Giving Compass' Take:

• Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors researched how to support young low-income college students to expand their opportunities for career development after graduating. 

• One key finding from their research was post-graduation employment or "last mile" training. This is when organizations or other entities are providing soft or technical skills that students are not learning in college. How will last mile training change the workforce? 

• Read about  STEMpath and how it is addressing the computer science educator shortage by providing technical training to those interested, operating like a last mile training program. 

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors recently had the opportunity to research the landscape of organizations and programs supporting young people to secure career-track jobs, particularly those serving low-income, first-generation-to-college young people who have graduated from or are engaged in post-secondary education.

To conduct this landscape scan, RPA spoke with leading funders in the workforce and youth development fields, spoke to leading nonprofit provider, and conducted a literature review of articles and publications related to this issue. Below is a summary of a few key findings.

The nature of first jobs for college graduates has changed over the past decade. Wages for entry-level jobs are below their 2001 levels, contrary to the growth of the rest of the economy. Skills and competencies required for entry-level positions have shifted from academic requirements to more concrete skills (e.g., marketing automation, coding, Tableau, Google Analytics, etc.)

Post-graduation employment training (or “last mile” training) is a growing field. “Last mile” training providers focus on the technical and soft skills employers need, but which colleges and universities do not teach. The leading model of last mile training is the “boot camp.” Boot camps are most prevalent in the tech sector but are emerging in almost every sector, including sales, medical devices, insurance, and others.

Low-income young people face barriers to employment and to participation in traditional last mile training programs. Employers want diverse talent, but traditional recruiting and hiring practices are not designed to access and support diverse young people because companies may already have agreements with specific universities, instead of public ones that low-income students usually are enrolled at.

Last mile training specifically for low-income and/or first-generation-to-college young people is an emerging focus for funders and the nonprofit sector.

Read the full article about last mile training by Liza Primeau at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors