<Note> Raising the Next Generation of NAWDP : What NEP Initiative Is

The purpose of this paper is to describe what NEP Initiative is, which NAWDP (National Association of Workforce Development Professionals, U.S.A.) began in 2014. NEP, New and Emerging Professionals, requires selected (at most) ten participants 35 years and under to study their own job as research project and discuss it among them at the monthly virtual meeting. The reason NAWDP began this initiative is that the board members were afraid of the future of this organization, whose board composed of the older generation. NEP initiative brings about many hints to Japan, where there is no counterpart of NAWDP. The author uses four kinds of data. (1) audio and visual data of the workshop on NEP at the conference May 2015, (2) application guidelines of NEP on its HP. (3) interview with Ms. Bridget Brown, Executive Director of NAWDP, at the conference, (4) email questions to three participants, with whom I exchanged our name cards after the conference. The findings are the below. (1) The selection committee places great importance on the readiness to higher administrative and managerial positions, which is evaluated through the writing of applicants, to the several questions such as "if you were part of NAWDP Leadership, for what issues and/or initiatives would you be most likely topromote?" (2) NEP participants encourage one another and have a sense of community. This is important for them because they are youngprofessionals who often feels isolated at their own workplace crowded with older andseasoned professionals. (3) NEP participants widen their field of vision at the meeting, which makes them go out of their own workplace and get new knowledge and perspective as for the whole industry of workforce development. A lot of young people are unclear about what the career pathway of workforce development professionals is like, which is the same as in Japan. Therefore, the author thinks that this opportunity of NEP initiative is critical to the younger generation and that we can learn several lessons from this initiative