Early career exposure is critical to addressing student disengagement among middle and high schoolers and closing workforce gaps, according to the 2025 State of the Future U.S. Workforce Report released in February by YouScience.
Data from 450,000 middle and high school students across all 50 states showed that while many students possess the aptitudes to excel in high-need industries including healthcare, technology, finance and advanced manufacturing, they lack exposure and engagement opportunities to understand and pursue careers in these fields.
“Many industries need skilled workers, but struggle to find them among recent high school and college graduates. Students have the potential to thrive in high-demand fields, however if they are never exposed to these career opportunities, the workforce will continue to face critical shortages,” said Edson Barton, co-founder and CEO of YouScience. “By fostering meaningful engagement and expanding access to career-connected learning opportunities, we can empower students to make informed choices that align with both their abilities and workforce needs.”
According to the report, there is a 28 percent gap in students who have aptitude for a career in health science, but no reported interest. Similar gaps were found in aptitude versus interest in careers related to finance (18 percent), information and technology (24 percent), advance manufacturing (18 percent), architecture and construction (12 percent), and transportation, distribution and logistics (18 percent).
Closing these gaps will enable more students to pursue careers in high-demand, high-wage fields.
The report calls for a range of efforts to expand and tailor career exposure opportunities through intentional use of aptitudes and connections to local employers.
Recommendations for educators, industry leaders and policymakers to help close the gap and strengthen the workforce pipeline include:
- Mandating or incentivizing aptitude-based career exploration in schools through policy initiatives and allocating funding to connect students with career pathways.
- Local educational agencies and their partners should be establishing mentorship programs and industry-recognized certification opportunities in every career and technical education course to better align student learning with workforce needs.
- Leveraging aptitude assessments to boost student engagement and guide career exploration by integrating career-connected learning experiences.
