Connecticut finds itself at a pivotal moment. Employers across industries continue to report difficulty finding and retaining talent, even as policymakers, business leaders, and educators work to strengthen the state’s workforce pipeline.

At the same time, Connecticut’s population is aging, competition for skilled workers is intensifying, and the long-term economic health of our state depends on our ability to develop the talent already living in our communities.

Yet one of the most promising workforce solutions receives far less attention than it deserves.

While employers search for workers and communities worry about economic opportunity, thousands of young people across Connecticut remain disconnected from the education, employment, and career pathways that would allow them to contribute. Too often, they are viewed through the lens of challenges and deficits rather than potential, despite representing an enormous source of talent and leadership for our state’s future workforce.

That disconnect should concern all of us because the challenge facing Connecticut is not simply a shortage of workers. It is a failure to fully invest in, develop, and connect the talent that already exists. For too many young people, the path from potential to opportunity remains far less accessible than it should be.

For decades, Our Piece of the Pie has worked alongside young people who are navigating significant barriers on their path to success. Through programs such as Hartford Youth Service Corps and other workforce development, education, and youth leadership initiatives, we have seen firsthand what happens when young people are provided with the support, guidance, and opportunities they need to thrive. Many of the young people we serve have experienced poverty, housing instability, academic challenges, or involvement with the justice system. Some have faced obstacles that would test even the most resilient adult. Yet what I have learned throughout my career is that potential is far more evenly distributed than opportunity.

In my experience, most young people are looking for the same things any of us would want: the opportunity to earn a paycheck, develop skills, support themselves and their families, and feel that their effort has a purpose. Almost always, the challenge is not a lack of ambition or motivation. It is a lack of access to the opportunities many people take for granted, whether that is a first job, a trusted mentor, a professional network, or an employer willing to see possibility instead of risk.

When those opportunities are available, the results can be transformative.

Over the past ten years, Hartford Youth Service Corps, one of OPP’s flagship workforce development programs, has served more than 2,700 young people. Participants have completed more than 640,000 hours of paid work experience, earned nearly $10 million in wages, and contributed to more than 2,000 community service projects across our region. Seventy-three percent secured unsubsidized employment, while thousands more gained the skills, credentials, and workplace experience necessary to pursue long-term career pathways.

Those outcomes are important, but the larger lesson may be even more important.

After years of working with young people, employers, educators, and community partners, I have become convinced that Connecticut is not facing a shortage of youth talent. What we continue to face is a shortage of pathways that connect that talent to opportunity. The workforce many employers are searching for is not somewhere else. In many cases, it is already here.

Connecticut is not facing a shortage of youth talent, but a shortage of pathways connecting that talent to opportunity.

Too often, public conversations about young people focus almost exclusively on what is wrong. We talk about crime, chronic absenteeism, disengagement, mental health challenges, and the growing number of young adults disconnected from both education and employment. These issues are real and deserve serious attention. But when they become the dominant narrative, we overlook an equally important reality: young people consistently rise to the expectations we set for them when they are given meaningful opportunities and the support necessary to succeed.

Over the years, I have met countless young people who had been underestimated long before they entered one of our programs. Some had been told they were not college material. Others carried mistakes from their past that followed them into every room. Many had never been given a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate what they were capable of accomplishing. Yet time and again, when those same young people were connected to real work experiences, caring adults, and high expectations, they flourished. Just as importantly, they began to see the leader that already existed within themselves.

I have watched employers experience a similar shift. Initial skepticism often gives way to enthusiasm once they recognize the value these young people bring to the workplace. The employers who take a chance frequently become some of our strongest partners because they discover something our communities cannot afford to overlook: talent often exists where expectations are lowest.

At a time when workforce shortages remain a pressing concern, Connecticut cannot afford to leave that talent on the sidelines.

The strength of our state will ultimately be measured not only by the businesses we attract or the investments we secure, but by whether people believe they have a pathway to participate in that success. Economic growth that excludes large segments of the next generation is neither sustainable nor consistent with the values we claim to share. If we want a stronger economy tomorrow, we must be willing to invest more intentionally in young people today.

That investment takes many forms. It means expanding access to paid work experiences, strengthening career-connected learning opportunities, building deeper partnerships between employers and youth-serving organizations, and ensuring that workforce development and youth development are viewed as inseparable priorities. When we create those connections, everyone benefits.

The stakes extend far beyond filling open positions. At its core, this is about whether young people can envision a future for themselves here in Connecticut and whether employers, educators, community leaders, and policymakers are willing to help create that future. When young people succeed, businesses gain talent, families gain stability, communities gain leaders, and our economy grows stronger.

The young people we serve are not asking for sympathy. They are asking for an opportunity to contribute; To be empowered. They want the chance to build careers, support their families, and play a meaningful role in the future of the communities they call home.

Connecticut does not need to look very far for its next generation of workers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders. They are already here. The question before us is whether we have the vision and commitment to invest in them.

Hector Rivera is President and CEO of Our Piece of the Pie (OPP).