Across the globe, the transition from education to employment is facing seismic shifts as young people, educators, and governments grapple with new economic realities, technological disruption, and evolving expectations. In the United States, schools like Upton High School in rural Wyoming are reimagining what it means to prepare students for life after graduation, while in Singapore, government officials are responding to a surge in anxious jobseekers among new graduates with targeted industry traineeships. Together, these stories reveal a world in flux, where the value of college, the shape of early careers, and the pathways to stability are all up for debate.
At Upton High School, the question of what comes after graduation is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. As reported by Business Insider, the school has adopted a personalized learning model that aims to equip every student—whether they intend to pursue college, a career, or military service—with the skills and experiences needed to thrive. This approach means more than just academic achievement; it’s about giving students real-world opportunities while they’re still in high school.
Take Joslyn Pischke, a 15-year-old sophomore who’s set her sights on college and a future in equine science, driven by her passion for rodeo and horses. For Pischke, Upton’s guidance counselor Amanda Knapp arranged for her to take time off from school to compete in rodeo events, provided she kept up with her studies and maintained high test scores. On the other end of the spectrum, Sam Johnson, an 18-year-old senior, has no interest in college. He’s passionate about hunting and, thanks to Knapp’s efforts, secured a hunting guide apprenticeship that will become a full-time job after graduation.
“We do a really good job of working on those employability skills that they need,” Knapp told Business Insider. “We’re not just teaching content, but we’re teaching, ‘How are you a good employee? How are you a good citizen?’”
Upton’s mission is to prepare every student for one of three post-graduation paths: college, career, or military. The personalized learning model gives students the standards they must meet but lets them choose how to practice and demonstrate their learning. The school’s approach is a response to a growing trend among Generation Z: more young Americans are forgoing the traditional four-year college route in favor of trade schools or entering the workforce directly. This shift is driven by changing labor demands and persistent concerns about student debt, even as college graduates, on average, still earn higher wages over their lifetimes.
It’s not just about academics. Sophie Louderbeck, who graduated from Upton in 2024 and now attends Black Hills State University in South Dakota, credits her high school experience with preparing her for both work and study. “I’m not only academically ready to go into the work field or get a job, get a career, but I’m ready to go with my work experience,” Louderbeck said. “So I know how to build a résumé. I know how to be on time, how to be responsible, because I learned that all in high school as I was getting to do that work study.”
The school’s superintendent, Clark Coberly, sees personalized learning as a way to give students more agency and ownership over their futures. “If they have more agency in their learning, they also have more agency and ownership in their life,” Coberly said. “So they’re able to tackle some of the challenges that they may be faced with as they enter into the workforce.”
Meanwhile, halfway across the world in Singapore, the challenge of helping young people transition into the workforce has taken on new urgency. On September 23, 2025, Singapore’s Manpower Minister Tan See Leng addressed parliament, noting that the 2025 cohort of fresh graduates included 1,700 more unemployed jobseekers than the previous year, intensifying competition for entry-level positions. According to CNA, about 2,400 more fresh graduates entered the labor force immediately after graduation, rather than taking a break or pursuing further studies. While employment rates for graduates have actually improved—9,300 or 52% of the 2025 cohort were employed as of June, up from 8,600 or 48% in June 2024—the increased number of active jobseekers has heightened anxiety.
“Even though there were about 700 more fresh graduates who were employed, the additional 1,700 active jobseekers who had yet to find a job may have contributed to a stronger sense of job competition among fresh graduates,” Dr. Tan explained.
External factors are compounding these worries. Economic headwinds, trade tensions, tariffs, geopolitical conflicts, and fears that artificial intelligence could replace entry-level jobs are all fueling uncertainty. Singapore’s unemployment rate for those under 30 ticked up from 5.4% in March 2025 to 5.7% in June, according to the latest labor market report.
In response, the Singaporean government is rolling out a Graduate Industry Traineeships program starting in October 2025. The initiative will offer up to 800 trainee spots in both the private and public sectors, with placements lasting three to six months and monthly allowances between S$1,800 and S$2,400—70% of which is funded by the government. The aim, Dr. Tan said, is to provide “quality traineeship opportunities to provide reassurance to graduates,” while avoiding the “crowding out” of full-time jobs.
The traineeships are capped at six months to encourage employers to consider offering full-time roles at the end of the program. Workforce Singapore will “strongly encourage” host organizations to convert trainees to permanent employees wherever possible, and the government will continue to subsidize allowances for organizations that do so. Leading companies from key sectors—including DBS, Grab, Micron, OCBC, Sea, Sembcorp, Standard Chartered, and ST Engineering—have stepped forward to offer roles in fields such as data analysis, robotic process automation, research and development, and marketing.
Dr. Tan emphasized that the government wants to “level up the playing field” for graduates who may lack industry experience, perhaps due to other responsibilities during their studies. The program is designed to ensure that high-achieving candidates—those likely to secure jobs on their own—do not disproportionately benefit, while those with weaker credentials are not left behind.
Singapore’s approach also takes into account the need to protect mid-career workers from displacement. Host organizations are vetted for recent retrenchment activity, and the traineeship allowance is set lower than what is offered for mature individuals on attachment under other workforce programs.
Back in Wyoming, Amanda Knapp is keenly aware that Upton’s model might not be easily replicated in larger or more urban schools, where full participation in personalized learning is harder to achieve. But she and Coberly hope that their model—rooted in strong community ties and flexibility—can inspire other districts to rethink how they prepare students for an uncertain future.
“This is an advantage for our students and we want to give our students an advantage in the world,” Coberly told Business Insider. “And we know all school districts want to find a way to do that.”
As the world of work changes, so too must the ways in which young people are readied for it. Whether through hands-on apprenticeships in rural America or structured traineeships in Singapore’s bustling economy, the message is clear: adaptability, agency, and practical experience are becoming as crucial as academic achievement in the race for meaningful employment.
