The United States has invested hundreds of billions of dollars in recent years to solidify its place as a global leader in technological innovation. Yet without a paradigm shift in how we prepare our young people for the jobs of the future, this investment is at risk. An unprepared workforce threatens our nation’s competitiveness and national security readiness.
To address this challenge, the Aspen Strategy Group and the Walton Family Foundation recently convened two roundtable discussions focused on creating pathways, from K-12 into the workforce, for the jobs of the future. This report summarizes the ideas from those meetings and recommends strategies to ensure our technological lead and national security for the future.
Leverage the National Security Community to create a sense of urgency around improving our education ecosystem.
Provide Federal Incentives and Spotlight State Approaches. Build coalitions around key industries, support states in their efforts to develop K-12 pathways, and highlight impactful place-based approaches that can be scaled.
Bolster Education R&D to Advance Career-Connected Learning by creating and funding ARPA-ED, improving our data systems, and promoting evidence-based practices in career-connected learning.
Encourage Students to Pursue Careers in Key Industries by exposing them to more technology-related topics early and communicating the opportunities available to them in key industries.