Policy & Advocacy
No Dead Ends
JFF’s National Policy Campaign for Eliminating Dead Ends at School, at Work, and in Life
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.
It’s time to put an end to dead ends at school, at work, and in life.
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.
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.
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.
01.
Empower people through data, guidance, and resources to navigate their work and learning journeys.
02.
Recognize everyone’s skills, knowledge, and expertise, regardless of when and where their learning and development experiences occur.
03.
Blur the lines between learning and work to foster common purpose among educators and employers.
Six Critical Actions for a New Congress in a New Year
JFF urges the 119th Congress to prioritize six key policy actions in 2025 to ensure that U.S. workers and learners face ‘no dead ends’ on the road to economic advancement.
Two Policies Both Parties Can Agree On: The Veterans’ Entry to Apprenticeship Act and the LEAP Act
In honor of National Apprenticeship Week and following a heated presidential election this November, JFF examines two bipartisan bills on which voters and policymakers across political divides can agree to open doors for learners and workers to high-quality apprenticeship experiences: the Veterans’ Entry to Apprenticeship Act and the LEAP Act.
JFF’s Federal Policy Blueprint for the Trump Administration
In a new memo to President-Elect Donald Trump, Vice President-Elect JD Vance, and their transition team, JFF breaks down our federal education and workforce policy recommendations for the incoming Trump Administration and presents a unifying, practical, bipartisan plan to eliminate the dead ends that millions of people in this country face every day at school, at work, and in their lives.
Two Policies Both Parties Can Agree On: The Youth Apprenticeship Advancement Act and the Youth Workforce Readiness Act
For the more than 4.6 million youth ages 16-24 who are neither enrolled in school nor working a job, the path to a career and a living wage is full of dead ends. This October, JFF breaks down two more policies that both parties can agree on to help prepare young people for the workforce: the Youth Apprenticeship Advancement Act and the Youth Workforce Readiness Act.
Why Workforce Development Must be a Federal Priority
JFF Workforce Policy Director Taylor Maag explains in an op-ed for RealClear Education why workforce development is a powerful tool for equipping current and future workers with the skills they need to thrive in today’s economy. Maag urges federal policymakers to invest in workforce development and cites JFF's new survey of registered voters, which finds that 81% support creating more affordable and flexible alternatives to the traditional four-year college degree, including job training and models like apprenticeships.
Here's What Voters Want the Next President to Do for Higher Ed
Katherine Mangan from The Chronicle of Higher Education covers the results of JFF's September survey of 1,800 registered voters and JFF's bipartisan virtual panel of political experts on the future of education and workforce policy on Sept. 30. The survey found that 84% of respondents said it was somewhat or very important for the next president to support apprenticeships and skills-first hiring in his or her first 100 days.
JFF Hosts Panel Discussion with Harris and Trump Surrogates to Discuss Priorities for Eliminating Dead Ends
Almost 400 attendees tuned in for JFF's bipartisan policy panel on Sept. 30 to watch policy experts Michael Brickman, Denise Forte, Seth Harris, John Pallasch, and JFF CEO Maria Flynn discuss the future of federal education and workforce policy with JFF Policy & Advocacy AVP Karishma Merchant and moderator Paul Fain from "The Job" newsletter. Watch the recording on YouTube to hear what the panelists had to say about voters, each political party, and JFF's federal No Dead Ends policy priorities.
New JFF Poll Finds Voters Want Policies to Promote Economic Opportunity in President's First 100 Days
A new JFF survey of 1,800 registered voters in September 2024 finds that 3 in of 4 voters want the next president to take action in his or her first 100 days to support apprenticeship and skills-based hiring. The results also reveal voter support for digital skills training, affordable child care, alternatives to traditional four-year degrees, and other education and workforce priorities core to JFF's No Dead Ends campaign.
Two Policies Both Parties Can Agree On: The ACCESS Act and the BUILDS Act
This September, in honor of Workforce Development Month, JFF breaks down two more policies that both parties can agree on to expand opportunities for employer-aligned skill development and help workers get the skills they need to secure in-demand employment and quality jobs: The ACCESS Act and the BUILDS Act.
JFF Poll of Registered Voters Reveals Strong Bipartisan Support for Prioritizing Employment and Education Issues
A June 2024 survey of registered voters commissioned by JFF revealed that voters are dissatisfied with the attention policymakers are giving to the key issues they care about most and that voters across party lines favor JFF's No Dead Ends policy recommendations.
Harris Doesn’t Think You Should Need a 4-Year Degree
JFF CEO Maria Flynn tells Inside Higher Ed why VP Kamala Harris' pledge to remove unnecessary degree requirements for some federal jobs is a move away from the “college for all” era to a more widespread embrace of other career training options, by Democrats and Republicans alike.
No Dead Ends Policy Road Map for Ensuring Boundless Opportunities
JFF’s No Dead Ends policy agenda recommends bold, concrete actions that state and federal policymakers can take today to lay the foundation for a reimagined learn-and-work system with no dead ends to economic advancement.
The Education Issue Voters Want Candidates to Talk About
Politco covers the results of JFF's poll of registered voters and comments from Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Representative Lloyd Smucker (R-PA).
Two Policies Both Parties Can Agree On: The Portable Benefits for Independent Workers Pilot Program Act and the Upskilling & Retraining Assistance Act
JFF breaks down two legislative proposals co-sponsored by Democrats and Republicans that improve the quality of jobs.
Two Policies Both Parties Can Agree On: The JOBS Act and the Jumpstart on College Act
JFF breaks down two policies that Republicans and Democrats can agree on to support learners by removing artificial endpoints to career pathways.
Introducing No Dead Ends: This Super Tuesday, Here’s a Policy Agenda Both Sides Can Agree On
Jobs for the Future is launching a national campaign calling on candidates to support policies that put an end to dead ends to economic opportunity.