These publications have built the foundation for the strategic approach that we take towards preparing K-12 students for success and connecting those students with real career pathways.
Bridging the Soft Skills Gap
Published: 2017
- Makes the case for partnership initiatives between the business and education sectors.
- Outlines strategies already being used successfully across the country for this partnership.
- Practical recommendations for businesses seeking to make an impact.
- Profiles five successful partnerships established by Nike, Ernst & Young, Wegmans, Wynn Las Vegas, and the Northern Kentucky Education Council.
Career Readiness: A Business Led Approach for Supporting K-12 Schools
Published: 2016
- Four major ways employers can more strategically engage with their communities to help ensure the next generation of workers leave the classroom ready to succeed in a career.
- A review of how states and districts have historically approached career readiness in K-12 schools.
- A definition of career readiness and an argument for it to be pursued as an integrated measure under postsecondary readiness as part of ESSA state accountability systems.
- Recommendations for the business community to lead in addressing key implementation challenges involving the career readiness components of a postsecondary readiness indicator.
Connected to Careers: Expanding Employer Leadership in Career Development
Published: 2016
- Employers are positioned as customers of career development activities, responsible for locating the right partners to deliver high-quality employer account management.
- Salient challenges employers face when engaging career development programs in K-12 schools.
- Current best practices in the field as well as the limitations of different approaches.
- Introduces a new approach that helps employers prioritize career development and encourages business associations to drive solutions.
Competing on Innovation: Disrupting the Education Enterprise to Build Tomorrow's Talent, Today
Published: 2016
- Examines how businesses can rebuild their talent pipelines to ensure that they will have the employees needed to drive and support innovation.
- Explores how employers are organizing to compete on innovation and how they can work with education partners to transform career preparation for America’s youth.
- Highlight promising and emerging practices that demonstrate both the interest in and the viability of building innovation talent.
- Discussion of how to scale innovation talent opportunities and the unique ability of the business community to lead the way.
Talent Orchestrators: Scaling Youth Employment Through Business Facing Intermediaries
Published: 2016
- Explores how employers and employer associations can leverage business-facing intermediaries as talent orchestrators to manage their human capital needs and scale youth employment efforts.
- A guide for how existing intermediaries can improve and scale in partnership with employers.
- Defines business-facing intermediaries and introduces a set of design principles for how this group can serve as talent orchestrators.
- Investigates how business-facing intermediaries are providing new opportunities for employers and business associations engaging in this space.
The Path Forward: Forging Partnerships to Improve Education
Published: 2016
- A guide for forging partnerships between employer and educator.
- Practical steps for identifying need and addressing challenges faced.
- How to lay the initial groundwork and gain buy-in to develop a successful strategy.
- A checklist for creating a partnership that includes collaboration, drive, and a mutual desire to achieve real and measureable outcomes.
Making Youth Employment Work: Essential Elements for a Successful Strategy
Published: 2015
- About Making Youth Employment Work: An initiative about solving real-world business problems that help America's economy to grow, businesses to be competitive, and all students to have the opportunity for success.
- Case Studies: National nonprofit organizations, thought leaders, and community-based programs seek opportunities to collaboratively identify and implement youth employment solutions. Our case studies are a repository of best practices and active partnerships for businesses and communities looking to build a robust youth talent pipeline.
- Infographics: The data stories behind closing the skills gap and competing on talent in the new economy.