AP Career Kickstart Industry Advisors
AP Career Kickstart™ is designed with leading employers to equip students with the skills and credentials your organization looks for when hiring recent graduates.
Credentials can make a meaningful difference for students and employers. Four in five hiring managers say most high school graduates are not prepared to enter the workforce, yet those with an industry recognized credential are seen as nearly twice as prepared as those without.1 College Board is partnering with industry leaders to ensure AP Career Kickstart courses teach the skills that matter and offer credentials that are recognized and valued by employers.
“I really like the fact that AP Career Kickstart is going to allow us to prepare the next generation of the workforce more quickly. It helps us to expand our pipeline of talent, and it gets that talent to market much faster. I would say get in now—identify yourselves as an employer of opportunity for that talent.”
—Charles Banks, Vice President, U.S. Bank
Credentials Developed with Industry Advisors
Industry advisors work alongside college faculty and high school educators at every stage of course and credential development.
| What Advisors Focus On | How Advisors Get Involved | Industry Partnerships |
|---|---|---|
| Defining skill standards | Advise on course and credential frameworks | Coming soon: NICE-aligned standards for AP Cybersecurity |
| Strengthening teacher pipelines | Industry mentorship and externship programs | Cisco Networking Academy Partnership |
| Endorsing credentials | Signal support for credentials and/or commit to recognize in skills-based hiring | U.S. Chamber of Commerce and College Board Partnership |
| Building talent pathways | Offer internships, apprenticeships, mentorship | CareerWise and College Board Partnership to Expand Career Pathways for Students |
When students earn an AP Career Kickstart credential, they’ve proven their skills on a rigorous exam and they’re ready to contribute from day one. When an employer sees an AP Career Kickstart credential, they’re seeing a standard their industry peers helped set.
Meet Our Industry Advisors
Industry advisors help design AP Career Kickstart courses and credentials to equip students with skills aligned to industry needs.
AP Cybersecurity Credential: Alliant Energy, Anderson Technologies, Cisco, CompTIA, IBM, Oracle, SENEDIA, U.S. Bank
Cross-Credential: Acloché, CareerWise, Owl Ventures, PenFed Credit Union, SnapIT Solutions, The Mutual Group, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Year Up United
AP Business with Personal Finance Credential: Holmes Murphy, Kaddas, Murphy’s Naturals, Nissan, Sephora
Why Credentials Matter
AP Career Kickstart Credentials provide early, validated milestones within career pathways and serve as signals of skill attainment across education and workforce systems.
| For Employers | For Students | For the CTE Ecosystem |
|---|---|---|
| A credential that reduces screening burden and accelerates onboarding. | A tangible signal of readiness before the first interview. | A rigorous, nationally recognized credential option within existing pathways. |
| Students have demonstrated the foundational skills your organization needs. | The credential validates career-ready skills, strengthens job and apprenticeship applications, and connects to college credit where applicable. | AP Career Kickstart credentials are designed to integrate within career and technical education (CTE) programs of study. |
Start the Conversation
We are actively building the advisor community that will shape AP Career Kickstart courses and credentials for years to come. If your organization is interested in advising on current or future courses, we invite you to connect with us.
Complete the interest form to learn more about AP Career Kickstart and get involved.
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