work across the full spectrum of important issues areas and have deep and ongoing engagement in the areas of education, workforce development, and civic health, recognizing how essential these are to a bright and prosperous future for our state.
To learn more about building student college and career readiness contact:
Cindy Erwin, Director of College and Career Pathways Cindy.erwin@arizonafuture.org │ 480.280.8533
