Next Generation Workers and Career Navigation: How Employers Can Help Young People Navigate Their Careers
Employers play a powerful role in building, attracting, and developing next-generation talent. Now more than ever, the labor market is rapidly changing, and young people need information, skills, and support as they navigate education and career decisions, choosing their own personal pathway forward. Businesses face many pressures in the modern economy, but investing in helping […]
Employer Perspectives on Resilient Skills: Survey Findings and Implications for Early Career Experiences
Overview How can we best equip young people with the skills they need to succeed in today’s workplace? And which skills do employers prioritize during the hiring process? For answers, Urban Alliance Chicago and the Britebound Center for Career Navigation at Jobs for the Future (JFF) applied a framework centered on resilient skills, the competencies that […]
How Four States Are Using Policy to Improve Career Navigation
Youth and young adults are struggling to understand how and where to acquire the skills and credentials they need to succeed in the job market. In a 2025 poll of Gen Z students from Gallup, Walton Family Foundation, and Jobs for the Future (JFF), only about one in three respondents said they knew “a lot” […]
Career Navigation in Practice: Voices From the Field
Supporting young people through career decisions requires trust, context, and practical guidance grounded in real experience. We sat down with a group of passionate career navigation practitioners across the country to hear firsthand how they’re helping young people build clarity and confidence in their career journeys. Explore their practical, experience-tested insights below: What does effective […]
Career Navigation at Home: Parent and Caregiver Perspectives
Every family approaches career and education decisions with hopes, expectations, and concerns shaped by their own experiences. We spoke with parents and caregivers about what it means to support a child through uncertainty, changing plans, and unfamiliar options. Watch the videos below to hear how these families navigated tough conversations and discovered new ways to […]
Youth Advisory Council Spotlight: Reflections from the NYEC’s Youth Days in DC
Jordan White and Chioma Okoro, two remarkable young leaders from the ASA Center for Career Navigation at JFF’s Youth Advisory Council, recently took to the national stage to discuss the importance of federal investments in career navigation. At the National Youth Employment Coalition’s Youth Days in DC, they participated in policy sessions, trainings, and workshops […]
Gen Z Gets Career Guidance on Social Media
Overview These candid observations cut to the core of the anxieties members of Gen Z face as they navigate their paths in a dynamic and often chaotic world. For four young researchers from the ASA Center for Career Navigation at JFF, these comments became more than just casual observations; they served as guiding themes in […]
Gen Z and Career Journeys: Navigation in a Time of Economic Uncertainty and Personal Development
Overview During adolescence, the developmental period between childhood and adulthood, we refine our sense of who we are, who we want to become, and how we want to contribute to the world. The rapid brain development and learning that occur during these years make this an important window for building the skills we need to […]
How to Use Tech to Engage Young People in Career Navigation
Millions of young people are searching for their path forward in an increasingly complex education and career landscape. This new brief from the ASA Center of Career Navigation at JFF and the National League of Cities Re-Engagement Network spotlights how reengagement centers are combining technology and human connection to help them find direction—and what these […]
2025-2026 Career Navigation Practitioner Advisory Council
Deciding what to do after high school is one of the biggest choices young people face. From exploring college and training options to understanding career pathways, students need clear, reliable guidance to make informed decisions about their futures. To help meet that need, the ASA Center for Career Navigation at JFF is proud to announce […]