Increasingly, workforce development practitioners seek to elevate the voices of young adult workers as a means to partner with employers on improving workplace practices. Hearing directly from young adults and earlier career workers helps employers better understand and appreciate their needs, motivations, and challenges.
In this brief, we describe potential strategies for centering young adult worker voice in employer engagement efforts, drawing on the experiences of local partnerships in multiple U.S. cities that participated in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Generation Work™ initiative. Generation Work aims to reshape how public and private systems prepare young adults for the workforce. One strategy used by the local partnerships is to engage young adult workers to drive employer engagement around implementing youth-supportive practices in the workplace. Local partnerships are finding that, when executed carefully and with consideration for the benefits to both employers and young adults, these strategies not only improve workplace practices but also strengthen young adults’ skills, confidence, and professional networks, creating value for both employees and employers.
The brief begins with background on Generation Work and positive youth development, one of Generation Work’s underlying approaches. We then highlight specific approaches that local partners are using to involve young adult workers, provide examples of positive outcomes observed along the way, and conclude with key resources and considerations for effective young adult worker engagement.
Suggested citation
Bradley, M., & Sacks, V. (2025). Lessons from Generation Work on centering young adult worker voice in employer engagement. Child Trends. DOI: 10.56417/1320q6243e