American workers who have been laid off or furloughed in the wake of COVID-19 have a new resource to access training and employment opportunities, thanks to an ambitious initiative launched by a collaborative team of training and education providers, employers, technology companies, job readiness nonprofits, and philanthropies. The nonprofit SkillUp Coalition will provide displaced frontline workers with opportunities to build new skills that help them secure in-demand jobs with promising career paths. The Coalition will also enable partners to share best practices, collaborate on shared challenges, and participate in public engagement campaigns that help COVID-affected workers launch a prosperous new stage in their careers. By leveraging existing technology and its network of Coalition members, including core operating partners Guild Education, JFF, Opportunity@Work, and Strada Education Network, SkillUp’s platform is ready for frontline workers to begin using.
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According to a recent McKinsey report, up to one-third of U.S. jobs may be vulnerable as a result of COVID-19, and more than eighty percent of those are held by low-income workers. Designed to address the impact of the crisis on the most vulnerable communities in the American workforce, the SkillUp Coalition will leverage partners’ strengths to provide new pathways to career opportunities for the more than 40 million Americans who have filed for unemployment in the last several months. SkillUp focuses on supporting displaced workers earning less than $40,000 a year, a population that is disproportionately people of color, women, and individuals who have not earned a four-year college degree.
“With unemployment rates not seen since the Great Depression, frontline workers are trying to reorient themselves in the face of an uncertain future, and America needs an upskilling solution that meets the urgency and scale that this crisis demands,” said Josh Jarrett, Executive Chairman of the SkillUp Coalition. “In launching the SkillUp Coalition, we’re prepared to provide this solution by bringing together the best in training and education, employment, technology, and the nonprofit sector to re-skill and re-employ frontline workers who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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