Bay Path Awarded Grant to Connect Adult Women with In-demand Jobs

LONGMEADOW — Bay Path University was named a winner of a philanthropic funding contest by national nonprofit Strada Education Network. Bay Path was awarded $1,582,600 for a three-year project titled “Closing the Gaps: Building Pathways for Adult Women in a Technology-driven Workforce.”

Implemented through the American Women’s College of Bay Path University, the project will address a critical national need for developing a digitally fluent workforce — applicable not only in cybersecurity and the tech sector, but in other fields as well — that is well-prepared with foundational 21st-century skills in digital technologies, coding, data science, and systems thinking, and the ability to apply these skills across different problems, settings, and industries.

“No one sector can close skill and equity gaps alone. All of the recipients share our commitment to engaging with an ecosystem of educators, community organizations, and employers to help individuals bridge the divide between education and economic opportunity,” said William Hansen, president and CEO of Strada Education Network. “We’re excited to support Bay Path University. They’re listening to education consumers as well as employers, and designing solutions that are relevant to the real-world challenges — and opportunities — today’s students face.” 

Bay Path will use its grant to undertake extensive employer research and engagement and to build capacity of the American Women’s College to scale enrollment of adult women and prepare them with core cybersecurity and information-technology competencies that meet the needs of employers, support them as they persist to degree completion, and assist them to successfully transition to careers in cybersecurity and IT-related employment.

“The advancement of women is central to Bay Path University’s mission as a women’s university,” said Amanda Gould, chief administrative officer at the American Women’s College. “Through the American Women’s College, our strategic priority has been to scale up our capacity to reach more adult women through high-quality online learning which, in turn, will help them achieve career-focused degrees and credentials. The Strada Education Network grant will help us strengthen this pipeline and address a critical national need to prepare a digitally fluent workforce that is fully inclusive of women and minorities.”