Barriers to Confidence: Innovative Models for Attire Access-Career Success

Join us for a dynamic fireside chat detailing a pioneering model for 21st-century career readiness. Hear directly from Mario Vela, Assistant Vice-Provost of Career-Engaged Learning at The University of Texas at San Antonio, and Alan Threadgill, Associate Dean at West Georgia Technical College. 

UTSA and West Georgia Tech Career Services identified a “last mile” challenge in career readiness: students—especially first-generation and income-sensitive—had the ambition but not the access, confidence, or tools to translate education into employment. Partnering with MyCareerCloset (MCC), UTSA and West Georgia Tech reimagined the career closet on-demand styling, and year-round access—ensuring students begin their professional journey with dignity and confidence.

Furthering the relationship with tools like CareerFairNavigator, students progress from appearance to engagement—AI-powered research on employers, strategic engagement and follow up, and presenting themselves with confidence. What begins with clothing becomes a bridge to opportunity.

Presented in partnership with the Global Career Development Collaborative (GCDC), this session explores scalable, data-driven strategies for addressing the last mile of readiness and aligning with GCDC’s mission to advance global excellence in career development.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify barriers in the “last mile” of readiness.
• Apply technology to enhance access and engagement.
• Integrate global career development with employability outcomes.