JFF Joins Reebok to Kick Off Innovative Career Exploration Model for Creative Industry

Reebok and JFF, in partnership with online education platform Yellowbrick and fashion retailer APB, today announced the launch of an online education and mentorship program aimed at helping young people ages 17-20 develop industry-relevant knowledge, skills, and experience. Based on a successful pilot in 2020 that served 15 learners from underrepresented backgrounds, the Sneaker Essentials Course will serve up to 50 participants in Tallahassee, Charleston, and other cities.

While creative economy recovery programs have focused on supporting workers and institutions directly, in the absence of a sustained national creative economy strategy, public-private partnerships that support learners in exploring and engaging with opportunities in the creative sector show great potential for impact. This partnership and the Sneaker Essentials Course respond to those circumstances, and to this moment of economic and cultural recovery, with an innovative model—one that engages learners in industry-aligned pathways as we rebound and rebuild. The program aims to create opportunities and open up access to knowledge and resources that too often aren’t made available to young men and women in the cities Sneaker Essentials serves.

As part of the partnership, we’re giving 50 students scholarships to the Reebok x Sneakers Essential program. The program will allow participants the opportunity to learn first-hand from the Reebok team about Design, Concept to Consumer, Product Development, and Sales and Marketing—while also competing for a chance to have their own sneaker concept produced and sold at APB.