SkillUp Coalition and Jobs for the Future Release Earn and Learn Toolkit to Fill Critical Skills and Labor Gaps in Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

Resource offers guidance to assess earn and learn programs – structured programs in which workers learn and apply skills and earn a wage at the same time- to foster more inclusive workplaces

SkillUp Coalition, a national collaboration of nonprofits, training providers, and employers, has partnered with Jobs for the Future (JFF) with funding from Google.org to develop a digital toolkit for small and medium-sized businesses to explore how common earn and learn models—paid internships, Registered Apprenticeships, and on-the-job training—can connect them to a broader, more diverse pool of workers to fill critical skills and labor gaps, while reducing costs to recruit and onboard new workers. The newly released resource offers guidance for small and medium-sized businesses on how to assess the fit of earn and learn programs within their unique business context and provides actionable steps on where and how to start.

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With U.S. job openings exceeding 10.7 million in September 2022, small and medium-sized businesses, the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, are facing unprecedented challenges to support labor gaps and the economic strains that result regionally and nationally. Today, it’s more important than ever to source reliable talent quickly and develop pipelines that can deliver talent from diverse backgrounds who will be prepared to make an impact on day one. And it’s especially important for digital jobs, for which the demand across industries continues to increase.

“Earn and learn models not only offer employers an opportunity to expand their talent pipeline, but also meet essential business goals. Validated by SkillUp workers, this toolkit offers practical solutions and tips for SMBs for which earn and learn models have been historically out of reach,” said Elissa Salas, Vice President of Partnerships and Operations, SkillUp.

Earn and learn models—structured programs in which workers learn and apply skills and earn a wage at the same time—are a powerful way for businesses to attract and recruit workers quicker for long-term employment and foster more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces. Specifically, earn and learn programs in digital jobs can help businesses keep pace with and benefit from technological advancements by bringing in new talent to focus and specialize in IT areas or who may have greater familiarity with the new technology already—all while showing commitment to their communities by investing in local talent.

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“Earn and learn programs offer the chance to address two systemic problems at once. Small businesses need better ways to find workers who have the talent, training, and resilience to stabilize their workforce,” said Kristina Francis, Executive Director of JFFLabs with Jobs for the Future. “And workers who have for generations been overlooked and undertrained need pathways to good jobs with long-term prospects for economic advancement. There is a bright-light opportunity for employers who can see the potential of earn-and-learn through the lens of equity.”

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