□ Key Points
- Opportunity youth are full of potential but disconnected from the two institutions that typically launch a successful life: education and work.
- We need clearer routes from learning to earning: training tied to real demand, paid work-based opportunities that build experience, and practical supports that keep young people connected long enough to build momentum.
- The fix is not a single silver-bullet program but the boring yet essential work of building the on-ramp: coherent pathways, real-world experience, navigators who stay with young people through turbulence, and a civic commitment to reducing friction.