NAFTrack Certification: recognized nationally, earned locally. NAFTrack Certification is NAF’s seal of career readiness, representing a student’s completion of a series of work-based learning (WBL) experiences and career-related coursework with the support of local industry and community partners. Students who earn this credential engage in a minimum of 3 work-based learning activities as part of their NAF academy experience, including an intensive 80+ hour work-based learning experience (internship, clinical experience, apprenticeship, or mentored industry project) where their skills are rigorously evaluated by their supervisor using NAF’s signature Future Ready Skills Assessment. This ensures that every NAFTrack Certified student leaves with the skills that employers value the most. Through this powerful partnership between educators, local industry professionals, and the community, NAFTrack Certified graduates stand out—fully vetted, highly capable, and ready to hit the ground running in today’s workplace.
NAFTrack Certification continues to be offered as a meaningful recognition of a student’s journey, skill mastery, and overall NAF academy experience, validated by local employer partners. This certification signifies that a student has met NAF’s standards of future readiness through completion of career-connected coursework, engagement in high-quality work-based learning experiences, and receipt of feedback from industry professionals. It holds value within NAF academies and their broader ecosystems as a marker of both student achievement and program fidelity. As part of NAF’s Outcomes-Driven WBL approach, certification requirements ensure more students engage in meaningful WBL across the continuum and graduate with clearly defined aspirations, skills for success, and a strong professional network.
Certification progress will continue to be tracked in the Academy Assessment as an indicator of high-quality academies and fidelity to NAF’s model.
Enrollment in a NAF academy and a career-connected program of study
Participation in at least 3 WBL activities across the WBL continuum
(1) Career Awareness
(1) Career Exploration
(1) Career Preparation
Completion of the Future Ready Skills Assessment by an industry professional
Requirement by graduation year: We have gradually moved toward the new requirements for the class of 2025, with the expectation that the class of 2026 completes the full equation of NAFTrack Certification.
The requirements for NAFTrack Certification for the class of 2025 are as follows:
Completed a career-connected program of study (as captured in Data Collection). "Career Connected Program of Study"
Participated in a WBL experience from either the Career Awareness OR Career Exploration phase of the WBL continuum
Participated in a Career Preparation WBL Activity (i.e. Internship) of at least 80 hours
Received a completed Future Ready Skills Assessment from an industry professional
The requirements for NAFTrack Certification for the class of 2026 and beyond are as follows:
Complete a career-connected program of study
Participate in one activity from each category of Career Awareness, Exploration, and Preparation
Receive a completed Future Ready Skills Assessment from an industry professional at the completion of the Career Preparation activity
To help students achieve NAFTrack Certification, you play a key role in ensuring their experiences are accurately documented and aligned with NAF’s standards. Your responsibilities include:
Updating the program of study in Data Collection to reflect current course offerings.
Logging student participation in WBL activities, including internships, using NAF’s WBL Participation Tracker throughout the school year.
Collaborating with industry partners to complete the Future Ready Skills Assessment for each student after they finish a Career Preparation activity.
Students can track their NAFTrack Certification process within NAFTrack Students. They will first need to create an account and on the home page they will see their progress toward each item. Students can also update their profile, take surveys and reflections, review feedback from industry professionals and so much more. More information on NAFTrack Students can be found here.
If you have any questions, we encourage you to reach out to your Portfolio Manager or contact the Support Team by submitting a ticket in ASH (click the Yellow Question Mark on the bottom right of this page).
