Infrastructure workers help people connect to utilities and the power grid, move about society safely, build and update structures, mitigate climate change, and more. Yet infrastructure employers, including municipal governments and private organizations, face current and anticipated labor shortages. 

Youth service corps programs could help fill this gap. They offer young people, especially opportunity youth—who are typically ages 16 to 24 and are not working or enrolled in education, or are at risk of disconnection from school and work—the chance to give back to their communities while building skills for work and earning a wage or stipend. When corps programs connect young adults with good infrastructure jobs, they build a pipeline of workers for employers and a pathway to economic mobility for workers.

To better understand these programs, we interviewed staff at eight youth service corps programs around the country that help participants—referred to as members— develop infrastructure-related skills. In this report and the program profiles below, we detail each corps’ approach and highlight opportunities to expand and strengthen their programs—and for philanthropy, policymakers and employers to support these efforts— creating new pathways for young adults to enter infrastructure careers.

What We Found

The corps programs in this study represent a diverse mix of geographies and approaches to connecting young adults with infrastructure jobs, but they share some common themes. 

Corps programs are in high demand, pointing to the possibilities of expanded capacity. The programs in this study did not face recruitment challenges, and many had wait lists of potential participants. This suggests that with expanded capacity, they could serve even more young people. 

Mixed funding structures promote resilience, but many corps programs face funding instability. Programs rely on a mix of public (federal, state, and local government) funding, philanthropic funding, fee-for-service contracts, and individual donations—with public funding making up the largest share. Many programs experienced funding reductions and instability because of cuts to AmeriCorps in 2025 and other federal policy shifts. 

Youth corps programs offer critical supports, but needs persist. They often provide supports for members to set them up for success in the workplace. Supports often include intensive case management, navigation, logistical help (e.g., work supplies and transportation), and mentorship. Even with this assistance, challenges with transportation and housing remain. 

Corps programs are responsive to member needs, but there are opportunities for more formal engagement in program design and delivery. Five of the programs had formal structures for member engagement, and all indicated they work to be highly responsive to young people’s needs. Still, in some corps there was room to develop more structured opportunities for incorporating members into decisionmaking. Doing so can improve programs by ensuring they center members in helping them transition to adulthood and find success in the workplace. 

Partnerships with employers benefit both members and employers and should be expanded. Members use their experiences in corps programs to explore career options, learn hard and soft skills, build their networks, and secure jobs. Employers rely on the programs to fill hiring pipelines but there are ways the employer–corps program partnerships could be expanded to have even greater impact. 

Each corps program supports career exploration and skills development, but there are opportunities to build more robust and structured career pathways. While some programs were designed to help members build skills and enter specific jobs, others didn’t offer members a clear pathway to a career at the end of the experience. 

Corps programs must balance improving access to quality jobs and remaining responsive to community and member needs. They seek to help members get good jobs with family-sustaining wages, but some infrastructure jobs that members want are low paying. To ensure members are not limited to low-paying, low-quality jobs, corps programs could develop relationships and hiring agreements with local employers in high-demand sectors, such as the building and electrical trades.

How We Did It

Information for this report comes from semi-structured interviews and focus groups with corps staff, partners, employers, and program members; documents and data provided by corps programs; and an analysis of labor market data to assess career pathway options.