Connecting Open Education and Workforce Development
At the 2025 Open Education Conference, the DOERS Collaborative is leading a groundbreaking initiative that brings together educators, employers, and innovators to co-design new ways to align Open Educational Resources (OER) with workforce needs.
The OER + Workforce project explores how open, adaptable resources can strengthen the talent pipeline, reduce training costs, and empower learners with relevant, real-world skills. This initiative represents a key step toward bridging the gap between education and industry — and toward ensuring that open education truly serves learners, communities, and economies.
About the Project
DOERS is conducting an alpha test of a new OER + Workforce Collaboration System during a pre-conference workshop at OpenEd25 in Denver. In partnership with Dr. Bucky Dodd of ClearKinetic, this co-design experience invites participants to explore and test a suite of collaboration tools designed to help cross-sector teams imagine, create, and implement workforce-aligned OER solutions.
After this alpha test, DOERS will refine the system based on participant feedback before releasing a beta version for use across the open education and workforce communities.
Collaboration Tools
The core of this system is a set of three visual collaboration canvases and a facilitation guide that help education and industry partners design OER-based workforce solutions:
Together, these tools help teams bridge language and culture gaps between education and industry — turning collaboration into impact.
All materials are released under an open Creative Commons license to encourage adaptation and reuse across institutions and workforce sectors.
Next Phase: The Workforce OER Playbook
To scale and sustain this work, DOERS is partnering with the Rebus Foundation to develop an openly licensed Workforce and OER Playbook.
This living resource will collect real-world use cases, stories, and evidence from across the OER and workforce development communities — showcasing how collaboration can lead to better learning outcomes and stronger regional economies.
The playbook will be published in Pressbooks with full accessibility support and shared broadly through open repositories.
Get Involved
This project thrives on collaboration. Whether you’re an educator, employer, instructional designer, or policymaker — your voice matters.
Following the Open Education Conference, check back here to join the movement:
Together, we can make open education work — for everyone.
License
All tools, resources, and publications produced through this project will be released under a Creative Commons license with our hope of continued adaptations of the system.
The OER + Workforce project explores how open, adaptable resources can strengthen the talent pipeline, reduce training costs, and empower learners with relevant, real-world skills. This initiative represents a key step toward bridging the gap between education and industry — and toward ensuring that open education truly serves learners, communities, and economies.
About the Project
DOERS is conducting an alpha test of a new OER + Workforce Collaboration System during a pre-conference workshop at OpenEd25 in Denver. In partnership with Dr. Bucky Dodd of ClearKinetic, this co-design experience invites participants to explore and test a suite of collaboration tools designed to help cross-sector teams imagine, create, and implement workforce-aligned OER solutions.
After this alpha test, DOERS will refine the system based on participant feedback before releasing a beta version for use across the open education and workforce communities.
Collaboration Tools
The core of this system is a set of three visual collaboration canvases and a facilitation guide that help education and industry partners design OER-based workforce solutions:
- Collaborate Map – Align understanding, identify co-creators, and clarify shared goals.
- Create Map – Design strategies that connect learner needs to actionable solutions.
- Action Map – Translate ideas into implementation plans and measurable outcomes.
Together, these tools help teams bridge language and culture gaps between education and industry — turning collaboration into impact.
All materials are released under an open Creative Commons license to encourage adaptation and reuse across institutions and workforce sectors.
Next Phase: The Workforce OER Playbook
To scale and sustain this work, DOERS is partnering with the Rebus Foundation to develop an openly licensed Workforce and OER Playbook.
This living resource will collect real-world use cases, stories, and evidence from across the OER and workforce development communities — showcasing how collaboration can lead to better learning outcomes and stronger regional economies.
The playbook will be published in Pressbooks with full accessibility support and shared broadly through open repositories.
Get Involved
This project thrives on collaboration. Whether you’re an educator, employer, instructional designer, or policymaker — your voice matters.
Following the Open Education Conference, check back here to join the movement:
- Download and explore the Collaboration Tools (PDF) and Facilitation Guide
- Share your story of OER and workforce innovation with DOERS
- Contribute to the Workforce OER Playbook by submitting examples of OER adaptation or use
- Stay connected by following DOERS updates and announcements
Together, we can make open education work — for everyone.
License
All tools, resources, and publications produced through this project will be released under a Creative Commons license with our hope of continued adaptations of the system.
