Must-read report on the state of career navigation support from our partners at Schultz Family Foundation. A key finding: 70%+ of young people are using social media to learn about educational opportunities and explore careers. But, as Marie Groark says, 'these platforms were designed to drive engagement, not direction.' Link to report below.
I’ve long believed that being an optimist means looking for possibility, even in complexity. It’s what’s fueled my work across sectors—believing that with the right partners and persistence, change is possible. But our new data from Schultz Family Foundation and HarrisX - a Stagwell Inc. company is a clear signal: belief alone won’t fix a broken system. We need urgency. The #BrokenMarketplace isn’t just a concept—it’s lived reality for millions of young people. In fact, The Burning Glass Institute estimates that more than 15 million members of Gen Zer ages 18-24 (or more than half) are unemployed, underemployed, or churning in entry level jobs. One of the most striking findings: 70% of young people now turn to social media as their most trusted guide for making decisions about education and careers. In the absence of clear, credible support from schools, employers, or families, they turn to the algorithm. TikTok and YouTube aren’t just information hubs—they’re shaping identity, ambition, and aspiration. But these platforms were designed to drive engagement, not direction. They weren’t built to guide young people toward opportunity. Many of us have spent our careers working across sectors to close the gap between learning and opportunity—partnering with educators, employers, policymakers, technologists, and philanthropists to create pathways for young people to discover and apply their talents. There have been bright spots: initiatives like the Youth Mental Health Corps, BASTA, SkillUp Online, and American Student Assistance's work with Jobs for the Future (JFF) that aim to give young people access to opportunity and information to find their path, companies like IBM, Starbucks, and Walmart that connect education to employment, schools like Cristo Rey Jesuit Seattle that give young people a change to explore careers while still in high school and the work of states like Ohio, Colorado and Indiana that align systems to support smoother transitions. But these examples remain the exception, not the rule. Too often, those of us fighting this battle have not had access to the data, the reach, or the tools to help young people navigate what’s next. The optimist in me believes AI can help solve some of these challenges. But it also raises the stakes. As the labor market undergoes seismic change, we face new questions: Which jobs will emerge? Which skills will matter most? And how will young people know where to begin? #BrokenMarketplace is a reminder to all of us that we can’t settle for isolated innovations. We need a system where high-quality, work-connected learning is the expectation—for every young person, in every community. Explore the research: www.brokenmarketplace.org