The Emerging Workforce Initiative works with partners to understand and underscore the systematic and individual barriers impeding older youth and young adults who need a bridge to the workforce due to academic difficulties, homelessness, foster care or juvenile court system involvement, early parenting responsibilities, disabilities, or disconnection from opportunities.

Click on the titles of the publications below for a sample of the research and strategic plans the Emerging Workforce has completed. To suggest a research topic or receive announcements of new publications, send an email to the Initiative.

           Preparing Young People for College and Career: A Four Part Approach 
           Four Steps Framework of Workforce Preparation 
           Net Work: A Blueprint for Creating a Workforce Preparation System

Preparing individuals for the workforce is a complex and extensive process. Understanding how a community prepares a generation for future work can be complex. How can we predict the types of occupations that will be in demand in coming decades? Which "soft skills" will be needed in nearly all workplaces and how do schools teach these skills? What keeps young people from succeeding in high school and college - the youth or systems in the community? What types of programs and services most effectively help struggling students to succeed? The following reports and issue briefs by the Initiative and other sources offer an objective and consistent analysis of data that sheds light on these, and other, important questions. 

            Why its So Important, and So Difficult, to Prepare the Emerging Workforce (National, 2010)
            Employment Experiences of Youth and Young Adults (Louisville, 2011) 
            Career and Education Goals of Youth and Young Adults (Louisville, 2011)

There are many ways to understand how well the community’s young people are preparing for future jobs – examining educational attainment levels, surveying employers on the qualities of their entry-level workforce or compiling information on the number of participants in community programs. However, young people themselves are seldom asked to comment on their progress and problems as they prepare for work and life. To address this need, the Initiative conducts online surveys and focus groups to understand the future goals and perceived barriers of young people, as only they can describe. 
            
            Emerging Workforce Survey (Louisville, 2008)
            Dropout Summit Survey of Youth (Louisville, 2008) 
            

            More information on the tools developed by the Initiative...

The Emerging Workforce Initiative, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Your financial contribution will prepare disconnected youth and young adults for a career pathway and may be tax deductible.