Who?

altPath was created by nonprofit Areté Rising. Areté Rising is a social enterprise that grew out of the Leonetti/O'Connell Family Foundation. The mission of the organization is to bridge educational pathways to career opportunity to support economic mobility for youth. Learn more about Areté Rising at areterising.org.

What?

altPath is a free online platform for young people as they navigate their career journey. altPath is designed to support non-credentialed young adults aged 18-29 currently unenrolled in education or training, but is also useful to young people making a career change, looking for additional training, or exploring other career options. altPath helps users explore careers and compare the education and training pathways that exist after high school–both college and noncollege.

When?

The current version of altPath is in beta and became available to users in October 2023.

Why?

We hear from young people that they want meaningful work with a good work-life balance and opportunities for growth and learning. altPath believes every young person should have the opportunity, guidance, and tools to create an individualized path to their optimal career. An abundance of information, advice and data is available, but it is uncurated and difficult to organize.

Additionally, today's tight labor markets and new workforce needs—often resulting from technological change—are forcing employers to rethink job requirements. Hiring practices in some industries are slowly shifting toward selecting workers based on skills and work experience, reconsidering the practice of requiring a four-year college degree for most positions. This means that the pathways to meaningful employment and economic stability, beyond a four-year college degree, are growing. Many other educational options—vocational training, hybrid colleges, tech boot camps, and apprenticeships—are rapidly expanding.

Capitalizing on this opportunity is not easy. High school graduates today face this dizzying array of options, and it can be difficult to identify the high-quality and best fit programs that lead to good jobs. Evidence of this, only one in two adults in the US has a credential beyond a high school diploma. The need for thoughtful, personalized matchmaking between young talent and pathways to careers has never been greater.

altPath is purpose built to solve this.

What's next?

altPath 2.0 will continue to be a free technology tool, and its account-based features are designed to partner with altPath users in setting a career goal, choosing an education or training pathway to achieve that goal, and building a personalized plan for support through the process. The user interface will feature a system of badges, nudges and rewards to keep users on track to their career goal. Income-qualified altPath members can even turn rewards into financial support for their education and job training costs.