The crises brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the country’s reckoning with racial injustice have exposed and exacerbated longstanding inequities in U.S. society. But as we confront and respond to these challenges, we have an unprecedented opportunity to rebuild the U.S. economy in ways that will make it stronger and more equitable.

Companies across the country have seized this opportunity and are making commitments to adopt more equitable hiring, talent development, and employee advancement practices. They aim to build resilient, inclusive, and diverse workforces filled with people who have skills that are in demand in fields that offer well-paid jobs and opportunities for career advancement .

Employers who share those goals should consider participating in Talent of Tomorrow: the JFF-ECMC Foundation Fellowship, an innovative new nationwide initiative whose goal is to help companies build high-quality talent pipelines through partnerships with postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) programs in their areas. Working with human resources leaders and workforce strategy experts, the Talent of Tomorrow Fellowship will help businesses see that CTE programs enrich regional labor markets by developing diverse pools of skilled talent. And employers that participate in the program will learn how to work with CTE providers and develop strategies for recruiting and hiring their graduates.

Strategic Partnerships: Employers and CTE Programs Working Together

The Talent of Tomorrow Fellowship is an exciting professional development opportunity for emerging leaders in human resources and talent acquisition across the country. Participants will develop the capacity to work with CTE programs to build and sustain robust talent pipelines that enable their businesses to thrive while providing skilled local workers with greater access to good jobs that offer opportunities for career advancement. Companies with employees who participate will be able to create strategic recruiting partnerships with postsecondary CTE programs and directly connect with an often-untapped local source of highly qualified talent.

Guided by respected CTE experts and business leaders, Talent of Tomorrow fellows will go through an immersive virtual experience that provides them with opportunities to build their knowledge and capacity to act as change agents within their companies, align their companies’ policies and practices more strongly to equity-based principles, elevate postsecondary CTE’s profile as a talent development source, and become part of a growing network of peers and leaders.

A Win-Win Proposition

The individual fellows aren’t the only ones who will benefit from the program—their employers and students in the participating CTE programs also have much to gain.

As part of their coursework, the fellows will create action plans for furthering their companies’ talent development programs. Through this exercise, participating employees and their employers will both gain insights that enable them to craft tangible strategies for building diverse talent pipelines filled with highly skilled workers. Moreover, the employers will have an opportunity to join a network of like-minded corporate leaders who are willing to share their expertise and resources. And finally, companies will be able to unlock new pools of talent by tapping employees who participated in the fellowship to help them forge partnerships with CTE programs in their areas.

CTE students will benefit as well, because they will gain access to new career opportunities as the fellows work with the leaders of participating CTE programs to devise strategies to bolster their companies’ workforces by recruiting CTE graduates.

Talent of Tomorrow: the JFF-ECMC Foundation Fellowship is a win-win proposition. The partnerships that employers and postsecondary CTE programs forge will introduce businesses to a source of talent they may have previously overlooked, while students in the CTE programs will gain access to meaningful opportunities to put their skills to use in jobs that open doors to long-term careers.

Questions About the Fellowship?

Join JFF and ECMC in our mission to unlock a vast untapped pipeline of talent through new partnerships between businesses and postsecondary CTE programs. If you or your company want to learn more about this opportunity, fill out the form below or reach out to JFF’s Amy Girardi at agirardi@jff.org. You can also learn more here.