Showing Youth Development + Economic Mobility + Digital Equity.

How Youth Development, Economic Mobility and Digital Equity Intersect

In Charlotte-Mecklenburg, getting online, finding steady work and growing up with support are tied together. A teen with a weak connection may not finish a job application. The same goes for a scholarship portal or a video interview. A family with shaky income may not be able to pay for a device or a steady connection. The people and experiences that help a young person find their footing now often run through the internet.

Economic Mobilitydurable opportunityDigital Equityaccess to modern lifeYouth Developmentrelationships and youth opportunity
Digital Equity and Economic Mobility: Moving up now takes a working connection
Economic Mobility and Youth Development: The groundwork comes before the payoff
Digital Equity and Youth Development: The way in is online, and it may not open
Where all three meet: where daily life compounds

Where all three meet: where daily life compounds

  1. Economic Mobility and Digital Equity: Moving up now takes a working connection
  2. Youth Development and Economic Mobility: The groundwork comes before the payoff
  3. Digital Equity and Youth Development: The way in is online, and it may not open
01

Digital Equity + Economic Mobility

Moving up now takes a working connection

National Skills Coalition found that 92% of jobs require at least one digital skill. Those jobs pay roughly 23% more than jobs that do not. In Charlotte-Mecklenburg, some households have no internet at all, and more lack true broadband. These gaps cluster in lower-income communities. Job searches, benefits portals, banking and college enrollment all assume a device and a steady connection. Without them, effort does not always turn into lasting opportunity.

02

Youth Development + Economic Mobility

The groundwork comes before the payoff

The fftc:FWD Folio on youth development focuses on supportive relationships, a look at careers and clear next steps. It does not promise results. Those experiences make opportunity easier to use. A young person with a named contact, a paid work experience and a clear next step is better placed to act. When a family's money is tight, even an optional program or unpaid chance can be out of reach.

03

Digital Equity + Youth Development

The way in is online, and it may not open

Many school portals, scholarship forms, career tools and program sign-ups now live online. A young person with no device, a weak connection or few digital skills meets a front door that will not open. Without a connection that is affordable and steady, a teen falls behind at every step. Slower applicants are often filtered out before a mentor or program can reach them.

How one gap turns into a repeating pattern

  1. 01

    Weak connection at home

    A household without broadband leans on a phone or public Wi-Fi, which cannot handle every task.

  2. 02

    Barriers to taking part show up

    A young person misses a deadline or gets filtered out because an online step fails them.

  3. 03

    Options shrink

    With no early career exposure, the relationships that open doors to work are simply missing.

  4. 04

    Gaps build on each other

    Lower pay makes it harder to afford a better connection or replace a failing device.

Pairing digital skills and home connections with paid youth jobs and information for families can loosen this knot while a young person still has choices.

By the numbers

  • 14%14% of homes in Mecklenburg County did not have internet access in 2023
  • 50th50th out of 50 cities in economic mobility, the lowest ranking in a 2014 Harvard study
  • 1,2001,200 teens applied for summer jobs in 2026 through the Mayor’s Youth Employment Program (MYEP)
  • 8,6008,600 households connected to free home-internet services through the City of Charlotte’s “Access Charlotte” initiative

Folio links, articles, and reports

Sources & methodology15 referenced sources

Based on fftc:FWD Folio material for these topics and public data, with broader context on how the issues connect.

AI assists with organizing and explaining selected fftc:FWD source material. It does not replace review by FFTC staff or the judgment of residents and civic partners.