America’s youngest workers are facing their most dire employment prospects in recent history. It is estimated that 6.7 million young adults are out of school and out of work. Many organizations – youth development organizations, public workforce organizations, community-based organizations, education organizations, and others – are working hard to provide young adults with the skills and connections needed to succeed in today’s labor market.
But little is known about what types of assistance help young adults access employment, what employment characteristics influence whether a job is a good fit for a young adult, and what opportunities service providers find and leverage in their work, both with employers and with young adult job seekers, to improve the odds that a young adult will succeed in work.
Connecting Young Adults to Employment sheds light on some of these questions. The report captures the insights of a variety of service providers helping to connect young adults to jobs in today’s labor market. Published by AspenWSI in January 2016, the report documents the results of a survey in which hundreds of service providers nationwide described their experiences serving young adults. The report also offers key considerations for practitioners and policymakers seeking to assist the large and growing population of disadvantaged young adults seeking to make meaningful connections to work in today’s labor market.
AspenWSI fielded the survey in April 2015 to learn directly from providers that offer services to young adults (ages 18-29) to connect them to employment. Close to 400 providers, representing 340 organizations across the United States, responded to the survey. These providers offered valuable insights on:
- What is considered a good employment outcome for their young adult clients;
- Strategies for connecting young adults to good employment opportunities; and
- Challenges in connecting young adult to good employment opportunities.
We invite all those interested in improving economic opportunities for young adults to download Connecting Young Adults to Employment.
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