FUTURE FORCE
Gap Buster™
A three-year mission to build the workforce behind the Global Games.
Prepare. Practice. Perform.
Powered by the Victory by Valor Innovation Fellows Program
Built for the QUIET GRIND.
FUTURE FORCE GAP BUSTER is a three-year (2027–2029) workforce development and industry partnership initiative that prepares, connects and launches people into broadcast production, spectrum operations, live event technology, AI-enabled storytelling and digital content careers around global sporting, media and cultural events.
- The learners are already here. Nearly 180,000 of the more than 1.6 million California community college students counted for Spring 2026 were evening students: at least one evening class and no day classes (preliminary Chancellor’s Office data, via EdSource).
- They study after a full day. EdSource followed more than a dozen evening students at five L.A. community colleges: a diner worker learning English, a teenager caring for a disabled brother, a full-time accountant, a pre-med commuter.
- The system closes before they arrive. One Santa Monica College student could not print a required worksheet because the library had already closed; an L.A. Valley College ESL professor asks for campus services to stay open later.
- Employers are building their own pipelines. Palantir’s paid, four-month Meritocracy Fellowship for high school graduates drew nearly 700 applicants for 26 slots and plans to take up to 50 next; a16z is incubating a tuition-free, one-year academy starting fall 2027 (New York Post, Oct 1, 2026). Gap Buster’s Perform pillar gives employer partners the same direct line to talent: mentorship, real production work and hiring opportunities.
- Gap Buster meets them there. Non-credit courses are the basis of our modular training (Vision 2030), carried through Prepare · Practice · Perform toward 340 Fellows, 250+ career outcomes and one unified talent pipeline.
I have to find a way to (make) sacrifices so I can be able to learn.Vanium Vilchez, evening ESL student, Los Angeles Valley College (said in Spanish) Calvin Henry & Martin Romero · EdSource California Student Journalism Corps Read the article ↗ Featured reading · New York Post · Oct 1, 2026 Tech companies launching their own programs to train grads because they ‘can’t rely’ on Ivy Leagues
It used to be the case that you could rely on somebody who went to an Ivy or Ivy-equivalent to be top notch… But that’s not the case anymore.Jordan Hirsch, who runs Palantir’s Meritocracy Fellowship Lydia Moynihan · New York Post Read the article ↗
The degree edge is shrinking.
A college degree no longer opens the first door the way it used to. Three forces are driving it:
- Supply ≠ demand. More Americans hold degrees than ever, while the trades can’t hire fast enough: construction alone needs 349,000 new workers in 2026.1,5
- AI is taking the entry-level desk. Employment of 22–25-year-olds in AI-exposed jobs is 19% below where it would be had it kept pace with less-exposed peers.2
- Employers now hire for skills. Walmart is removing degree requirements for most roles; 94% of Delta’s 2021 non-executive openings filled externally required no degree; Bank of America is adding 1,000 apprentices without four-year degrees.3
1 Associated Builders and Contractors, Jan 15, 2026 · 2 Brynjolfsson, Chandar & Chen, “Canaries in the Coal Mine?”, Stanford Digital Economy Lab, rev. Aug 12, 2026 · 3 Walmart, Feb 22, 2024; Delta, Apr 4, 2022; Reuters, Sept 24, 2026 · 4 Federal Reserve Bank of New York, The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates, Q2 2026 · 5 Burning Glass Institute analysis, The Wall Street Journal, Sept 7, 2026 · 6 Cline & Kaymak, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Nov 24, 2025 (ages 22–27, vs. high-school grads)
Unprecedented demand. Thousands left out.
Major global sporting, media and cultural events generate unprecedented demand for skilled talent in:
Yet thousands of talented young people and career-transitioning adults remain disconnected from the training, networks and opportunities needed to participate in this economy.
Prepare. Connect. Launch.
A three-year workforce development and industry partnership initiative to prepare, connect and launch the next generation of professionals into careers supporting global sporting events, media production, creative technology, communications infrastructure and AI-powered content industries.
Prepare. Practice. Perform.
The central nervous system of the offering: it builds a community of employers and mentors around people who have the right stuff.
- Training, career pathways and apprenticeships
- Curriculum, credentials and faculty expertise
- The five training tracks of the Fellowship
- Mentorship, internships and projects
- Real-world production experiences
- Industry mentors · target 150+
- Hiring opportunities with employer partners
- Showcase & recruitment events · target 20+
- Career outcomes · target 255
A platform, not a standalone program.
Gap BusterForce multiplier
Together, these partnerships create a workforce development force multiplier capable of achieving outcomes no single organization could produce alone: a community of employers and mentors built around fellows who have the right stuff, the Talented Tenth: in 2026 terms, a pool of talent not yet assessed, which our apprenticeships assess and develop.
“The Talented Tenth”: W.E.B. Du Bois, 1903, on educating the most able so they can lead and lift their communities. Read for 2026, it names talent that has not yet been assessed or developed; apprenticeship is how it gets both.
Vision 2030: modular by design.
Non-credit courses provide the basis for our modular workforce training.
Named individuals are invited, proposed faculty and advisors only. No agreement, commitment or endorsement by them or their institutions is implied.
A workforce readiness initiative inspired by the future of global sports, media and cultural events.
Preparing talent for the broadcast, technology, creative and communications opportunities generated by major international sporting and cultural events.
Four founders. An ecosystem invited.
Building a community of employers and mentors around the Talented Tenth: talent not yet assessed, developed through apprenticeship.
Program leadership and workforce training.
Community engagement, education pathways and participant support.
Innovation strategy, impact measurement and ecosystem development.
Industry engagement, technology expertise and communications infrastructure.
- California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, Workforce & Economic DevelopmentInvited
- Los Angeles County Pathway to 2028Invited
- City of Los Angeles Economic & Workforce Development DepartmentInvited
- City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural AffairsInvited
- Planet Roc FoundationInvited
- UCLA Anderson School of Management, Center for Media, Entertainment & SportsInvited
- USC Annenberg School for Communication and JournalismInvited
- Recruiters, broadcasters, production companies, technology companies, spectrum operators, sports organizations and creative economy employersInvited
Invited organizations are listed as invitees only. No partnership, endorsement or commitment on their part is implied.
Three years. Measurable targets.
Industry mentors
Employer partners
Showcase & recruitment events
of industry connections
All figures are three-year program targets for 2027–2029. They are goals, not results.
Wanted: humans in the loop.
We are looking for select humans in the loop to fortify the FUTURE FORCE GAP BUSTER mission.
- Solution architects
- Force-multiplier change agents
Launch it. Build a lasting legacy.
We are seeking founding investments, sponsorships, workforce funding, in-kind support and strategic partnerships to launch FUTURE FORCE GAP BUSTER and establish a lasting workforce legacy.
- Shape program design
- Influence industry pathways
- Access emerging talent
- Receive recognition as ecosystem builders
- Help create a workforce model that can scale nationally
Join the Alliance.
The demand for talent is growing. The opportunity is real. The workforce of the future will not build itself. FUTURE FORCE GAP BUSTER is a collaborative mission to ensure that talent, not access, determines who participates in the industries shaping tomorrow.
Prepare. Practice. Perform.
Concept brief. All figures are targets. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any games organizing committee or sports governing body. Imagery is AI-generated concept art.