Jobs for the Future (JFF)

The 2025 Horizons Session Submission Portal is opening in one week on October 8. This streamlined platform is your opportunity to join the ranks of over 300 top leaders who will share their insights, experiences, and visions at this year’s event. If you’re interested in submitting a session proposal for a breakout session at the 2025 Horizons Summit in New Orleans, don’t miss your shot! You have until November 8 at 11:59 p.m. ET to submit your ideas.

🔎 What was missing from last night’s #VPDebate with Senator JD Vance and Governor Tim Walz? A plan to help workers thrive in a shifting job market, prepare learners for career success, and ensure there are #NoDeadEnds on the road to a better life. Last night’s vice presidential debate was a refreshing return to policy in an election season that’s been largely devoid of details on how either party plans to address the issues voters care about. Vance, the Republican VP candidate from #Ohio, and Walz, the Democratic VP candidate from #Minnesota, appealed directly to low- and middle-income families on how their party platforms would make the American dream more attainable. What was sorely missing was any discussion of the vital role that education and skills training play in expanding economic opportunities. Walz emphasized the Biden-Harris Administration's economic policies, including clean energy investments that are creating good jobs and improving housing availability. But what he didn’t outline was a plan to ensure that workers have the skills they need to access those jobs. The new investments in the infrastructure, clean energy, and semiconductor sectors may help create 14 million jobs, but will there be enough trained workers to fill them? Vance focused on reviving American manufacturing and energy independence, touting tax cuts and deregulation as drivers of economic growth. But he, too, missed the mark by failing to address how these jobs will be filled without investing in upskilling and #workforcedevelopment. Walz could have elaborated on Harris’ skills-first priorities in her #OpportunityEconomy plan, while Vance could have explained how a second Trump term would prioritize skills, given the former president’s first-term efforts on #skillsfirsthiring and #apprenticeships. In our June 2024 voter survey, less than half of voters told us they are satisfied with the attention that candidates are giving to education and employment issues this election year. And in our newest voter survey from September, 85% of registered voters say improving economic opportunities for workers and their families is a high priority, while one-third of independents said they don't trust either party to act on these issues. At JFF, we know that job creation is just one piece of the puzzle. What voters demand—and what the next president must deliver—is a plan to transform our nation’s #education and #workforce systems. The future of work depends on all workers getting the skills, guidance, and support they need to succeed. That’s why JFF’s national policy campaign, No Dead Ends, lays out a road map for fixing the broken systems that leave millions of Americans without a path forward and urges candidates to center education and workforce policies in their #Election2024 campaigns. 🔗 Learn more about No Dead Ends, our policy recommendations, and how you can help by joining the movement, regardless of who’s in the White House: https://hubs.la/Q02RW_cv0

Technology, health care, and manufacturing are all sectors with good jobs, but in our analysis of how these sectors hold up to JFF’s Quality Jobs Framework, we found two key challenges across these sectors: educational requirements and occupational segregation. Check out our blog to learn more about how these challenges present in each sector and what can be done to address them >> https://hubs.la/Q02QCZtw0 #TransformWorkandLearning #ReimagineEducation #QualityJobs

"I think getting these kind of incremental changes and reforms that are being considered across the line and signed into law, I think would be terrific," JFF CEO Maria Flynn told moderator Paul Fain and a bipartisan group of policy experts at JFF's #virtual panel yesterday. "But I would also hope that the next administration—whoever's in the White House—can launch a more robust, holistic view and review of what is a lifelong learning or talent development system for the United States and what should that look like, so it isn't beholden or built off of systems that were designed for a bygone era." Almost 400 people tuned in to watch JFF's live panel, "The Outlook for Workforce and Education Policy," on the future of education and workforce policy in the U.S., where Maria joined policy experts Michael Brickman, Denise Forte, Seth Harris, and John Pallasch to discuss voter perspectives on policies from both political parties this election year and on JFF's bold federal #NoDeadEnds policy priorities. 📺 If you missed the stream, watch the full recording on YouTube: https://hubs.la/Q02RMzgC0 Fellow panelists from past Democratic and Republican administrations agreed with Maria’s call to action and shared common ground in encouraging the next president to take action on: 1️⃣ Promoting a skills-first approach to employment and education 2️⃣ Expanding Pell grants to include quality, short-term credentials 3️⃣ Focusing on data, performance, and accountability to better assess and fund what works and incentivize systems to better serve the needs of people 4️⃣ Enhancing career guidance so people are better equipped to navigate their learning and work options 5️⃣ Pushing for innovation and swifter governmental action to address critical workforce and skill needs But what does this mean for the learners and workers navigating our country's outdated #education and #workforce systems, whose paths to economic advancement are filled with dead ends? And what can you do to help? 🔗 Learn more about JFF’s No Dead Ends policy campaign, read our federal and state policy recommendations, and sign the No Dead Ends pledge to join us in advocating for change: https://hubs.la/Q02RLTy80 #Election2024 #skillsfirsthiring #HigherEd #federalpolicy #jobs #wkdev

