The Skillman Foundation

This joint op-ed was originally published in Crain’s Detroit.

Detroit is in the middle of a defining transition. The population has grown for three years in a row, totaling more than 15,000 new residents. Billions of new investment is reshaping downtown and Detroit neighborhoods, while industries are moving beyond manufacturing, evolving in health, technology, finance, and hospitality.

The question remains: who is the talent for these new industries? Are we preparing talent for the new economy, and more importantly, will young people in this city see themselves in the future Detroit is building?

Detroit is a growing city, and it is a young city. The average age here is 35. What an untapped asset for the future. The most important investments we can make in economic development are investments in human development, especially the development of our children and youth.

Yes, our economy needs talent and our employers need workers, but first young people need opportunities to see themselves in the future they are being asked to help build.

Detroit Future City’s new report, “Career-Connected Learning: Investing in Detroit’s Future Talent,” funded by The Skillman Foundation, draws from youth surveys, focus groups, labor market and education data, and conversations with educators, employers, and community leaders to examine how Detroit’s education, youth development, and workforce systems are aligned to prepare young people for meaningful careers, economic mobility, and long-term success.

Across the country, education systems are building or expanding career pathways that connect learning to real-world opportunities. As technology like artificial intelligence and global competition reshape the job market, students need more than classroom learning. Whether they pursue college, career training, or enter the workforce directly after graduation, young people benefit from hands-on experiences that help them explore their options, build practical skills, and prepare for a rapidly changing future. The report makes clear that Detroit youth are already thinking seriously about that future.

Their concerns also reflect a broader national challenge. New national research found that 77% of recent graduates felt unprepared for life after high school, underscoring the need for earlier guidance, stronger connections to real-world experiences, and clearer pathways as young people prepare for what comes next.

What they are asking for is clear: early exposure to careers, mentors, real-world experiences, and stronger connections between what they learn in school and the lives they hope to build for themselves and their future families.

Their aspirations are not only important to their own futures. Supporting Detroit youth is an investment in stronger families, stronger communities, and the long-term prosperity of our city.

The opportunity now is to create clearer connections between education, opportunity, and the futures young people want to build.

The report highlights this opportunity. Today, only 15% of Detroit Public Schools Community District high school students participate in Career and Technical Education pathways, underscoring the need to expand access and exposure.

National research finds that when students have the chance to learn through real-world, hands-on work experiences, they’re more likely to stay on a path to success. They enroll in college or training programs at higher rates, land jobs that match their goals, and earn more early in their careers. The impact is strongest when these experiences are paid, last long enough to build real skills, and include strong mentoring and guidance along the way.

Detroit already has so much to build from. Just last week, DPSCD announced its high school redesign to deepen its engagement with the business community by engaging high school students across the district in career exploration and pathways. This is a monumental first step in addressing the need for a more coordinated effort to connect what young people learn in school, what they aspire to be in the workforce, and real opportunities beyond the classroom. It’s this intentionality from each respective sector: education, workforce, and support systems, strategizing together around a shared future.

And that work must begin earlier. Career exposure cannot start only when students are nearing graduation and already being asked to make life-shaping decisions. Young people should have opportunities in elementary and middle school to explore careers, meet professionals, participate in hands-on learning, and connect their interests to future possibilities over time.

Detroit’s future will not be defined only by development projects, business growth, or national headlines. It will be defined by whether young people across this city can find their place in and help lead what comes next.