Thailand's Bamboo School

Educate!, a social enterprise started in Uganda, helps students start businesses while they are still in school - students are "creating jobs instead of looking for them." The organization trains teachers and youth mentors, who then work with the students in their schools to get businesses off the ground. A randomized trial conducted in 2014 found that graduates of the program earned double the income of their peers.

The Detroit Food Academy brings together local educators, chefs, and business owners to teach youth and young adults in the city business and entrepreneurship skills through cooking lessons and opportunities. The program is instructing students “how to think about entrepreneurship, equity and production in the food industry, and getting a wide range of experiences to help them understand food sovereignty.”

Young people are graduating from high schools and not ready for college level work. Liz Willen describes different initiatives around the United States that have provided solutions for improving secondary education. She addresses the importance of STEM, role models for students, and project-based learning.

The Home for the Needy Foundation’s camp offers accommodations and support for people who are displaced in Nigeria due to terrorism. Along with housing, clothes, food, healthcare, and general support, those staying at the camp receive help and encouragement to continue their education, apply for college, or learn a trade.

Food hub projects are gaining momentum in Hawaii as a means to connect farmers with customers. The projects go against the narrative that produce should be sold to big-box supermarkets, and instead focuses on "allowing farmers to concentrate on farming and creating a seamless ordering system so consumers can order food online for delivery or availability at central pickup points."

A Boston nonprofit is transforming vacant properties into free community spaces. Now, Philadelphia is considering opening up similar "public parks inside."

What can Cleveland learn from Europe's school-to-work models, dual education programs, and overall early introduction to career education that could be helpful in closing the skills gap? Cleveland community leaders think starting to provide information about job pathways as early as middle school and teaching specific occupational trades alongside general academic skills could be key.

Facing labor shortages, Idaho is seeing a new wave of apprenticeship programs for high school students. Through the Student to Registered Apprentice Program, participants complete a class and on-the-job training while still in high school.

Community development groups are working closely with "middle neighborhoods" - areas "that aren't distressed today, but they may become so sooner than anyone expects." From Cleveland to Milwaukee to Chicago, CDCs are improving the lives of long term homeowners and helping interested parties generate the capital to move into these neighborhoods: “You're investing to a place that is on the edge, still has assets, still has people who want to be there, but need a nudge to get over the top, versus investing 60 homes in a non-functioning market."

PeerForward, a youth leadership development organization, taps into the power of peer networks to increase the number of students in low-income schools applying to college and submitting FAFSA forms. Working with teachers, elected students develop their own custom action plans to achieve PeerForward's common goals. For instance, at some schools, student leaders required a completed FAFSA for admission to a dance.