Walmart’s investment will empower the pioneering nonprofit to accelerate employers’ implementation of skills-first talent practices through more rigorous measurement of ROI, change management support, and an employer-driven narrative
Boston, MA – July, 29 2024 – Grads of Life, an initiative of the workforce development organization Year Up, announced today new funding of $1 million made possible by Walmart to advance the skills-first movement. This follows a $1 million investment from Walmart in the summer of 2023 which will enable Grads of Life to create skills-first talent strategies that lead to economic opportunity and mobility for American workers.
This latest grant will support Grads of Life’s efforts to:
- Empower employers to measure the business impact of skills-first talent practices
- Provide employers with change management support and hiring manager resources
- Create a compelling narrative to encourage more companies to hire based on skills rather than college degree attainment
“An increasing number of companies are taking the critical first step of removing college degree requirements from job roles where they aren’t necessary, opening opportunities to millions of workers who do not have a four-year degree. The current challenge is to actually change hiring practices so that more people without degrees can earn a family-sustaining wage,” said Elyse Rosenblum, Managing Director & Founder, Grads of Life. “With generous support made possible by Walmart, Grads of Life is tackling the three primary issues that are limiting progress on this front: the need for a stronger analysis of the financial benefits of skills-first talent strategies; lack of relevant change management support and hiring manager resources; and the need for an employer-driven narrative to bring greater visibility to this movement.”
Grads of Life empowers companies to create skills-first talent strategies with the aim of both closing persistent talent gaps and creating new pathways to economic opportunity and mobility for workers. Having spent the past decade as the primary catalyst of the skills-first movement, the nonprofit is now working to encourage the implementation of these strategies across industries.
In partnership with the Business Roundtable (BRT), Grads of Life developed an Impact Measurement Framework to provide employers with specific metrics to track how skills-first talent practices have affected their businesses. Grads of Life will now work with a small group of employers to pilot, test, and document ROI results, with the goal of providing companies with the tools they need to engage in empowered decision-making regarding their talent strategies.
To accelerate practice adoption, Grads of Life will focus on internal change management and create resources such as webinars for hiring managers, while also advocating for system and technology changes that can better create the conditions, processes, and policies for skills-first practices. This fall, Grads of Life will launch a new online platform, where company leaders and HR professionals can hear from their peers regarding the value of assessing candidates based on skills.
“Close to 10 years ago, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation began investing in a skills-first approach to create more opportunities for hourly retail workers to grow and build careers,” said Julie Gehrki, VP of the Walmart Foundation. “Over the years, we’ve worked closely with Grads of Life and many others to create momentum for the skills-first movement, and we’re encouraged about the widespread buy-in we’re seeing. Now it’s time to turn the momentum into action and lasting impact, which is why we’re excited about this latest effort to help employers implement skills-first practices in meaningful ways.”
Grads of Life has engaged more than 100 companies in measuring the impact of skills-first talent practices and has worked closely with more than 30 employers in changing their hiring policies. In the past year, Grads of Life created tools and resources to supplement their Impact Measurement Framework, hosted a Skills-First Impact Measurement Action Cohort in partnership with BRT and OneTen for dozens of their member companies, and is currently co-leading the Tear the Paper Ceiling HR Tech Taskforce with Opportunity@Work.
About Philanthropy at Walmart
Walmart.org represents the philanthropic efforts of Walmart and the Walmart Foundation. By focusing where the business has unique strengths, Walmart.org works to tackle key social and environmental issues and collaborate with others to spark long-lasting systemic change. Walmart has stores in 19 countries, employs more than 2.1 million associates and does business with thousands of suppliers who, in turn, employ millions of people. Walmart.org is helping people live better by supporting programs to accelerate upward job mobility for frontline workers, advance equity, address hunger, build inclusive economic opportunity for people in supply chains, protect and restore nature, reduce waste and emissions, and build strong communities where Walmart operates. To learn more, visit walmart.org or connect on Twitter @Walmartorg.
About Grads of Life
Grads of Life, an initiative of Year Up, works with leading employers to create skills-first talent strategies that deliver both business benefits and social impact, providing employers with the insights, tools and partnerships to address talent needs while expanding access to opportunity throughout the workplace. For more information, visit www.gradsoflife.org or find us on LinkedIn & Twitter.
