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No Dead Ends JFF’s National Policy Campaign for Eliminating Dead Ends at School, at Work, and in Life Sign the pledge
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Why No Dead Ends
Why No Dead Ends
Our country’s education and workforce systems have not kept pace with the changing needs of learners and workers or the evolving conditions of the labor market.
The Problem
It’s time to put an end to dead ends at school, at work, and in life.
Our Vision
Our Policy Priorities
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The Problem This country’s approach to learning and work was built for a bygone era. It still assumes that most people make a linear journey through life: graduate from high school and, perhaps, college, get a job, raise a family, and retire. Nowadays, many people change career paths multiple times throughout their lives. Their professional interests may shift. Job sites shutter. New career opportunities emerge. New technologies upend old ways of working, making some skills and job tasks obsolete. Family responsibilities require a rebalancing of priorities and result in career detours. Yet, as they try to navigate these changing circumstances, people are encountering education and workforce systems that are too rigid, fragmented, and cumbersome to help them move on to new stages of their lives, learn new skills, and discover new careers. Antiquated systems and policies lay all the burdens, risks, and opportunity costs on workers and learners themselves—and often leave them facing dead ends instead of pursuing new opportunities for economic advancement. We can put an end to these dead ends at school, at work, and in life.
According to JFF's June 2024 survey, 81% of registered voters—including 89% of Democrats, 78% of Republicans, and 75% of Independents—affirm the core tenet of No Dead Ends: Everyone should get the support they need to explore their learning and work options and make decisions that best match their goals and needs.
People deserve an education and workforce system that provides boundless opportunities to advance economically.
About No Dead Ends
Our Vision Imagine learning and work environments that place: No limits on the aspirations of learners and workers. No artificial endpoints on career pathways. No impossible choices between pursuing opportunities to advance one’s career and taking care of family responsibilities. No harmful risks when making decisions to change directions in one’s work and learning journey. This vision requires that we re-engineer the nation’s education and workforce systems to promote economic advancement, with the goal of making all high-quality options for learning and work accessible, discoverable, and achievable in the following ways: Accessible: All options for learning and work are available through permeable entry points, regardless of where people are along their learning and work journeys. Discoverable: Everyone can explore their learning and work options and make decisions that best match their goals and needs. Achievable: All options for learning and work are attainable, no matter the circumstances and challenges people encounter. This future is within our reach if we, as a nation, pursue bold policy and systems change.
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Our Policy Priorities
01.
02.
03.
04.
Empower people
Recognize everyone’s
Blur the lines
Help people get
through data,
skills, knowledge, and
between learning and
ahead during times of
guidance, and
expertise, regardless
work to foster
economic
resources to navigate
of when and where
common purpose
uncertainty and
their work and
their learning and
among educators and
personal adversity.
learning journeys.
development
employers.
Learn more
experiences occur.
Learn more
Learn more
Learn more Read our policy agenda
The Latest S A IP T C G O N A E L T T IN H O D C E M A Y N A M E S N L E W T E M S i R O J W H x T
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