Every year, 3.7 million students graduate from American high schools, and most head directly into the workforce, the military or a postsecondary learning experience. In June, 2021, 8.7 million Americans were unemployed while 10.1 million job openings were reported. While some of this mismatch may be due to geographic isolation or unemployment benefits, much of it has to do with an accelerating skills and experience gap due to a rapidly adapting workplace. Jobs exist; requisite skills and experience do not.

Too many young people are entering the workforce without the skills, knowledge and experiences required by employers and too few schools offer real-world work-based learning (WBL) experiences to their students. This deficit leads to significant numbers of families unable to earn a sustaining income. These numbers are even further amplified in families led by women, Black, Latino, Hispanic, and individuals without high school degrees.

A new white paper written by Getting Smart and powered by GPS Education Partners was published with a goal to advance the case for equitable WBL models for all through an ecosystem approach that is scalable and sustainable. It also shares that by partnering with intermediaries to build and integrate resilient and scalable work-based learning models, communities can imagine a future of WBL that works for all.

Read the full article about work-based learning ecosystem at Getting Smart.