our work

Different pathways. One approach.

People come to Hands to the Future with different goals, experiences, and needs. Some are pursuing college or another post-secondary credential. Others are exploring training and career opportunities that can lead more directly into the workforce.

H2TF helps participants identify and navigate the pathway that fits their goals—and provides the preparation, relationships, support, and connections that help them move forward.

Across every pathway, our approach is the same:

Prepare. Persist. Encounter possibilities.

Our pathways

  • Post-Secondary Education Pathways

    Education & College Advising
    H2TF helps participants explore post-secondary options and navigate the steps required to pursue them. Support may include identifying schools and programs, visiting colleges, completing applications, navigating FAFSA and scholarships, and making informed decisions about educational opportunities.

    Our support doesn’t end at enrollment. H2TF continues to walk alongside participants as they work toward completing their educational goals.

  • Workforce & Career Pathways

    Construction Connect
    Construction Connect helps participants explore and prepare for opportunities in the construction industry while connecting them with training, relationships, and industry exposure that can help turn possibility into a pathway.

    Participants build foundational construction knowledge and skills while learning about careers within the industry, connecting with construction professionals and employers, and receiving ongoing H2TF support as they navigate the experience and their next steps.

  • Support Across the Journey

    Mentoring & Persistence Support
    Trusted relationships have always been central to H2TF.

    Mentors and staff walk alongside participants as they navigate education, careers, institutions, transitions, and challenges. Through culturally responsive and language-appropriate support, H2TF provides encouragement, navigation, problem-solving, and connections to resources that help participants continue moving toward their goals.

    Whether someone is pursuing a college degree, participating in workforce training, or taking another step toward a career, H2TF’s role is not simply to help them enter a pathway. We help them persist within it.

Learn More About Construction Connect

HOW WE SUPPORT THE JOURNEY

Across post-secondary education and workforce pathways, H2TF’s work is grounded in three interconnected elements:

Readiness

Preparing to take the next step.

Readiness looks different for every person and every opportunity. H2TF helps participants build the knowledge, skills, confidence, and understanding they need to pursue the next step toward their goals.

Persistence Support

Helping people keep going.

Challenges and disruptions can arise at any point along the way. Trusted relationships, navigation, encouragement, advocacy, problem-solving, and connections to resources help participants maintain momentum and continue moving toward their goals.

Exposure to Opportunity

Expanding what people can see and pursue.

H2TF connects participants with educational pathways, industries, employers, professionals, mentors, and networks that can expand both what they imagine for themselves and what they are positioned to pursue.

WHERE THE PATHWAYS LEAD

The goal is larger than enrollment, training, or employment.
H2TF works toward two connected outcomes: belonging and mobility.

Belonging

Belonging means being connected, valued, supported, and able to participate fully in school, work, and community.

For people building lives across cultures and navigating systems that may be unfamiliar, relationships and connection matter. Knowing I have people I can turn to. I am valued here. There is a place for me here. can shape confidence, well-being, persistence, and the willingness to keep moving forward.

Mobility

Mobility means having the ability to move toward the future you want—through education, career advancement, economic opportunity, and greater choice.

A credential, a new skill, an introduction to an industry, or a first professional connection can create possibilities that extend far beyond a single program. Mobility is about having more pathways available and greater agency in choosing among them.

Belonging and mobility reinforce one another.


Belonging can make persistence possible. When people have trusted relationships, feel connected, and know where to turn when something goes wrong, they are better positioned to continue pursuing their goals.

Mobility can deepen belonging. Education, meaningful work, professional relationships, and the ability to contribute create new ways to participate in and shape one’s community.

That’s why H2TF helps people prepare, persist, and encounter possibilities—not simply to enter a pathway, but to build lives with greater belonging and greater possibility.

Readiness + Persistence Support + Exposure to Opportunity
= Belonging ∞ Mobility