Building a future that works—for everyone.
Building a future that works—for everyone.
We drive transformation of the U.S. education and workforce systems to achieve equitable economic advancement for all.
Learn about our work
Equitable Economic Advancement for All
Millions of people are unfairly shut out of quality jobs and the chance for a better life. To eliminate barriers to economic advancement, we must fix our education and workforce systems to make them more equitable, better connected, and easier to navigate.
Our North Star:
In 10 years, 75 million people facing systemic barriers to advancement will work in quality jobs.
In 10 years, 75 million people facing systemic barriers to advancement will work in quality jobs.
Reimagine. Rebuild. Together.
For more than 40 years, Jobs for the Future has partnered with organizations like yours to design solutions, scale best practices, influence policy and action, and invest in innovations.
We aim to create learner and worker opportunity, strengthen education and career navigation, ensure program quality and efficacy, integrate learning and work, and build strong regional economies.
Together, we are reimagining what’s possible—leading public, private, and nonprofit sector changemakers to new ideas, promising innovations, and equitable ways to help millions more people advance.
Latest Ideas
Multimedia
Quality Jobs Framework
JFF’s framework spells out new standards for quality jobs and actions we can all take to improve job quality—and ultimately help millions more people advance in the economy.
Blog
Dual Enrollment Is Taking Over Community College: Is a New Institution Emerging?
JFF’s vision for the Big Blur could be the future for community colleges if they work with high schools, dual enrollment students in community colleges, and employers to construct new grades 11-14 career preparation institutions.
Blog
Career Decision-Making Support for Youth Before the ‘Moment of Choice’
Jobs for the Future (JFF) partnered with College Board’s BigFuture team to produce a research-based guide for caring adults, providing insights and resources on how to help young people make decisions about their postsecondary work and learning pathways.
Blog
5 Key Innovations for Scaling Business-Education Partnerships
JFF is excited to share five innovative Futurelab+ practices that companies and high-growth fields can adopt to scale business-education partnerships.
Report
Getting Started With Google Career Certificates: Key Questions and Considerations for Nonprofit Providers
Out of Jobs for the Future's (JFF) collaboration with Google to scale its Career Certification to nonprofits and community colleges, insights from these organizations to effectively implement those training have emerged and are outlined in our Key and Considerations table.
Blog
Four Ways to Use Credential Technology for Skills-Based Hiring
In today’s tough labor market, many candidates are applying for jobs that are outside their areas of expertise or not closely aligned to their education and training. But how can employers adequately identify talent if candidates do not match employer education requirements or pursue jobs aligned with their degrees?
Events
July 22-23, 2024 – Washington, DC
Horizons 2024 – The Power of Us
Join leading thinkers and innovators at our premier national summit, where we explore without limits to find innovative practices and scalable solutions to transform our education and workforce systems.
March 4-16, 2023
SXSW & SWSWEDU
We’re excited to head back to SXSWEDU 2024 in Austin, and this year, we’re expanding to SXSW! Thought leaders across Jobs for the Future’s (JFF) centers and practices have applied to present at both EDU and Interactive this year with partners including Ares Foundation, American Student Assistance, GitLab Foundation, Walmart, StudioBE, Best Buy, Levi Strauss & Co., Kaiser, and more.
Recent News
HR Dive, September 12, 2023
Quality jobs encourage advancement, learning, workers say
Those with high-quality jobs were significantly more likely to say their employer provides them with the training needed to advance in their careers, a JFF report said.
Forbes, September 01, 2023
How To Break The Cycle Of Low-Wage Jobs
The United States might be enjoying unemployment rates at a near 50-year low this Labor Day, but it’s a far more complicated story for many U.S. workers. More than 19 million workers are estimated to earn less than $15 an hour, and now new data suggests that nearly 40% are working in lower-quality jobs that leave them feeling underpaid, overworked, and trapped.
CNBC, August 28, 2023
AI could ‘turn good jobs into bad jobs’—3 labor historians on what the future of work might hold
More than a third, 37% of adults are pessimistic about the future impact of AI on workers, according to a recent Jobs for the Future survey of 2,204 adults, and 25% believe AI will hurt their industry.
Business Insider, August 14, 2023
AI is going to eliminate way more jobs than anyone realizes
The rise of artificial intelligence has captured our imagination for decades, in whimsical movies and sober academic texts. Despite this speculation, the emergence of public, easy-to-use AI tools over the past year has been a jolt, like the future arrived years ahead of schedule. Now this long-expected, all-too-sudden technological revolution is ready to upend the economy.
U.S. Department of Education, August 10, 2023
Launching the Career Connected High School Grant Program
For far too long, there have been invisible walls between K-12, higher education, and workforce systems treated like they’re set in stone. That you need to complete one before moving on to the next. But the reality is that there’s a lot more overlap, and it’s time to Raise the Bar and reimagine high school in this country.
The Hechinger Report, August 3, 2023
Shop class is grounded, high school aviation classes are taking flight
With the aviation industry facing worker shortages, K-12 schools try to offer a runway into jobs in the field