In today’s fast-paced and ever-evolving world, talent development must start early — while the future workforce is still in high school — and expand beyond their classroom learning. NAF works with several corporate partners, including Lenovo, KPMG, Capital One, Juniper Networks, Verizon, Moody’s, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and more, to build a talent pipeline of highly skilled applicants for the jobs of tomorrow. Below are some examples of how corporate partners can get involved and make a difference in the lives of students everywhere.
- Dynamic Volunteer Events
Volunteering in local high schools is an easy way for your company to get started. You can guest speak in a classroom about your career path and industry, host a worksite tour, participate in a mock interview, and more. To take it one step further, you can host a volunteer event for a large group of students and help them develop both the hard and soft skills needed in your industry. - Expanded Corporate Engagement
In the spring of 2015, Courtyard by Marriott partnered with NAF to launch the Success for Youth program that promised to provide 30,000 volunteer hours and engage with 10,000 students in three years. This initiative illustrates the commitment that America’s corporations can make to begin building the talent pipeline, as these same students will be tomorrow’s industry leaders. - Skill Development Competitions
Since 2014, NAF and corporate partner, Lenovo, have hosted national mobile app development competitions for NAF academies within the Lenovo Scholar Network (now serving over 50,000 students across the nation). These competitions allow students to utilize the latest tools and technologies, while using critical thinking skills and creativity to attempt to solve a real-world problem. - Provide Paid Internships for High School Students
NAF believes in securing paid internships for all high school students. It is essential to provide equal opportunity for all students, in order to close the skills gap, and create a diverse workforce that will be able to compete in today’s global economy.One shining example of this work took place in the city of Miami during the summer of 2016. $2.6 million was invested in the Summer Youth Internship Program that consisted of 717 internship providers, placed 1463 interns, and had an economic impact of $1.8 million. - Commit to NAFTrack Certified Hiring
With a commitment to shaping our nation’s workforce development and closing the skills gap, NAF and their corporate partners have intensified their pledge even more through the creation of NAFTrack Certified Hiring. This initiative is a commitment by a growing number of top national and global companies to provide special consideration to college students and eventual job applicants who, as high school graduates, earned NAFTrack Certification.
The opportunities to shape our nation’s future leaders are endless! Here are two ways you can get involved right now:
- Fill out NAF’s Get Involved form
- Sign up for our e-newsletter