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YouScience Announces 1.6 Million Industry Certifications Taken Nationwide as Demand for Career-Ready Skills Grows

YouScience also expands College and Career Readiness platform, Brightpath, with new tools to help students discover, plan, certify, and connect with best-matched futures

AMERICAN FORK, Utah, August 14, 2026—YouScience®, the leading technology provider dedicated to solving the skills gap crisis for students and employers, today announced that 1.6 million YouScience® Industry Certification exams were taken in the 2025-26 academic year, a continued increase of over 15% from the prior year’s record numbers.

The milestone reflects growing national demand by employees for industry-recognized certifications that help students validate their skills, demonstrate career readiness, and connect classroom learning to real-world opportunities. As schools and districts continue to expand career and technical education, YouScience certifications give students a meaningful way to show what they know and build confidence for what comes next.

“Students need more than awareness of career options. They need clear pathways, validated skills, and real opportunities with employers that connect what they are learning in school to what comes next,” said Edson Barton, co-founder and CEO of YouScience. “The continued growth of YouScience certifications shows that schools across the country are prioritizing career readiness in meaningful ways, and that industry is looking for and validating the skills students are building as they prepare to enter the workforce.”

The top 10 YouScience certifications delivered this year include:

  • 21st Century Success Skills
  • General Financial Literacy
  • Business Office Specialist
  • Food and Nutrition
  • Culinary 1
  • Preparing for College and Careers
  • Commercial Photography
  • Child Development
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Health Science Introduction

YouScience saw some of its largest year-over-year increases across General Financial Literacy, which grew 39.4%, and Entrepreneurship, which grew 56.6%. Business Office Specialist, Preparing for College and Careers, Health Science Introduction, Culinary 1, and Food and Nutrition certifications also grew between 6.9% and 20.3%. These increases reflect growing student participation and school demand across business, finance, health science, hospitality, family and consumer sciences, and career readiness.

For educators, industry-recognized certifications provide more than a final assessment. They offer measurable evidence of student learning, skill development, and program impact.

“Through the YouScience certifications, my students are able to take exams that directly reflect current workforce needs. These credentials clearly outline the specific skills and knowledge assessed, making them a strong and credible addition to student portfolios,” said Paula Gibson, Dental Careers Instructor at A.W. Beattie Career Center. “Not only do the certifications validate what students know, but they also help them confidently showcase their abilities to future employers, training programs, and postsecondary institutions.”

With Industry Certifications, students can earn credentials that reflect the skills and knowledge needed by today’s employers, while giving schools clear data to support instruction, program improvement, and career pathway alignment.

“We offer college credit for our kids taking our courses, and the IRCs help them get that credit. One year, we had over 3,000 credits earned. That saved students between $350,000 and $500,000 in tuition,” said Eric Franz, CTE Data/Technical Specialist at Yakima School District.

The certification milestone comes as YouScience expands YouScience Brightpath®, its college and career readiness platform designed to help students discover, plan, certify, and connect their skills with real-world opportunities and employer-valued outcomes. 

New and expanded Brightpath solutions include:

  • College & Career Readiness Planner: Students can now turn their aptitude insights into actionable academic and postsecondary plans, connecting course planning, goal setting, and pathway decisions.
  • Work-Based Learning: Schools can now manage employer relationships, student placements, digital forms and approvals, hours, reflections, and reporting through one centralized solution.
  • Family Connect: Parents and guardians can now securely view their student’s aptitudes, career matches, plans, certifications, work-based learning forms, and milestones.

Together, these solutions help schools create a connected career readiness experience that supports every student from exploration to action.

YouScience® Industry Certifications are available across all national career cluster areas and are designed to help students demonstrate career-ready skills, support CTE program accountability, and strengthen the connection between education and workforce needs.

To learn more about YouScience Brightpath® and YouScience® Industry Certifications, visit www.youscience.com.

About YouScience

YouScience® is the leading education technology company dedicated to empowering individuals with the data and credentials needed to succeed in school, career, and life. Its award-winning platform, Brightpath, is the only College & Career Readiness solution built for both compliance and impact–powered by scientifically backed aptitude discovery, industry-recognized certifications, and meaningful career connections. By leveraging cutting-edge research, AI, and industry collaboration, YouScience helps individuals uncover their unique talents, validate their skills, and connect with in-demand educational and career pathways. YouScience has served more than 13,400 educational institutions and millions of users nationwide, making it the preferred choice for individuals, parents, educators, and counselors to achieve real outcomes through education and career pathways.

Media Contact: Lindsay Hull
Zer0 to 5ive for YouScience
lindsay@0to5.com