Focus on the Next Generation: A Conversation With Philanthropy

This spring, Jobs for the Future (JFF) gathered together more than two dozen national and regional funders to have a conversation about youth employment opportunities and mostly, to listen. We wanted to understand how they were thinking about the generational challenges facing young people trying to enter the labor market and build careers precisely as entry-level jobs and professional on-ramps are contracting.  

We started our conversation by sharing data about the challenges they face, and it resonated. As we talked about the headwinds—unemployment rates that are significantly above those of other adult workers, a 30% decrease in entry-level job postings over the last two years, a complex and often confusing landscape of more than 1.8 million credentials, and the impact of AI on early career jobs—there were vigorous nods of agreement. Many in the group shared their experiences at work, in their personal lives, and in their own communities, where they are witnessing firsthand the challenges that young people have in preparing for and accessing quality jobs that offer clear pathways to economic well-being.  Many also noted that things have changed—the external conditions, experiences, and perspectives of young people and the jobs available are all different than they were even 10 years ago.  

As the conversation progressed, what we heard matched the sense of urgency we feel at JFF to lean into the work that meets this moment and empowers more young people to effectively navigate today’s labor market. Some key themes from our conversation included these insights: 

• Persistent obstacles to labor market success are now a broad generational issue—notably, young people from populations that have faced persistent barriers in job placement, including those with and without strong ties to education and support, are continuing to experience headwinds in starting and building their careers. 
• Entry points into work are shrinking, with fewer clear on-ramps and growing uncertainty about how interests, skills, and credentials translate into quality jobs and careers, especially with the disruption of AI.  
• The career pathways landscape is confusing and fragmented, and it’s difficult for young people to effectively navigate opportunities across high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce, which often remain heavily siloed.  

 We also discussed what we need to do more of. We pushed participants in our conversation to be focused and bold. Our dialogue resulted in several key ideas:  

• This is a time for more investment in next-generation workers, not less.  Philanthropy can play a critical role in bridging fragmented systems, testing new ideas, and making long-term bets in cross-sector alignment to serve young people. Further, young people need to lead alongside philanthropy in building solutions, not just as beneficiaries or occasional voices. 
• We must do more with earn-and-learn models. Apprenticeships, service learning, and other earn-and-learn models show promise as ways to connect education with real work experience. But we need to do significantly more to scale these opportunities upward to reach all young people. Barriers to labor market access are all too often quite significant, and these models can break into new industries.  
• There is an appetite for a dramatic reimagining of how we educate young people and help them build skills, and we must focus on bringing and sustaining this momentum. In communities across the country, there is drive for big, innovative change. Champions and stakeholders are pushing the envelope around how we structure and organize institutions, how we think about what is taught and how, how technology should and should not be used, and what is needed to make positive changes to persistently inequitable outcomes for communities that face barriers to economic advancement. 
• Employers must play a more active role. From clearer hiring signals to stronger engagement in career development for young people, it matters how employers show up. The status quo of employer engagement does not work consistently or at scale to ensure opportunities for young people. 
• This is a critical moment for a “whole person” approach that prioritizes youth well-being. By embedding positive development principles into youth-serving education and workforce systems—and addressing the emotional distress that many young people feel—we can mitigate factors that negatively affect school persistence, workforce participation, and social development.  

We deeply appreciate the time that these leaders took to have a conversation about next-generation workers, and we are excited about the opportunities to work together. Quite simply, young people are the future of our workforce and the American economy, and together, we must ensure that they have the opportunities and support to access quality jobs and build thriving careers today and in the years ahead.  

We invite you to continue engaging with JFF as we turn this conversation into action, mobilizing key stakeholders to advance solutions that create lasting change for young people.