The “Future of Work” and the growing recognition that individuals needed to be educated and trained for jobs we still can’t even imagine spurred innovation and new approaches to acquiring skills even before COVID. The impact of the pandemic has drastically accelerated this movement, as education and training, along with the way we work, has been changed forever.

Prior to COVID, “impact investors” – primarily foundations making grants to workforce organizations and some emerging funds targeting future of work -- focused on this sector with the goal of helping low-income, low- skill individuals upskill and get connected jobs. The last 18 months however have seen many new entrants and large amounts of funds flowing into this sector. This panel will explore the following questions:

- What “problem” are impact investors trying to solve that the commercial markets haven’t been able to?
- Who are the new entrants into the sector?
- How are investors balancing return expectations with impact – can both truly be achieved?