Integrating a Racial and Ethnic Equity Lens into Workforce Development Training for Young Adults

This research-to-practice brief reviews implementation of a racial and ethnic equity and inclusion (REEI) approach with workforce development training conducted within the Generation Work initiative, led by Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana. Embedding REEI strategies allows programs to address interpersonal and structural racism directly and to ensure that their positive youth development (PYD) approach is supported by the systems already established in the organization. PYD is a strengths-based approach which aims to raise the social capital and lift the voices of young people. One of the brief’s key findings states that PYD alone is not sufficient to address inequities driven by race and ethnicity.