Lisa Larson, CEO of Education Design Lab: How Micro-Pathways Can Boost Workforce Development Success

Lisa Larson, CEO of Education Design Lab: How Micro-Pathways Can Boost Workforce Development Success

From WorkforceRx by Futuro Health

December 17, 2025 · 31 min · Season 6 · Episode 119

About this episode

Lisa Larson discusses how micro-pathways can enhance workforce development through community colleges and employer partnerships.

According to recent studies, micro-credentials are experiencing a surge in interest and acceptance by learners and employers, which is creating both a challenge and an opportunity for educators trying to meet the demand for them. One of the major players helping educators in this task is the Education Design Lab, which is working with more than 100 community colleges and state community college systems to implement “micro-pathways” that map to 100 different job roles. “What colleges need to be concerned about is the relevancy of these programs to high demand jobs and careers, and that people need short-term options to move towards their larger goals,” says CEO Lisa Larson. Key criteria for the pathways include being affordable, stackable, less than one year in duration and validated by employers. As Larson explains, animating this work is EDL’s interest in meeting the needs of what it calls the “new majority learner” – mainly working adults who require additional access points and flexible options for earning credentials. Join Futuro Health CEO Van Ton-Quinlivan as she explores how community colleges are developing deeper employer partnerships and shared curricula to help…

People in this episode

Hosts: Van Ton-Quinlivan, Futuro Health

Guest: Lisa Larson

Topics covered

  • micro-credentials
  • workforce development
  • community colleges
  • employer partnerships
  • education

Keywords

  • micro-pathways
  • workforce development
  • community colleges
  • employers
  • credentials

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Education Design Lab

More episodes of WorkforceRx

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the WorkforceRx podcast page.