Bridging The Talent Gap Case Study: Tools for Building a Well-aligned Industry, Education, and Workforce

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Connor

Bridging the Talent Gap case study examines CAEL’s employee survey tool through a 2020 study sponsored by One Acadiana at MacLaff, Inc., covering workers across 45 McDonald’s franchises. The findings highlight strong intent to complete credentials, with most crew members pursuing education and notable aspirations for bachelor’s degrees. Results also reveal gaps between employees’ understanding of benefits and actual support, while identifying “Comebackers” as adult learners driving economic mobility. The report details survey participation and post-survey engagement that connected interested employees to college advisors.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Introduction

Findings

Notable Findings

Survey Successes

Lessons Learned

Conclusion

DECEMBER 2023 BRIDGET T STRICK LER Bridging The Talent Gap Case Study: Tools for Building a Well-aligned Industry, Education, and Workforce [cael.org](cael.org) Recognizing that adult learners are the backbone of the U.S. economy, CAEL helps forge a clear, viable connection between education and career success, providing solutions that promote sustainable and equitable economic growth. CAEL opens doors to opportunity in collaboration with workforce and economic developers; postsecondary educators; employers and industry groups; and foundations and other mission-aligned organizations. By engaging with these stakeholders, CAEL fosters a culture of innovative, lifelong learning that helps individuals and their communities thrive. A national membership organization established in 1974, CAEL is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workplace™ certified and is a part of Strada Collaborative, a mission-driven nonprofit. Learn more at [cael.org](cael.org) and [stradacollaborative.org](stradacollaborative.org). © 2023 CAEL. All rights reserved. (031-23) 12/23 2 Executive Summary Introduction 3 5 Findings Notable 6 Survey Successes Lessons Learned 8 10 Conclusion 11 October 2023 Update 12 CONTENTS ABOUT CAEL Recognizing that adult learners are the backbone of the U.S. economy, CAEL helps forge a clear, viable connection between education and career success, providing solutions that promote sustainable and equitable economic growth. CAEL opens doors to opportunity in collaboration with workforce and economic developers; postsecondary educators; employers and industry groups; and foundations and other mission-aligned organizations. By engaging with these stakeholders, we foster a culture of innovative, lifelong learning that helps individuals and their communities thrive. Via integrated education and workforce strategies, CAEL fosters partnership development that aligns postsecondary institutions and other learning providers, employers, and workforce and economic development organizations to better connect learners to careersand promote social and economic mobility. By working with stakeholders across the workforce ecosystem, we help build partnerships that promote learner success, minimize unemployment, and create competitive communities that attract local and regional employers. A national membership organization established in 1974, CAEL is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workplace™ certified and is a part of Strada Collaborative. We have provided initiative support and technical assistance on many regional and national-level projects. We continually focus on: • Social and economic mobility of learners. • Strategic partnership development. • Data gathering and analysis, strategy development, goal setting, and tracking. • Acceleration of credential completion by recognizing on-the-job and other non-institutional training, credit for prior learning, and stackable credentials. In 2023, CAEL announced a strategic partnership with The Graduate! Network (TGN)—a mission aligned national nonprofit—to operate TGN’s core portfolio of products and services as TGN@CAEL, including: navigator training curricula that have been honed through more than a score of implementations ofthe Graduate! model; data tracking adults in their journey to and through postsecondary education; and Bridging The Talent Gap, a proven approach to activating employers and talent ecosystems in support of educational equity. BRIDGING THE TALENT GAP | MACLAFF, INC. & ONE ACADIANA Executive Summary CAEL’s Bridging the Talent Gap (BTTG) Employee Survey is a powerful tool for employers who want to support the career and education aspirations of their workers. In fall 2020, One Acadiana, an economic development organization in South Louisiana, sponsored a Bridging the Talent Gap Employee Survey at MacLaff, Inc. Atthe time of the survey, MacLaff, Inc. employed more than 2,200 workers, including many frontline worker

FAQs

What survey tool does the case study describe and who can use it?

The case study describes CAEL’s Bridging the Talent Gap (BTTG) Employee Survey, intended as a tool for employers to support workers’ career and education aspirations.

What notable outcomes does the study report about credential plans?

About 85% of crew members planned to pursue a credential, including 45% aspiring to a bachelor’s degree.

What issues does the study identify regarding education benefits?

The study finds discrepancies between employees’ understanding of education benefits and the financial support actually available, with only 35% indicating their employer provided support for college-level coursework.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Connor