Nonprofit launches ‘high-opportunity’ job platform for nondegree workers

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Workers without four-year degrees are increasingly getting a shot at better job opportunities. The nonprofit SkillUp Coalition announced the launch of a career platform for non-degree talent March 7, aiming to connect workers with training and “high-opportunity jobs.”

SkillUp said it will work to bridge the gap between HR professionals and diverse talent by making the platform appealing to workers. Along with “social capital training” and other forms of L&D, the platform includes milestone markers to “increase motivation and confidence” in users.

“We’re also excited to learn — through data and deep user insights — what works, and what doesn’t, in their ability to secure quality jobs,” CEO Steve Lee said in a press release.

SkillUp started in July 2020 as a means to connect talent displaced by COVID-19’s onset with jobs, HR Dive previously reported. The positive groundswell around upskilling has stayed strong since, even getting co-signs from a number of stakeholders. 

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce aimed to tackle summer 2021’s talent shortage with America Works, a several-pronged initiative that included federal investment in job training. The Senate also passed the United States Innovation and Competition Act that summer; the next year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an omnibus bill, the America Competes Act, to allocate Pell grants for retraining programs. A combined version of the legislation eventually became law in 2022.

On March 9, President Joe Biden’s administration rolled out its FY2024 budget proposal, which earmarked federal dollars to revolutionize career-readiness from the ground up. Free community college and tuition assistance for Historically Black Colleges or Universities, Tribally-Controlled Colleges or Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions are on the docket. 

In the request, Biden aims to invest in women, people of color and people in rural areas through “evidence-based training models.” Additionally, sectoral training, which often includes non-degree workers, is a part of Biden’s FY2024 vision.