Company leaders are used to hearing that education matters for the workforce in general terms, but JP Conte’s recent Forbes Business Council column makes a more specific argument: business leaders have a direct stake in whether first-generation college students finish their degrees, and most aren’t doing enough about it. Conte, founder and managing partner of his family office, Lupine Crest Capital, writes from personal experience as a first-generation student whose own parents didn’t attend college.
His case is built around what he calls an information gap rather than a talent gap. Students without a family history of higher education often lack access to the informal knowledge others take for granted, including how financial aid actually works, how to choose a major with career prospects in mind, and how to navigate a large university bureaucracy. That gap, Conte argues, has less to do with ability and more to do with access to information.
The Business Case, Not Just the Moral One
Conte frames the issue partly in economic terms. He cites a completion rate showing that only 24% of first-generation students graduate with a bachelor’s degree within six years, a figure well below the rate for their peers. Closing that gap, he argues, would generate billions in broader economic benefit, since it means more graduates entering the workforce with the credentials employers already say they need.
That framing moves the conversation away from charity and toward strategy. A company investing in first-generation students is also addressing a supply problem in its own talent pipeline, according to Conte’s reasoning.
What He Wants Companies to Actually Do
Conte’s recommendation is specific: fund programs that provide multi-year support rather than one-time gifts, and measure results the way a business would measure any other investment, tracking graduation rates, employment outcomes, and career progression over time. He has applied this thinking through his own support of organizations including SEO San Francisco and 10,000 Degrees, and through the J-P Conte Family Foundation.
Why He Frames This as Overlooked
Conte notes that most companies already fund education in some form, whether through scholarships, recruiting partnerships, or general community giving. What he argues is missing is a specific focus on first-generation students as a distinct group with a distinct barrier, one that a scholarship alone doesn’t address. Naming that barrier directly, he suggests, is the first step toward a business response that actually closes the completion gap rather than simply adding to the volume of education-related giving already underway.
Readers can find Conte’s full column, along with more of his commentary on education and philanthropy, through his Forbes Business Council profile and LinkedIn, both linked below.