Frequently Asked Questions About the ASA Center for Career Navigation at JFF
Q: Why did American Student Assistance® (ASA) and Jobs for the Future (JFF) partner to create the ASA Center for Career Navigation at JFF?
A: ASA and JFF established the ASA Center for Career Navigation at JFF to empower young people ages 16-24 to better understand and navigate quality education and career pathways after high school by providing access to resources and opportunities that will lead them to meaningful, quality jobs.
ASA provided JFF with a $25 million multiyear investment which will consist of $15 million to create the new ASA Center for Career Navigation at JFF and $10 million to support JFF’s North Star goal to help 75 million people facing systemic barriers to advancement work in quality jobs by 2033.
This collaboration builds upon ASA and JFF’s work over the past two and a half years to research and understand the needs of students, educators, employers, and policymakers to explore postsecondary education and training paths to quality jobs. This included developing a knowledge hub for young learners and employers at Expand Opportunities.
The new center aims to lead the field in career navigation for high school students and young people who are neither in school nor employed, with a goal of helping 20 million young learners by 2030.
Q: Why is there an urgent need to help young people navigate postsecondary pathways?
A: Today’s rapidly evolving and complex economy demands innovative models to help young people explore and navigate education and training options. Young people face significant challenges today, including tuition costs that have tripled over the past decades, stretched school counseling and advising caseloads, and no guarantee their education and career choices will provide a valuable return on investment.
At the same time, the need for multiple pathways, including both degree and nondegree options, is more important than ever. At least 18 states have dropped degree requirements and the number of jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree has declined to at least 44%. However, there are over 1 million credentials available through paths that include certificate or license training programs, apprenticeships, and college degrees.
With the vast array of choices available, it is particularly challenging for young people and their parents or caregivers who want to explore nondegree options and understand and navigate to quality programs. High school students face an “information gap” because high schools often focus on college pathways alone. Also, there are no free, self-directed digital resources available to students to help them find, evaluate, pay for, and access nondegree programs like boot camps, micro-credential programs, apprenticeships, and professional licenses that are high-quality and will lead to meaningful, rewarding jobs.
Research commissioned by ASA and JFF points to the need for career navigation support for young people:
- Three out of four young people (74%) said that having greater access to information on different career and education options would have an impact on the range of career options they see available to them.
- Less than half of respondents who identified as members of Generation Z said they had enough information to decide what post-high school pathway was best for them.
Q: What will the center do?
A: The new center has two primary objectives: to mobilize and lead the field in career navigation work, and to launch a free digital experience to engage high school students and others, including young people neither in school nor working, and provide equitable access to information about education and career navigation that leads to quality jobs.
The accomplish this, the center will focus on five key areas:
- Research to understand market trends, audience needs, and features that will make the center’s work valuable to young people, employers, and education and training providers.
- Federal and state policy and advocacy that leads to new policies and funding in support of high-quality, nondegree pathways.
- Network engagement and activation for convenings and other thought leadership opportunities that advance the center’s work.
- Marketing and strategic communications to mobilize support for high-quality education and career navigation for young people that includes nondegree options.
- Development of a comprehensive free digital experience designed to guide young people in accessing information on all viable education and career paths, beyond just those that require a college degree.
Q: When will the free digital experience be available?
A: We anticipate a pilot platform will be available in late 2025 or early 2026. We are seeking partners interested in piloting with us in early 2025 as we design a self-directed, digital solution for young people. For those interested in becoming a partner, please sign up here to get more information.
Q: What do ASA and JFF bring to the center?
A: ASA brings deep knowledge of young learners’ preferences, behaviors, and needs, and already works to improve career readiness learning experiences for more than 15 million young people annually. The center’s activities will complement and amplify ASA’s existing free career readiness digital experiences. JFF will leverage its vast networks as part of the partnership to engage directly with employers, policymakers, and education and training providers, as well as young people and their parents.
Q: How can employers benefit from the center’s work?
A: Employers will benefit from the center by learning which education and training pathways best prepare potential candidates whose skills match their needs—recognizing markers of success beyond a college degree. This will ideally help employers fill their talent pipelines with qualified candidates, including with qualified early career candidates.
Q: What needs of education and training providers will be met by the center?
A: The center will help high-quality education and training providers communicate their offerings to high school students and out-of-school learners by providing them with critical resources to find, evaluate, and pay for their multiple education and career pathways, including nondegree options such as certificate programs, professional licenses, and apprenticeships, and nontraditional degree programs (e.g., stackable degree programs). It is our hope that this solution will help to address low enrollment or low completion rates by providing young people with the right information to make informed, confident decisions and matching them with paths that meet their needs.
Q: How can individuals and organizations engage with the center?
A: Please fill out this form to express your interest in the center: https://www.jff.org/career-nav-interest
Q: How does the center plan to engage directly with the public?
A: The center will engage directly with students, employers, education providers, funders, and others through a series of convenings, focus groups, and symposia in the first year. These activities will help the center gain insights to shape its technology solutions and educate the field about its work.
Q: Are you only focused on Gen Z?
A: For now, yes, we are focused specifically on supporting young adults ages 16-24.
Q: How does JFF define a quality job?
A: A quality job provides a living wage and strong benefits, like health insurance, paid family leave, and requirement plans. But that’s not all. Quality jobs must also provide stability, flexibility, a supportive environment with training and mentoring, a chance to contribute expertise and ideas, and opportunities to advance.