Career Kickstart

Career Kickstart is a new program in development that’s designed to accelerate high school students on their paths to in-demand careers.

Apply to the Cybersecurity Pilots

What Is Career Kickstart?

Career Kickstart aspires to expand the successful AP model to the career and technical education space by offering high schools a new set of career-oriented courses and exams.

Powering Students’ Progress

  • We're partnering with employers, college faculty, and high school educators to design courses that prepare students for their first job and help them complete a college degree faster. 
  • Once launched beyond the pilot stage, Career Kickstart courses will engage students with instruction and experiences that can lead to industry-recognized credentials and the opportunity to earn college credit—ultimately powering their progress to in-demand jobs and choice-filled lives. 
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Popular Resources

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Career Kickstart Frequently Asked Questions

Browse frequently asked questions about the Career Kickstart program.

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Cybersecurity Pilots Overview

Learn more about the Career Kickstart program and the cybersecurity pilots.

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Career Kickstart Instructional Overview

Learn more about the two courses that make up the cybersecurity pilots, teacher resources, and assessment.

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  • 1.57 MB

Apply to our Upcoming Pilots

Formal applications for the 2025-26 Career Kickstart Cybersecurity Pilots are now open.

Learn More and Apply

Every Career Kickstart course will:

Fit into an articulated career pathway

Align with career and technical education standards

Relate to workforce needs in high-growth sectors

Offer applied, hands-on learning that builds problem-solving skills

Include both technical and professional skills

Embed work-based learning opportunities

Starting with Cybersecurity

Career Kickstart will develop courses in pathways that prepare students for high-demand, high-wage jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree. Entry-level cybersecurity roles meet that description; the first pathway we’re developing is Cybersecurity.

Pilot Testing

In the 2024-25 school year, we are piloting our inaugural Career Kickstart Cybersecurity courses: Networking Fundamentals and Cybersecurity Fundamentals. We will hold a second round of Cybersecurity pilots in 2025-26. 

Future Pathways

We plan to build out multiple career and technical education (CTE) pathways in information technology (networking, cybersecurity, coding) and additional pathways in business and health sciences. 

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