For years, the conventional wisdom has been that workforce readiness happens during or after college, with résumé workshops senior year, internships, and networking events. The new realities of today’s labor market show that we need a new approach.
Entry-level job postings have declined by 15% year-over-year, while applications per job have surged 30%, according to Handshake.
In this climate, waiting until after college to build professional experience
leaves too many young people behind.
My own workforce readiness began in my junior year at Advanced Math and Science High School in the Bronx, part of New York City’s United Charter High Schools (UCHS) network. While I was a student, UCHS partnered with the nonprofit Genesys Works to give young people early access to professional training and paid internships — treating that opportunity as a genuine pathway. Administrators encouraged us to apply. Teachers understood that learning how to navigate professional spaces was just as important as passing exams.
Courtesy of Lubna Sheri
Lubna Sheri
When I applied to the Genesys Works program, I didn’t do it alone. School staff helped me prepare for interviews and manage the stress. It was my first time interviewing, and I was nervous. But I had mentors who believed I could succeed and treated the process as an investment in my future.
What often goes untaught in schools are the professional habits that shape day-to-day success: writing concise workplace emails, managing calendars and deadlines, preparing for meetings, communicating with supervisors and navigating office culture. Those skills are rarely intuitive, especially for students whose families have not worked in corporate environments.
[Related: They age out — then we hire them. What happens next matters most.]
Genesys Works addresses that gap directly. At the end of my junior year, I completed eight weeks — 160 hours — of intensive summer training covering technical tools and business software as well as professional norms and expectations.
After summer training, I was placed in a paid, year-long internship in the human resources department at the global law firm Fried Frank. I was still in high school, attending classes during the day and working after school four hours a day, four to five days a week.
When I walked into a corporate workplace for the first time, I felt prepared — and immediately contributed to real projects, like helping draft remote work agreements.
What began as a one-year placement became a long-term opportunity. Fried Frank invited me to stay on through college, and I continued working with the firm while earning my bachelor’s degree in business administration and management at Lehman College. After graduation, I transitioned into a full-time role, and today I work as an HR business services assistant at the firm.
[Related: A restorative approach to professional development for youth workers]
My story reflects what research shows. Teens who gain real work experience in high school are more likely to be employed in adulthood and to hold more stable, well-paying jobs than peers without such experience, according to the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings. Programs like Genesys Works demonstrate that high school students can meet serious expectations when schools, nonprofits and employers collaborate. More than three-quarters of Genesys Works alumni said that their experience in the program helped them get their current job.
Other organizations are building similar models: Year Up, Urban Alliance, CodeNation and Project Quest are embedding professional training and paid internships into young people’s education. New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program demonstrates what’s possible at scale when government makes youth workforce development a priority. But we need more.
If we are serious about equity, we need to build workforce readiness into high school — with paid opportunities, real responsibilities, and strong partnerships between schools, employers, nonprofits and government.
I call on federal, state and city governments across the country to fund such programs.
I’m proof that this approach works.
***
Lubna Sheri is a former participant of the Genesys Works program and a graduate of Advanced Math and Science High School in the Bronx, part of United Charter High Schools.