Our latest edition of JFF's Center for Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Work LinkedIn Newsletter explores the guiding question: what AI stories aren’t we hearing? Oprah Winfrey's Sept 12 primetime special, "AI and the Future of Us," featured insights from AI leaders like Bill Gates and OpenAI's Sam Altman, alongside real people sharing candid thoughts on AI and raising an important question: "How are we going to make this work for us?" These voices, often overlooked, highlight the challenges and benefits of AI for populations facing systemic barriers—perspectives that aren't always captured in surveys focused on those already familiar with AI. We also share recent AI news stories and upcoming opportunities to engage with our team. Read on to learn more! #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfWork

Ready to transform the landscape for learners and workers? Whether you're a rising star, seasoned pro, or visionary leader, the Horizons Summit breakout sessions are your platform to drive action. Only one more week until the 2025 Horizons Session Submission Portal opens, make sure your session is ready to submit! #JFFHorizons Questions? Reach out to the horizonsprogram@jff.org email address. Photo Credit: Drew Bird | https://lnkd.in/eNb4biCk

The ASA Center for Career Navigation at JFF has launched its monthly newsletter! Register now to receive the latest thought leadership, research, and career navigation news: https://lnkd.in/epaG-m3c American Student Assistance

💻 Innovative Dual Enrollment + SEL: Promising Progress in Year One! 🎓 Our Increasing College Access Network (ICAN) model, launched with 3 Minnesota community colleges, integrates social-emotional learning (SEL) into online dual enrollment courses, and the results are promising! 💡 200+ students from 55 high schools completed courses in 2023-24. 💡 Instructors have found success in integrating SEL strategies into their course design, providing students with an opportunity to boost critical skills like problem-solving and collaboration. 💡 Community colleges are key drivers of innovation to recruit high schools and support instructors and students to ensure success. As we head into year two, we're excited to continue expanding this model. 👉 Follow the link to read 3 insights on ICAN in our new blog >>> https://hubs.la/Q02R4Kxw0 #TransformWorkandLearning #ReimagineEducation #DualEnrollment

Watch the timely short documentary, "Green Skilling Rural America: The Story of The Industrial Commons," released by the Ares Charitable Foundation during #ClimateWeekNYC . As Hurricane Helene reminds us of the growing urgency of climate action, this film highlights how the Climate-Resilient Employees for a Sustainable Tomorrow (CREST) initiative is creating pathways to economic mobility in Morganton, NC—a town once hit hard by the decline of U.S. textile manufacturing. The Industrial Commons, featured in the documentary, is a member of JFF's Quality Green Jobs Regional Challenge, an effort investing regions tackling climate-related workforce challenges across the U.S. Watch the full documentary here: https://lnkd.in/eBb3u_2Q #GreenJobs

We at JFF are honored that nearly 400 of you joined us and our bipartisan panel of policy experts and political insiders today to talk about the future of federal workforce and education #policy. Today's #virtual event revealed key insights from our newest survey of registered voters on bipartisan bills currently in Congress, on core policy ideas from JFF's national policy and advocacy campaign, No Dead Ends, and on education- and workforce-related policy proposals from both the Democratic Party and Republican Party platforms to build a skilled #workforce and expand economic opportunities for learners and workers. As the #Election2024 campaign season continues to pick up steam and with only about a month left before #ElectionDay, we asked 1,800 registered voters for their take on 22 education and workforce policy ideas, ultimately finding that, across the board, at least 60% of respondents indicated their support for these policy priorities, including our own bold federal #NoDeadEnds policy recommendations. Want to know which policy priorities had the most support from the voters we surveyed? Read our summary of the results, plus download our free two-pager summarizing the results of JFF's previous voter survey from June, on our new No Dead Ends campaign hub: https://hubs.la/Q02RzXy90