I\u2019ve long maintained that young people deserve to discover what jobs they enjoy and might be truly good at \u2014 and then find a way to get paid for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a Japanese concept called ikigai: Find the intersection of your passion, your skills, what the world needs, and what you can earn. Have a sense of purpose.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That advice forms the basis of a fascinating new book titled \u201cMake School Work: Solving the American Youth Employment Crisis\u201d by Alexandra Levit.<\/p>\n
In short, the concept of ikigai is what we should encourage every kid to discover within.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We now have better tools, more knowledge, and more pathways to make that happen than ever before.<\/p>\n
As the economy continues to waver back and forth, almost all industries are restructuring their staffing needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Employers who spent decades demanding four-year degrees are quietly dropping that requirement and casting wider nets focusing more on talent and attitude.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But teachers don\u2019t know exactly what to prepare students for, since job requirements are shifting faster than the curriculum can keep up.<\/p>\n
For too long, our schools, workplaces, and post-secondary institutions were stuck. Millions of people never reached their potential because the structures around them simply would not budge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now they\u2019re moving, with real movement. And even with some uncertainty, positive change is better than standing still.<\/p>\n
What does that movement look like?\u00a0<\/p>\n
It looks like teachers asking middle-schoolers and high-schoolers about their career goals \u2014 not waiting until they\u2019re seniors to have that conversation.\u00a0
\nIt looks like young people honing real skills through career awareness apprenticeships, internships, dual enrollment, micro credentials and community learning.\u00a0
\nIt looks like pathways that let them test the career waters before the stakes are too high.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, we are acknowledging something that should\u2019ve been obvious long ago: That learning happens everywhere, not just in a classroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A safe place to try something<\/p>\n
Every student deserves a safe place to try something, fall short and try again. Remember, it\u2019s equally important that students realize what they don\u2019t want to do, as much as what they don\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not a radical idea. It\u2019s just common sense.<\/p>\n
Work-based learning is the bridge between education and employment that we have been missing. It connects classroom theory to real-world applications.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It gives young people something a test score never can \u2014 a genuine sense of what they are capable of and where they belong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The old model said: Finish school, get a degree, then figure it out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the new model says: Start figuring it out now, with support, in environments where the cost of failure is low, and the lessons are real.<\/p>\n
Motivated students learn faster and better when they view learning as being applicable to their career options. Abstract lessons become tangible and practical, and they\u2019re motivated to excel.<\/p>\n
For businesses, bringing young people into your organization forces fresh thinking. It challenges your team to collaborate differently, solve problems from new angles, and embrace a generation of talent you might otherwise overlook.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And for communities?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Done right, work-based learning creates real, tangible economic opportunities for families. It has the power and potential to break cycles of poverty and hopelessness that have persisted for generations.<\/p>\n
What jobs they enjoy<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s not wait until the final stretch of high school to start these conversations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By then, it\u2019s too late to explore freely, too late to fail safely, too late to discover what truly drives them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The young people in our communities need us to get this right \u2014 not eventually, not when it\u2019s convenient, but now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If employers, educators, and adults in their lives step up and do this work well, our kids won\u2019t have to wait until the last moment to find their path.<\/p>\n
Parents, I urge you to seek out internships for your children when they reach the age of 14.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And employers, I urge you to welcome students into your companies and offer them meaningful interaction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That way, all parties wind up winning.<\/p>\n