October 17, 2023
JFF’s Talent of Tomorrow Fellowship was a no-cost professional development program for HR professionals to learn how to recruit skilled workers from an often-overlooked source of talent: community college career and technical education (CTE) programs. The fellowship ran from 2020-2025 and is no longer accepting applications. This page remains live as a resource for employers and education partners.
Participants discovered how to engage with CTE programs to recruit highly skilled workers and build teams of people with local roots who will make long-term commitments to their employers.
Through the Talent of Tomorrow Fellowship, fellows and their employers gained valuable experience and insights that continue to inform how companies approach community college and CTE partnerships today.
Designed for emerging HR and talent leaders, the Talent of Tomorrow Fellowship combined virtual learning, individual coaching, and experiential site visits to help participants build and sustain partnerships with community college CTE programs.
Fellows engaged in self-paced online learning, received one-on-one coaching from community college faculty to develop a final capstone pitch for their company, and took part in site visits that brought innovative partnerships to life. Together, these experiences created a dynamic learning journey that helped fellows translate new insights into action within their organizations.
“What are different pathways that can be created to provide accessible opportunities for people that don’t necessarily have the privilege to earn a four-year degree? That’s why I joined the Talent of Tomorrow Fellowship—it aims to help employers bridge that gap.”
“Throughout the program, I learned innovative talent development strategies and had the privilege of networking with amazing leaders who are dedicated to identifying diverse pathways for talent to thrive.”
“What worked a year and a half ago is not working today, and so we are constantly looking at what we can do differently and be a little more innovative in our recruitment—that is why I joined the Talent of Tomorrow Fellowship.”
Through the Talent of Tomorrow Fellowship, JFF has engaged 60+ fellows representing 45 companies. They represent industries including health care, IT, manufacturing, financial services, retail, and the skilled trades, with an estimated combined workforce of at least 4.8 million employees globally. Here are the companies represented by our most recent cohorts:
Employers face a growing talent shortage, and the gap is widening as technology reshapes the skills companies need. By partnering with community and technical college CTE programs, businesses can access a direct, cost-effective pipeline of skilled, work-ready talent.
CTE programs graduate more than 1.3 million people each year with in-demand, industry-aligned skills. These partnerships let employers co-design training, influence curriculum, and develop a workforce that’s local, qualified, and prepared for the future.
See the impact in action: Hear directly from Fellowship alumni about how these partnerships are transforming their talent strategies.
JFF’s Power Your Workforce playbook is a practical guide for employers who want to tap into the power of community and technical college CTE programs. It explains how these programs work and provides a clear, step-by-step path for engaging with them as strategic partners.
For companies ready to go further, JFF offers hands-on support. Our team works directly with employers to strengthen talent pipelines, identify and build impactful partnerships, and design future-ready workforce strategies. Learn more.
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