"A New Chapter, Together" issue (November)

A newsletter (for adults) about career readiness (for kids)

Dear readers,

If you missed last month’s note from Jean, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Julie Lammers and I am the new President and CEO of American Student Assistance. (You can read about my appointment and background here.) I am so honored to accept the reins of this highly regarded newsletter from Jean and kick off a new chapter of growth and learning together! Jean enjoyed sharing her hot takes on the latest happenings from around the world of career readiness each month, and I plan to do the same. I know everyone is busy, so we’ll be keeping the format the same — you can continue to enjoy the newsletter without any interruptions. Without further ado, here are my updates and highlights for the month.

Grantmaking is one avenue through which ASA supports the national career readiness infrastructure. It’s our way of saying, “We don’t know everything, so let’s invest in others who have a unique vision, and the capability and focus to make it happen.” To that end, I’m proud to announce that we recently awarded $8.48 million in grants to 13 mission-aligned, youth-serving nonprofits. The goal is to scale access to career readiness opportunities for all middle and high schoolers, while measurably improving career readiness outcomes — something we feel confident these organizations are well-positioned to do. (Read the announcement.) We feel that same confidence in our grantees, Colorado Succeeds, and Delaware-based Rodel — two organizations that are working tirelessly to expand opportunities for kids in their states. (Read their success stories.)

In another recent initiative, we empowered teens to award nearly $1,000,000 in grants to three community-based nonprofits through our Youth-Led Grantmaking Pilot Program. Our logic? While the recipients of the grants may be organizations, the people benefiting from the grants are teens, so their input is invaluable. (Find out which organizations they chose to support and read coverage of the pilot.)

In keeping with the idea of empowering teens, we checked in with our own cohort of summer youth interns — an impressive group of high school students who supported our workplace as they developed vital skills in PR, Research, Marketing, Tech, Philanthropy, and beyond. (Read their stories.) We also took the opportunity to recognize National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) in October by exploring how career-connected learning and mentoring can open doors for students with disabilities. (Read the piece.)

Zooming out to the national and state career readiness landscape, there is plenty happening that’s worth sharing! New research shows that a growing number of Gen Z youth are opting for trade school. (Read the story.) Also on the topic of Gen Z: a new report from Randstad Canada used findings from a survey of 11,250 workers globally, and 126 million job postings, to paint a nuanced picture of Gen Z’s worker traits, expectations, and the unique challenges they face. (Read about the report.)

The U.S. Department of Labor is aggressively expanding its funding of education pipelines connected to Registered Apprenticeship programs in Alabama and Colorado — each state has received $12.5 million in funding. (Read the story.) California high school senior Natalia Makhail was awarded a $10,000 Educational Merit Grant for her innovative work on how AI automation influences language, culture, and identity. (Read her story.) The Iowa Department of Education reports a 76% rise in work-based learning among high schoolers in the past two years. Some 45% of Iowa’s class of 2025 participated in work-based programming. (Read the story.) And, data from Rhode Island validates that career readiness programming and academic accomplishment go hand-in-hand. Across the state, students who took at least two CTE courses performed higher on national assessments, with higher four-year graduation rates. (Read the story.)

Thanks for joining me for my inaugural roundup of the latest career readiness news! I’m motivated to keep up the incredible leadership precedent set by Jean, and excited to see what ASA and our partners can accomplish by the end of the year. Until then, let’s all double down on our promise to improve the educational landscape for young people. They deserve it!

All the best,

Julie

P.S. - Want to connect? You can reach me at press@asa.org.

ADDITIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS & RESEARCH

American Student Assistance and The Possible Zone Announce Strategic Partnership to Develop Student-Centered Resources Designed to Help Young People Confidently Navigate Their Own Paths to Postsecondary Success (ASA Newsroom, November 3, 2025)

Number of Waterloo Students in Youth Apprenticeship Increasing (HNG News, October 14, 2025)

California Strengthens Its Pipeline for Good-paying Jobs, Providing $25 Million to Train More Than 22,000 Workers Through Apprenticeship Programs (Newsroom of Governor Gavin Newsom, October 20, 2025)

Youth Need Opportunities to Connect and Engage. A Job is a Good Place to Start. (The 74, October 1, 2025)

New National Prize Recognizes Top Middle and High Schools for Career Exploration (PR Newswire, October 8, 2025)

What My Students with Disabilities Taught Me About Career-Connected Learning (EdSurge, October 8, 2025)

EVENTS

Finally, below is a list of upcoming events, and recaps of recent panel presentations and webinars, that elevate critical conversations in the youth career readiness space.

REGISTER TO ATTEND

• 2025 Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) Annual Conference (Indianapolis, November 5-8 - Learn more)

• One Bead Career Expo (Boston, November 8, 12:00 - 2:00 PM - Learn more)

EVENT RECAPS

• Navigating the Next Decade of Learning: A Call to Collaboration (Read the recap)