Leaders from industry, labour, education and philanthropy have issued a challenge to the U.S. public and private sector to develop realistic career pathways for school-leavers.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), CareerWise and Jobs for the Future (JFF) have published a Compact for American Youth in response to the impact of affordability, anxiety and AI on young people between 16 and 26. The three organisations acknowledge this is a crucial period as the age group accumulates the education, experience and networks that shape future earnings and opportunities.
“Every young person deserves to see real pathways from the classroom to success in life, be it college, career or both and our members are the ones helping to build those pathways every day,” says AFT president Randi Weingarten.“AI is changing what the future of work looks like, and it’s changing it fast. Our job is to make sure young people aren’t left to navigate that alone—that they have educators, labor and employers walking the pathway with them.”
By dismantling the traditional silos that separate K-12, higher education, workforce programmes and industry, the compact authors propose a new social contract with America’s youth, defined by shared outcomes and powered by common infrastructure to improve early career experiences and outcomes.
“AI is reshaping what an early career even looks like, and the years that should launch a young person – the last stretch of high school, a first real paid job, the first two years after – aren’t working as a launchpad for enough of them,” explains Brent Parton, president and CEO of CareerWise. “No single employer, school, or union fixes that alone. What’s new here is a compact across the public and private sectors, everyone standing behind young people at the moment that decides the next decade of their lives.”
Targeting governors, mayors, industry and labour leaders, Maria Flynn, president and CEO of Jobs for the Future says the compact acknowledges “young people need more than technical skills. They need meaningful early experiences with the world of work, clear information about the opportunities available to them, and pathways that connect learning to economic mobility.”
