The Challenge of Change: Sparking Innovation in the U.S. Workforce System

2020 has become a time of historic disruption and uncertainty. In America, millions of people are now out of work, unsure if their industries and jobs will return, or what their futures will hold. These new realities have prompted future-focused workforce boards to expand their role in preparing people for future learning and work opportunities.

Partners New Profit, XPRIZE, and MIT Solve stepped up to address that challenge in June, when they launched the Future of Work Grand Challenge, an equity-focused competition seeking bold ideas to help displaced workers rapidly reskill so they can move into higher-wage jobs. Today, New Profit announced that JFF will become a partner in the next phase of the Future of Work Grand Challenge, a two-pronged effort to spur innovation through the XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling competition and MIT Solve’s Reimagining Pathways to Employment in the U.S. Challenge.

As a Grand Challenge partner, JFF will lead engagement with workforce boards across America, with a focus on creating opportunities for winning solutions to be piloted with workers, evaluated for effectiveness, and eventually scaled through additional partnerships, digital channels, and other avenues.

Together, by equipping the U.S. workforce system with tech-driven solutions sourced through the Grand Challenge, JFF and the rest of the Grand Challenge partners will increase access to critical support and resources for Americans as they manage unemployment benefits, enroll in training, and explore new career opportunities.