What NextGen Talent does

NextGen Talent is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2018 and headquartered in Dorchester, Massachusetts, with operations in Boston and Houston. The organization is focused on helping low-income students and students of color identify well-paying careers and high-value postsecondary programs in their region. Its core thesis is that over 25% of BA and AA degrees carry negative ROI and that Black and Brown students are disproportionately enrolled in lower-ROI programs, so the organization builds tools to bridge labor-market information gaps for advisors and students. End users are segmented into students, high school advisors and counselors, college access+success organizations, and partner high schools, primarily across Massachusetts and Texas.

The product portfolio centers on three internally developed assets: Postsecondary Advising Guides (1-2-page guides covering healthcare, construction, business, education, IT, and maintenance/repair career areas); Labor Market Literacy Tools (Tableau-based interactive dashboards displaying regional salary, education requirements, and job demand); and Navigator, a searchable directory of 320+ postsecondary programs whose data is collected through direct provider interviews rather than public datasets. Through a partnership with CareerSpring, NextGen Talent extends its offering to include 400+ career videos, 900+ career advisors available for live video consultations, and an internship/job board. Distribution occurs through direct partnership with school districts, charter networks, and college access organizations (Boston Private Industry Council, KIPP Texas, YES Prep, MEFA, OneGoal, Excel Academy), with training and curriculum integration provided to partner staff.

The organization is funded by philanthropic contributions from individual donors and foundations including Cabot Family Charitable Trust, Bank of America, Moody Foundation, Dell Foundation, and The Boston Foundation; it accepts credit card, ACH, Venmo, PayPal, and donor-advised fund gifts. There are no disclosed fees or per-partner pricing terms. The reported operating footprint includes 27,000+ students reached, 270+ advisors trained, and 320+ postsecondary programs in the directory, served by a team of 1-10 employees led by Executive Director and Co-founder Norma Rey-Alicea and Co-founder Susan Goldberger.

Name

NextGen Talent

Legal name

NextGen Talent

Website

https://nextgentalent.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Career Counseling and Education Services

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Career Services & Job Placement Platforms (Jobs, Recruiting, Employer Networks) (EDAFAMAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Internship/Apprenticeship Matching & Work-Based Learning Platforms (EDAFAMAL)

Keywords

• Career advising services
• Postsecondary program finder
• Labor market data tools
• College access programs
• Career readiness training

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Philanthropic Revenue: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, NextGen Talent relies on donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate philanthropists. The organization accepts credit card, ACH payment, Venmo, PayPal, and donor-advised fund contributions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

NextGen Talent is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that builds tools and delivers services to help students and their advisors identify well-paying jobs and high-value postsecondary programs in their region. Its portfolio includes Postsecondary Advising Guides, Labor Market Literacy Tools (interactive dashboards), the Navigator postsecondary program directory, training for advisors, and access to the CareerSpring professional networking and job placement platform. The organization partners with college access organizations, high schools, and community-based organizations in Massachusetts and Texas.

Product overview

NextGen Talent offers a suite of tools and services for postsecondary advising focused on helping low-income students and students of color identify well-paying careers and high-value educational pathways. The core product portfolio consists of Postsecondary Advising Guides (1-2-page career area guides), Labor Market Literacy Tools (interactive Tableau-based dashboards showing regional job data), and Navigator (a searchable directory of 320+ vetted postsecondary programs). Through a partnership with CareerSpring, NGT provides access to a professional networking and job placement platform with 400+ career videos, 900+ advisors, and a job board. Additionally, NGT offers Training for Advisors and Professional Development services to equip partner organizations with the skills to use these tools effectively.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Navigator: A first-of-its-kind tool featuring an online, searchable directory of high-value, career-focused postsecondary programs in a target local region.
• CareerSpring
• Find the Well-Paying Jobs Tool

Products and services

• Postsecondary Advising Guides (PAGs)

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and key.

• Boston Private Industry CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with coaches in 28 Boston Public High Schools using NGT tools for career advising. PIC is a key implementation partner in the Boston region.
• KIPP Texas Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Texas partner implementing NGT services for career readiness across their schools in Houston and other Texas regions.
• CareerSpringcoreTechnology or IntegrationNGT partners with CareerSpring to give high school and college students access to an online library of 400+ career videos, 900+ career advisors offering live video consultations, and a job board with hundreds of internship and job opportunities.
• MEFA (Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMassachusetts partner bringing programs and resources to K-12 students and families throughout the state.
• OneGoal MassachusettsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization partnering with students from underserved communities to get into and through college, incorporating NGT tools.
• Excel Academy Charter High SchoolkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharter school partner in East Boston using NGT tools for college and career counseling.
• YES Prep Public SchoolskeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerTexas partner implementing NGT services for postsecondary access.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Jobs for the Future (JFF): JFF is a national nonprofit driving workforce and education transformation. NextGen Talent's co-founders previously led workforce and educational product initiatives at JFF, and the organizations share a focus on sub-baccalaureate pathways.
• Burning Glass Technologies (Lightcast): Burning Glass (now Lightcast) is a labor market analytics company whose data underpins much of the workforce intelligence used by education providers. NextGen Talent's co-founder Susan Goldberger previously led educational products there, and Navigator competes in the same labor-market-data-for-students category.

Regional players

• MEFA (Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority): MEFA is a Massachusetts state authority providing college planning, financing, and advising resources. It is a strategic partner of NextGen Talent and shares a focus on helping Massachusetts families navigate postsecondary decisions.
• Bottom Line: Bottom Line is a college access and success nonprofit serving low-income and first-generation students, primarily in the Northeast and Chicago. Multiple board members of NextGen Talent come from Bottom Line, reflecting close mission alignment.
• OneGoal: OneGoal is a national college access and persistence nonprofit serving low-income students. It is a partner of NextGen Talent and competes for similar foundation funding while serving overlapping student populations.

Direct peers

• CareerSpring: CareerSpring is a nonprofit career networking and job placement platform for first-generation college students. NextGen Talent partners with CareerSpring to deliver career videos, advisor consultations, and job board access to its students.
• SchooLinks: SchooLinks is a college and career readiness platform for high schools that helps students plan postsecondary pathways. Like NextGen Talent, it focuses on K-12 career advising, though it competes at a national scale with broader functionality.
• Xello: Xello is a leading college, career, and future-readiness platform used by K-12 schools across North America. It is a direct competitor to NextGen Talent's career exploration and planning tools, though it operates nationally rather than with regional labor-market specialization.

Broad incumbents

• Naviance (PowerSchool): Naviance is the dominant K-12 college and career readiness platform, owned by PowerSchool. It overlaps with NextGen Talent's advising and planning functionality but as part of a much broader student success suite serving thousands of districts.
• Handshake: Handshake is a large career services platform connecting college students with employers and jobs. Multiple NextGen Talent board members come from Handshake, and CareerSpring's job board overlaps with Handshake's placement focus at a much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nextgen-talent

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NextGen Talent