Afterschool Programs Are Workforce Infrastructure

Afterschool programs are often funded as enrichment, but the strongest ones quietly function as the most consistent workforce touchpoint a student has.

While school-day instruction focuses on academic content, afterschool settings are where many young people get repeated, low-stakes practice with the skills that actually determine whether someone gets and keeps a job communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and self-management. Research increasingly points to the role of strong social and emotional skills in workplace success, alongside the more traditional emphasis on work habits and work ethic, and afterschool spaces are uniquely positioned to build both because they meet consistently, over years, with the same trusted adults. ERIC

This isn't incidental. A growing body of work examines how afterschool programs support "employability skills," defined as workplace skills, effective relationships, and applied knowledge, and the role these skills play across both workforce and afterschool systems. Employability skills are considered general skills needed for workplace success across all sectors and employment levels, and research over the past decade suggests they may be equally or more important than cognitive skills in overall workplace outcomes — which matters because, unlike cognitive skills, employability skills are far more malleable and can be intentionally developed over time. That malleability is exactly what repeated afterschool engagement provides: not a single workshop or assembly, but years of structured reps.

The case for treating afterschool as workforce infrastructure isn't just about skill-building either. Programs serving middle and high school youth often use strategies such as internships, work-study programs, job shadowing, and career development to help young people understand and begin to develop a work-oriented mindset. For many students, especially those without family networks already connected to professional or skilled-trade jobs, this is the only structured exposure they get to what work actually looks like before they're expected to apply for it themselves.

Reference:

Afterschool Alliance. (2024, September). Evaluating Afterschool: The Latest Research on the Impact of Afterschool and Summer Programs. https://afterschoolalliance.org/documents/The-Latest-Research-on-the-Impact-of-Afterschool-and-Summer-Programs-2024.pdf