New Detroit report calls for stronger career pathways for The City's young people

A report from Detroit Future City says the city's young people need stronger connections between school and career, and it asks educators, youth programs, and employers to build those links with more intention.

The report, "Career-Connected Learning: Investing in Detroit's Future Talent," came out on May 19, 2026. It was funded by The Skillman Foundation and developed in partnership with the Youth Policy Lab at the University of Michigan, which helped shape the approach and led the quantitative and labor market analysis.

The report organizes its findings around three core components of career-connected learning: career awareness and exploration, career guidance, and work-based learning. Across those areas it looks at what is working, what is missing, and how well Detroit's education and workforce systems line up with the jobs available in the region.

To get there, the research centered young people. It gathered perspectives from almost 200 Detroit youth, along with input from parents, practitioners, employers, and policy makers. The finding the report keeps returning to is that Detroit's young people are talented and motivated, but too many are navigating fragmented systems where support is inconsistent, outside their interests, or simply out of reach.

"Detroit has talent, but too many young people still lack clear connections between what they learn in school and real career opportunities," said Anika Goss, chief executive officer of Detroit Future City.

Detroit Future City describes itself as a think tank, policy advocate, and innovation engine that develops data-driven strategies for the city. The Skillman Foundation is a Detroit-based philanthropy focused on education and youth opportunity. Its College and Career Pathways work forges partnerships among K-12 schools, youth-program providers, postsecondary institutions, and employers so that young people are prepared for and connected to options after high school.

The report's recommendations point toward practical steps: expand early career exposure, strengthen advising and mentorship, align programs with regional workforce needs, lower the cost and transportation barriers that keep students out, and get the city's many partners coordinating instead of working in isolation.

"The future is being formed right now, by each of us," said Angelique Power, president and chief executive officer of The Skillman Foundation. The report is less about any single program and more about the longer-term systems that either set young Detroiters up for careers or leave them without a clear direction.