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BUILDING PATHWAYS | EXPANDING OPPORTUNITY | CHANGING SYSTEMS
RARE Academy's Workforce Development & Economic Mobility Model
RARE Academy's Workforce Development & Economic Mobility Model
RESTORE is RARE Academy's workforce development and economic mobility model designed for system-impacted individuals. It recognizes that the path to economic mobility is rarely just about finding a job. Stability, preparation, skills, access to opportunity, employment, continued support, career advancement, and financial capability all play a role.
RESTORE brings these elements together into an individualized continuum that meets participants where they are and supports movement toward where they want to go.
What RESTORE Represents
Restore Stability
Equip for Success
Strengthen Skills
Train for Opportunity
Open Career Pathways
Retain & Advance
Expand Economic Mobility
RESTORE reflects RARE's belief that economic mobility requires more than employment. It requires stability, preparation, access to opportunity, continued support, and a pathway for growth.
The RESTORE Economic Mobility Continuum
The RESTORE Economic Mobility Continuum
STABILIZE → PREPARE → TRAIN → CONNECT → EMPLOY → RETAIN → ADVANCE → BUILD WEALTH
STABILIZE → PREPARE → TRAIN → CONNECT → EMPLOY → RETAIN → ADVANCE → BUILD WEALTH
The continuum is not a one-size-fits-all sequence. Participants may enter at different points based on their circumstances, strengths, and goals, move between stages as needs change, and receive individualized support throughout their journey.
STABILIZE + PREPARE
STABILIZE + PREPARE
BUILDING THE FOUNDATION
BUILDING THE FOUNDATION
Before individuals can successfully pursue training or employment, immediate barriers often have to be addressed while the tools needed to move forward are being built. RARE works alongside participants to strengthen stability and workforce readiness at the same time.
Addressing barriers that can interfere with progress.
Addressing barriers that can interfere with progress.
This stage focuses on helping participants establish the practical foundation needed to pursue their goals.
Services and support can include:
Identification and vital documents
Benefits and resource navigation
Housing navigation and coordinated assessment
Transportation assistance
Digital and communication access
Clothing and employment attire
Hygiene and basic-needs support
Health coverage/resource navigation
Peer support
Individualized case management and navigation
Building the tools, confidence, and readiness to move forward.
Building the tools, confidence, and readiness to move forward.
Participants strengthen the personal, digital, and professional skills needed to successfully enter training and the workforce.
Services and programming can include:
Workforce readiness
Instructor-led digital literacy
Resume development and AI-assisted resume review
Cover letters and letters of explanation
Employment-gap preparation
Job-search and application assistance
Interview preparation and mock interviews
Professional headshots
Digital career portfolios
Professional and social-emotional development
Career exploration and pathway planning
TRAIN + CONNECT
TRAIN + CONNECT
BUILDING SKILLS AND CREATING ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY
BUILDING SKILLS AND CREATING ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY
Career training can create a pathway to economic mobility, but access requires more than identifying a class. RARE helps participants identify career pathways, prepare for training, navigate enrollment and funding requirements, and remain supported as they move toward credentials and employment.
Connecting preparation to skills, credentials, and career pathways.
Connecting preparation to skills, credentials, and career pathways.
RARE helps participants identify and prepare for occupational and industry-recognized training aligned with their interests, abilities, and employment goals.
Career and training pathways can include:
CDL / Commercial Driving
Electrical
Welding
HVAC
Infrastructure & Construction
NCCER Core
Logistics & Manufacturing
Technical & Automation Training
Apprenticeships and Pre-Apprenticeships
Mental Health Peer Specialist
Recovery Peer Support Specialist
Peer Reentry Professional Certification
Turning preparation and training into access to opportunity.
Turning preparation and training into access to opportunity.
RARE helps participants build the connections and navigate the systems needed to move from preparation and training toward employment.
