Integrated Education and Training

What is IET?

Integrated Education and Training (IET) is an instructional approach that provides adult education and literacy activities concurrently and contextually with workforce preparation activities and workforce training for a specific occupation or occupational cluster for the purpose of educational and career advancement.[i] Within this model, adult education and/or literacy services are integrated with workforce preparation services (e.g., academic and employability skills, critical thinking, digital literacy, self-management) and workforce training relevant to a specific occupation, career pathway or career cluster. The WTCS has established the Wisconsin Integrated Education & Training Development Guide which details the federal IET definition and important WTCS IET policy.

There are three required components within an IET program, which include:

  1. Adult education and/or literacy services;
  2. Workforce preparation services designed to help the participant acquire a combination of academic skills, critical thinking skills, digital literacy skills, self-management and employability skills, and other skills necessary for successful transition into and completion of postsecondary education or training, or employment; and
  3. Workforce training for a specific occupation, career pathway or occupational cluster.

Together, the three required IET components must:

  • Each be of sufficient intensity and quality;
  • Be based on the most rigorous research available, particularly with respect to improving reading, writing, mathematics, and English proficiency of eligible individuals;
  • Occur simultaneously within the overall scope of the IET program;
  • Use occupationally relevant instructional materials;
  • Integrate together as defined by a single set of learning objectives which document and clearly identify how the three required IET components come together to form the IET; and
  • Connect to a career pathway to support state workforce needs and local Workforce Development Area board plans.

Why is IET Important?

IET approaches are effective because they recognize that adults with competing priorities and limited resources need opportunities to acquire basic skills and a career. IET has the power to:

  • Accelerate economic mobility. Learners participating in IET build their skills while progressing towards industry validated credentials with labor market value.
  • Save time for learners. Structured IET pathways with concurrent and contextualized learning integrates the three components of IET, mitigating a need to complete each separately.
  • Enhance learner outcomes and beliefs. Learners participating in IET have more favorable views of instruction, an increased sense of confidence in the classroom, stronger literacy outcomes, and enhanced college success [ii, iii, iv, v].
  • Act as a pipeline to industry-validated credentials. Learners participating in IET access a career pathways on-ramp to WTCS credentials and/or industry certifications.
  • Serve as a lever to supporting educational and workforce equity while addressing workforce needs. Industry validated IET pathways provide the unemployed and underemployed with a roadmap to upward social mobility, positively impacting their lives, the community, and the workforce.
  • Make career pathways accessible to underserved communities which may include but is not limited to justice-involved individuals, English language learners, refugees, communities of color, and internationally trained professionals.

Roadmap to IET

Developing an IET program involves several important steps to ensure it meets learner, partner, employer, and institutional goals and needs. To learn more about the process of creating IET and finding resources to develop IET programs and curriculum, see the Roadmap to IET page.

Achieving Equity in IET

Integrating equity-minded policies and practices within IET programs is crucial for providing all learners with equal opportunities to succeed. See the Achieving Equity in IET page for resources related to reviewing recruitment strategies, models for providing funding to cover the cost of instruction, and best practices for student supports.

For questions, please contact:

Ben Konruff, State Director of Adult Education and Literacy Services

Cristina Parente, Director, English Language Learning Programs

[i] Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (2014) §463.36

[ii] Shore, M., Shore, J., & Boggs, S. (2004). Allied health applications integrated into developmental mathematics using problem-based learning. Mathematics and Computer Education, 38(2), 183–189.

[iii] Wang, X., Sun, N., & Wickersham, K. (2017). Turning math remediation into “homeroom:” contextualization as a motivational environment for community college students in remedial math. Review of Higher Education, 40(3), 427-464.

[iv] Konruff, Ben. (2020). Understanding measurable skill gains: Identifying factors associated with student success. WTCS Action Research Brief.

[v] Konruff, Ben. (2024). Integrated Education & Training: A mechanism to enhance student success & achieve institutional goals. WTCS Action Research Brief.