High School Preparation for the Future Workforce.
Ready for Industry Prepares High School Learners for the Workforce
High school students—especially those headed for technical college or straight into the workforce—need more than traditional instruction offers. Hands-on, career-focused learning that truly mirrors real-world expectations sets these learners up for workplace success.
Ready for Industry (RFI) delivers a learner-centered suite of online courses that teaches industry awareness, workplace expectations, and employability skills high school students need to move confidently from the classroom into high-demand careers. RFI bridges the gap between traditional education and real-world careers by focusing on what it is like to work in key industries.
RFI’s Value
Our student-centered solution keeps learners engaged, builds job-ready skills, and opens doors to career opportunities. Brief, flexible online courses prepare students for the most in-demand industries—healthcare, construction, information technology (IT), logistics, and manufacturing—with instruction in:
» Essential employability skills, including time management and digital literacy
» Industry terminology, common practices, and workplace expectations
» Current issues and trends
» Career pathways and opportunities
Coursework culminates in an industry-recognized NOCTI micro-credential, signaling RFI learners’ readiness for technical programs, community college pathways, and the workforce.
Ready for Industry’s career preparation has paid off in high schools all over the U.S.
SAILS MRDM
Blended into Tennessee’s Seamless Alignment and Integrated Learning Support, Mathematical Reasoning for Decision Making (SAILS MRDM), RFI has been adopted in more than 240 sites across the state. Students strengthen mathematical proficiency while engaging in career-connected learning that bridges classroom instruction with real-world workforce readiness. Serving over 4,000 students, the initiative continues to demonstrate measurable impact at scale.
Alabama’s Work Based Learning
Ready for Industry blends perfectly into Alabama’s CTE curriculum, supporting WBL with career readiness. Working together to create a continuum of career awareness, exploration, preparation, and training so students can build both employability and technical skills for postsecondary education and work, the partnership has proven to:
» Keep learners engaged and accountable
» Prepare students before placement
» Balance state requirements with local program needs
» Provide students with standardized digital instruction and an external credential
Ballad
Health
In Northeast Tennessee, Ready for Industry collaborated with Ballad Health Academy. RFI’s Healthcare Essential Employability Skills curriculum, offered alongside dual enrollment and clinical experiences, prepares students for high-demand healthcare careers. By combining Ballad Health’s clinical expertise with RFI’s digital career readiness framework, the initiative addresses healthcare workforce shortages while strengthening local economic resilience.
RFI’s Proven Success
The results are clear. Learners exit RFI courses with the industry awareness and employability skills they need to step confidently into careers.
More than 2200 Tennessee high school students have already earned certifications. But RFI supports more than just the learners. High schools have found value in the way the courses:
» Align with work-based learning, apprenticeships, internships, JAG, and IEP transition plans
» Provide a vital work-based educational component in rural communities where students lack access to internships
» Create pathways to stability, purpose, and self-sufficiency when launched in programs for youth facing systemic barriers
The state of Tennessee sees such value in RFI that in 2027, the RFI NOCTI credential will be recognized as a Tier 1 Credential and will be included on the 2026–27 Tennessee Statewide Industry Credential List. That designation confirms that RFI credentials meet Tennessee’s standards for industry-recognized credentials, supporting strong postsecondary and workforce pathways and preparing learners for in-demand careers.
Give your students the learner-centered, real-world career preparation they need. Watch their engagement, understanding, and confidence grow as Ready for Industry prepares them for a career and a prosperous future.
