The past year underscored America’s urgent need to integrate work and learning. As the country emerges from the pandemic, employers need a highly trained workforce and educators need to connect learning to good jobs.

One institution—Empire State College in the State University of New York system (SUNY Empire)—is leading the way with innovative employer partnerships that help people learn, earn, and improve their lives.

No industry remained untouched when the pandemic struck in March 2020, the least of which education. In just a matter of days, educational systems immediately pivoted toward online learning to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. 

While that upheaval certainly caused some strife, the pandemic also illuminated areas where systems could improve. Within higher education, many college leaders realized just how creative their faculty and staff could be—and how some of the changes that occurred during the pandemic may remain.