This can include:
Training and education partner connections
Workforce funding navigation and coordination
Employer connections
Second-chance employment opportunities
Job fairs and hiring events
Apprenticeship connections
Job matching and targeted job search
Application support
Interview opportunities
Community and professional networking
Connections to continued education and career opportunities
Access is more than a referral.
Access is more than a referral.
RARE's role may include career exploration, training preparation, enrollment navigation, funding coordination, documentation, testing requirements, study support, and ongoing participant support, while occupational instruction may be provided through RARE's education and training partners.
That last sentence is important. It accurately communicates that you're doing considerably more than simply handing someone a referral while not implying RARE teaches every occupational course itself.
RARE remains engaged as participants navigate the steps between identifying an opportunity and successfully reaching it.
EMPLOY + RETAIN
EMPLOY + RETAIN
FROM EMPLOYMENT TO SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS
FROM EMPLOYMENT TO SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS
Securing employment is an important milestone, but it is not the end of the journey. RARE supports participants as they transition into the workforce, navigate challenges that can affect employment, and build the stability needed to sustain their progress.
Turning preparation into meaningful employment.
Turning preparation into meaningful employment.
RARE helps participants move from job-ready to employed by providing individualized employment support and connections to opportunities aligned with their skills, experience, training, and career goals.
Support can include:
Individualized job search
Job matching and employment opportunities
Second-chance employer connections
Job applications and application follow-up
Interview preparation and support
Job fairs and hiring events
Employment documentation
Professional references and employment materials
Offer and onboarding support
Transportation and work-readiness support
Employment outcome tracking
Supporting success after the first day on the job.
Supporting success after the first day on the job.
RARE remains connected after employment begins, helping participants address challenges that could disrupt employment and supporting continued stability in the workplace.
Support can include:
Post-employment check-ins
Individualized retention support
Workplace communication and problem-solving
Transportation barrier navigation
Continued case management and peer support
Employer communication when appropriate
Connection to supportive resources
Career goal reassessment
Continued professional development
Re-engagement support when employment is interrupted
Employment is a milestone—not the finish line.
Employment is a milestone—not the finish line.
RESTORE recognizes that lasting economic mobility requires continued support beyond placement, particularly during the critical transition into sustained employment.
ADVANCE + BUILD WEALTH
ADVANCE + BUILD WEALTH
GROWING CAREERS. BUILDING LONG-TERM ECONOMIC MOBILITY
GROWING CAREERS. BUILDING LONG-TERM ECONOMIC MOBILITY
Economic mobility does not end with obtaining and retaining employment. RESTORE supports participants in looking beyond their current position toward increased earning potential, career growth, continued education, financial capability, and greater long-term economic stability.
ADVANCE
ADVANCE
Moving from employment toward career growth.
Moving from employment toward career growth.
RARE helps participants identify opportunities to increase their skills, credentials, responsibilities, and earning potential as their careers progress.
Support can include:
Career advancement planning
Wage and career progression goals
Continuing education and additional credentials
Advanced occupational training
Upskilling and reskilling
Apprenticeship and career pathway advancement
Professional development
Leadership development
Updated resumes and digital career portfolios
Career transitions and higher-wage opportunities
Continued education and training navigation
BUILD WEALTH
BUILD WEALTH
Turning earned income into greater financial stability and opportunity.
Turning earned income into greater financial stability and opportunity.
RARE connects workforce success with financial capability so participants can begin building a stronger financial foundation for themselves and their families.
Support and education can include:
Financial literacy and financial education
Banking access
Budgeting and money management
Credit education and credit-building strategies
Savings and emergency-fund planning
Understanding employee benefits
Financial goal setting
Asset-building education
Connections to trusted financial resources and partners
The goal is not simply employment. The goal is economic mobility.
The goal is not simply employment. The goal is economic mobility.
RESTORE creates a pathway for participants to move from overcoming immediate barriers to building skills, sustaining employment, increasing earning potential, and creating greater long-term financial stability.
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