In the United States, 43 million Americans — nearly one in five adults — read below the equivalent of a third-grade level. And only a small portion of these adults have access to adult education programs and training opportunities. Technology has the potential to augment existing services, expanding access for all learners across the United States. While there’s no shortage of investment and attention devoted to edtech, most products are designed for K-12 students or colleges — not for adult learners, a diverse group that includes adults who have not completed high school and adults who are learning English. Many adult learners also need tools that can be accessed on mobile devices, with limited connectivity.

The jobs of the future are here today, as evolving technologies and industries create new types of jobs and employers struggle to fill open positions. Career navigation services — which help people understand, choose, and prepare for career opportunities — are more important than ever. Many adult learners, who are often already underserved, do not have the support they need to enter and thrive in high-quality, in-demand occupations and high-growth industries. Delivering digital career navigation tools to adult learners will be critical to transforming the lives of millions of Americans.

Adult learners must be included in initiatives designed to support the career readiness of America’s workforce. By enabling access to rewarding careers, America can build a diverse workforce that supports global competitiveness while fostering an inclusive future for families and communities across the country. To support this vision and stimulate innovation, the U.S. Department of Education decided to launch an open innovation challenge, encouraging edtech innovators to create digital career navigation tools for adult learners.

Luminary Labs designed and produced the Future Finder Challenge, a $1 million challenge to reimagine career navigation for adult learners. The challenge invited innovators to build digital tools that better support adult learners as they launch and advance their careers. The design was informed by an ecosystem analysis and consultation with stakeholders, including adult learners and educators.

In Stage 1, the challenge called on eligible entrants — including teams of strategists, app developers, user-centered designers, and educators — to submit prototypes for digital tools. This open submissions period offered a chance to engage innovators who might not otherwise serve an adult learner audience. To attract a diversity of entrants and support their development of high-quality prototypes, we developed a webinar and other resources to help teams understand adult learners and their needs. Our outreach intentionally targeted a diversity of geographies and types of entrants — and the challenge received 76 submissions from entrant teams in 29 states; these entrants included minority-, women-, Veteran-, LGBTQ+-, and Native American-owned organizations.

Five finalist teams — all minority-owned and/or women-owned businesses — received $60,000 each (a $50,000 cash prize and an additional $10,000 to support accelerator activities) and entered Stage 2. A six-month virtual accelerator kicked off with an in-person boot camp, where finalists had a chance to meet one another and hear directly from adult learners, adult educators, and social impact innovators. Throughout the accelerator, teams received access to virtual resources, webinars, and mentorship from subject matter experts across topics such as adult education, design research, product design, storytelling, and sustainability. And after submitting their refined tools and accompanying proposals, they presented at a live Demo Day hosted by the Department in fall 2023.

In December 2023, the U.S. Department of Education announced winners: Gladeo, a minority- and women-owned public benefit corporation based in Los Angeles, California, was the grand-prize winner and received an additional $500,000. Workbay, a woman-owned business based in Franklin, Tennessee, was the runner-up and received an additional $250,000.

The Department recognized that a challenge doesn’t end when winners receive awards; in many ways, that’s only the beginning. During a post-challenge deployment phase, Luminary Labs provided hands-on, customized support to help winning teams scale their solutions, as well as gain visibility and recognition across the adult education space. This support included connecting both teams to a broad network of experts and helping them prepare presentations for the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE) 2024 Conference and the Annual State Directors Meeting. This assistance was critical; both winning teams were new to serving adult learners and valued the infrastructure of support to navigate this complex space.

Gladeo and Workbay are currently working with a range of partners to expand access to their tools across the adult education sector.