- Provide a citywide policy agenda rooted in the real needs of young people, on-the-ground practitioners, and in successful policies and interventions;
- Detail practice changes needed to better prepare and connect young adults to work now and to the future of work in a rapidly shifting, increasingly virtual economy; and
- Build an actionable, realistic, and time-bound framework for citywide systems change of the young adult workforce development field.
We are still in the process of organizing all of the ideas and information we collected over the course of these 16 events, attended by over 150 people from community-based organizations, government agencies, private philanthropy, higher education, workforce training programs, and employer intermediaries, as well as young adults themselves. However, some of the high-level recommendations so far include:
- Focus on equitable recovery from the COVID-19 recession that concentrates on historically marginalized communities and balances immediate needs with long-term systems change;
- Create young adult-designed solutions that center their power and provide access to opportunities;
- Create a continuum of supports across different stages of development to prepare young people to thrive; and
- Reduce the siloed nature of young adult workforce programs.
- Access to peer mentoring, as well as mentors who represent their own intersectional identities;
- Integration of life skills, including financial literacy, into school curricula; and
- Training that looks beyond their first job placement and helps them chart a career path.