The Skills Lab Learning Collective
A community-informed advisory group helping guide the future of learning at ForwardWorks — bringing together trusted community members, practitioners, and champions to shape the direction, relevance, and visibility of the Skills Lab.
Guiding the future of learning at ForwardWorks
The ForwardWorks Skills Lab Learning Collective is a community-informed advisory group established to help shape the direction, relevance, and visibility of the ForwardWorks Skills Lab. The Collective brings together trusted community members, practitioners, and champions who can provide insight on curriculum priorities, learner needs, and strategies to strengthen awareness and engagement.
The Skills Lab is a workplace certification program that helps people build practical, job-ready skills through clear, accessible instruction — currently focused on networking, project planning, and workplace technology, and designed for people with disabilities, youth in transition, workforce program participants, and other learners who benefit from inclusive, structured training. The Learning Collective helps ensure that program stays practical, responsive, and forward-looking.
A strategic sounding board and a community ambassador group
The purpose of the Learning Collective is to help ensure the ForwardWorks Skills Lab remains practical, responsive, and forward-looking. The Collective aligns curriculum development and learning experiences with real-world needs and opportunities.
The Collective is intended to
- Bring community voice and practitioner insight into Skills Lab planning and decision-making
- Help identify evolving learner needs and opportunities for curriculum expansion
- Strengthen awareness of the Skills Lab through authentic outreach and peer-to-peer engagement
- Provide grounded feedback on the platform, cohort model, and overall learning experience
Key responsibilities
- Define expanding curriculum needs — priority skill areas, emerging topics, and gaps in current offerings
- Advise on content and roadmap decisions to keep the Skills Lab relevant and high-quality
- Support outreach and communications that build visibility across communities and networks
- Serve as ambassadors, promoting the value, credibility, and relevance of the Skills Lab
- Participate in learning cohorts as participants, observers, or thought partners
- Surface partnership and growth opportunities that strengthen the Skills Lab's reach and impact
Getting involved
Member commitments
While the structure of the Learning Collective continues to be refined, members will generally be expected to:
- Participate in periodic (likely quarterly to start) meetings or advisory sessions
- Review and respond to selected materials, concepts, or updates between meetings as needed
- Share candid, constructive feedback based on lived experience and professional expertise
- Act as champions of the Skills Lab, expanding awareness within their networks
What you'll help shape
The Collective advises on a growing course catalogue built across five pathways:
- Foundations — a "getting started" on-ramp drawing from every pathway
- Employment Transition — preparing for work, getting hired, and succeeding on the job
- Project Execution — how work gets planned, organized, managed, and improved
- Communication — relationship-building, self-advocacy, and workplace communication
- Technology — using workplace tools and AI with confidence
Community-informed and practitioner-led — helping the Skills Lab grow with the people it serves.
Join the Learning Collective
Interested in helping shape the future of inclusive learning? Tell us a bit about yourself and why you'd like to join. We'll follow up with next steps.