AP Career Kickstart Credentials

AP Career Kickstart™ employer-endorsed credentials will help high school students develop professional career skills and will strengthen talent pipelines for high-skill, high-growth industries.

Why Credentials Through AP?

AP is leveraging its historic strengths in coursework, assessment, and teacher training to support early talent development.

How AP Career Kickstart Credentials Work

Created in partnership with leading industry experts, AP Career Kickstart employer-endorsed credentials accelerate students’ progress toward in-demand careers and align with the needs of employers, college-level coursework, and secondary career and technical education (CTE) programs. 

Learn More About the Credentials
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Our Industry Advisors

Grow the workforce you want to hire. Industry advisors help design AP Career Kickstart courses and credentials to equip students with skills aligned to your organization’s needs.

Learn More and Get Involved
AP Cybersecurity Credential Partners:  Alliant Energy, Anderson Technologies, Cisco, CompTIA, IBM, Oracle, SENEDIA, U.S. Bank Cross-Credential Partners: CareerWise, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Year Up United, Acloché, Owl Ventures, PenFed Credit Union, SnapIT Solutions, The Mutual Group   AP Business with Personal Finance Credential Partners: Holmes Murphy, Kaddas, Murphy’s Naturals, Nissan, Sephora

Explore Our Credentials

AP Business with Personal Finance Credential

Available in the 2026-27 school year, the AP Business with Personal Finance Credential aligns with professional career skills in business.

Learn About the Business Credential

AP Cybersecurity Credential

Available in the 2026-27 school year, the AP Cybersecurity Credential aligns with professional career skills in cybersecurity. 

Learn About the Cybersecurity Credential

AP Networking Credential

Available in the 2027-28 school year, the AP Networking Credential aligns with professional career skills in networking. 

Learn About the Networking Credential

“AP Career Kickstart courses provide students with quality, career-connected learning helping to build a diverse talent pipeline for companies like IBM.”

Carol Kim, Executive Director, IBM