- Resource
JFF's Pathway to Prosperity Network aligns greatly with the priorities of LYFT.
According to Equitable Futures “Young people matter. When it comes to designing tools and services to support their career exploration, their voices, their sense of agency, and how they view themselves need to be equally valued alongside what we know about.” The ‘Designing Pathways for Young People’ toolkit and research shined light on how this could be done.
Reimagining U.S. Education and Workforce Systems
JFF’s Pathway to Prosperity Network is boldly reimagining how U.S. education and workforce systems meet state and regional talent needs and prepare young people for careers. The Pathways to Prosperity Framework is designed for communities to develop college and career pathways that help young people advance from high school, to postsecondary education, and into family-supporting careers.
LYFT Career Pathways finds the framework being used by JFF’s Pathway to Prosperity Network aligns greatly with the priorities of LYFT and is worth sharing across the region. Most notably our efforts to integrate a Career Navigation system for our students and schools, enrich and expand upon Work-Based Learning, and to build capacity by engaging and partnering with local intermediaries.
Blurring the Lines Between High School, College and A Career
“[T]he greatest barrier [to postsecondary success] is the ‘seemingly intractable disconnect’ between high school, higher education, and the workforce.” - Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Information was provided about Unlocking Career Success which is a joint effort across the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor, and Commerce as they work to blur the lines between high school, college and career. This initiative will support leaders from public and private sectors, government, and community-based organizations as they work to expand pathways to student success. The site also provides reflection questions and action steps on what role the individual stakeholders play and how they can better work across sectors. Learn more about how to erase these boundaries according to JFF.
Just recently, a report by the Center of Rural Policy and Development shows that the work LYFT Career Pathways and their partners are conducting in southwest Minnesota is having an impact on workforce development efforts.
Jobs For the Future (JFF) Pathways to Prosperity Conference
The urgency to advocate for Student Voice is apparent and Michaela Leslie-Rule provides the ‘Designing Pathways with Young People’ toolkit, which helps center the experiences of young people in designing or influencing career pathways. LYFT Career Pathways was invited by partners Southwest Initiative Foundation (SWIF) and Greater Twin Cities United Way (GTCUW) to attend Jobs For the Future (JFF) Pathways to Prosperity Conference where the topic of designing pathways was the common theme for the event.