Grads of Life

The most admired employers in the world are leveraging skills-first talent practices to unlock competitive advantage, increase productivity, and drive overall business performance. Check out Skills Speak to hear from more industry leaders about why they’ve adopted skills-first talent practices – and the impact it has had on their organizations: https://lnkd.in/gmwF_xQF #GradsofLife #SkillsFirst #TalentPractices #SkillsSpeak?

?? New skills-first insights for employers! Building on the Impact Measurement Framework Playbook, “MPI Lessons Learned: Measuring the Impact of Skills-Based Talent Initiatives” offers insights from companies involved in the Business Roundtable Multiple Pathways Initiative (MPI) and OneTen’s Impact Measurement Action Cohort that have begun collecting and reporting on data from their skills-based initiatives. Companies found that a successful skills-first talent strategy requires: ? Aligning on goals and selecting the right metrics to achieve them ? Enhancing internal data reporting ? Leveraging data for strategic change management ? Collaborating to report success at scale Along with these key findings, the report delves into actionable recommendations employers can start implementing right away. See more here: https://lnkd.in/g5hw3mNr This week, the Grads of Life team led a session for MPI and OneTen members to discuss these findings and recommended action steps. We were honored to be joined by Christie Gragnani-Woods (Bank of America) and Lemuel Levels (Berkshire Hathaway Energy), who shared insights from an employer perspective. We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with employers and sharing further findings and outcomes with the wider community as they become available! #GradsofLife #MPI #SkillsFirst #TalentPractices

Join us as we close out the year celebrating 10 years of Grads of Life! As Abigail Carlton, VP of Social Impact and Sustainability at Indeed, notes, Grads of Life led the way in demand-side?strategy – one focused not on preparing jobseekers for employment but rather on preparing employers to leverage and value a much more diverse range of talent. Since then, we’ve been working closely with employers and others to change mindsets, practices, and policies, enabling greater opportunity for all. Learn more about this strategy and our progress over the last decade: https://lnkd.in/dsj5_fS9 #GoL10Years #GradsofLife #SkillsFirst #TalentPractices?

The Good Jobs Initiative’s Skills-First Starter Kit, which was announced this week at the White House, shares in?plain and concrete terms what skills-first hiring is and how employers can do it well. Our team at Grads of Life provided insights and feedback to help inform this user-friendly guide, and we’re excited to see it out in the world! This resource, meant for both small businesses and larger employers interested in exploring skills-first talent strategies, also shares tools that can reduce the organizational lift of moving from traditional hiring to skills-first hiring. Give it a read, and let us know what you think! Skills-First Hiring Starter Kit: https://lnkd.in/dR8YfbCz #GoodJobs #GradsofLife #SkillsFirst #SkillsBasedHiring U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Department of Commerce Nick Beadle

“For employers, taking a bet on someone who hasn’t entered the workforce yet can seem like a gamble, but that can be a short-sighted view,” writes AJ Barkley, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Bank of America.? In this Forbes piece, Barkley outlines some of the reasons why it’s important to invest in the leaders of tomorrow, including:? ? The Next Generation Offers Fresh Perspectives and Insights? ? It Can Strengthen Your Workplace Culture? ? Internships Can Fuel Your Talent Pipeline? ? You’ll Be Setting Up the Next Generation for Success? ? We’ll Build a Stronger Workforce Overall Barkley notes that Bank of America has a long history of investing in youth employment, including through partnerships with organizations like Year Up United.? “Investing in early career-building opportunities through your organization will have a long-term impact, and not just for that one individual,” shares Barkley. “They are an important way for us to prepare and develop future leaders, build a more skilled U.S. workforce, and create new career pathways that will help our economy grow.”? Interested in learning more and incorporating these investments into your talent strategy? Read the full piece here: https://lnkd.in/gPiEyvNB Thank you to AJ Barkley for contributing your insights to the Grads of Life Forbes blog! #GradsofLife #BankofAmerica #YearUpUnited #SkillsFirst #TalentPractices?

INSIGHTFUL FINDINGS ?? Businesses that invest in their employees, through human-centered practices and policies, can achieve greater profits, stronger retention, and better overall business performance. The Competitive Advantage of the Win-Win Workplace report provides actionable insights for employers aiming to drive sustainable growth through a people-first approach. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gN_7i2RR Led by Dr. Angela Jackson and Future Forward Strategies, in collaboration with?The Burning Glass Institute, JUST Capital, and supported by Walmart, researchers examined the workplace policies of 355 Fortune 500 companies.? Findings show that companies with policies aligned with the Win-Win Workplace Framework rank higher in economic progress and growth than companies without these policies. The framework’s pillars include centering employee voices, mutualistic working relationships, intersectional inclusion strategies, hiring #STARs versus prioritizing credentials, and developing deep talent benches. We’re encouraged by these results, as they highlight what we know to be true: adopting skills-first talent practices is beneficial for both businesses and society. As Year Up United advances in our mission to close the Opportunity Divide, Grads of Life looks forward to partnering with more employers across the country – developing skills-first strategies customized to your organization to provide the most value to your business and to your employees. #GradsofLife #SkillsFirst #FutureofWork #WinWinWorkplace

Skills speak louder than degrees. Industry-leading employers including LinkedIn, PwC, IBM, and Blackstone have spoken out about why and how they’re prioritizing skills-first talent practices. Hear their experiences, test your skills-first knowledge, and learn how to adopt these impactful practices: https://lnkd.in/gmwF_xQF Huge thanks to Walmart for their support in this effort to strengthen the narrative about the power of skills-first! #GradsofLife #SkillsFirst #TalentPractices #SkillsSpeak

UNTAPPED is now streaming on Netflix!? Follow the powerful, real-life stories of six Year Up United graduates as they launch careers, redefining what it means to be a "qualified” job candidate. Witness the profound impact that adopting skills-first talent practices has had for both historically overlooked talent and top businesses like JPMorganChase, Walmart, Workday, and many more.? Produced by Workday, Lebron James, Maverick Carter, and The SpringHill Company, #UNTAPPED captures the importance of skills-first talent practices through the perspectives of the country’s top CEOs and nonprofit leaders, including Year Up United Founder & Advisor Gerald Chertavian. These practices benefit both talent and employers, driving meaningful and lasting change that positively affects individuals, businesses, and communities. As part of Year Up United, our team at Grads of Life is proud to work directly with employers to assess, adopt, enhance, and measure their skills-first talent practices. We look forward to the important conversations this film will ignite and the opportunity to increase awareness of the skills-first movement. Don't miss out—watch UNTAPPED today and spread the word: https://lnkd.in/eEVPhUht #Netflix #Documentary #CareerSuccess #SkillsFirst #GradsofLife #UNTAPPEDFilm??

We’re thrilled to announce that Grads of Life has released our 10-year anniversary report, Ten Years of Pioneering Progress in the Skills-First Movement. This report is an exciting account of Grads of Life’s progress toward our vision of an America where every person has access to economic opportunity and mobility. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gydkBPBh The report details how we’ve tackled the challenge of changing employers’ perceptions of who counts as talent – and then changing employer talent practices at scale. It also looks ahead to the next ten years, including a sneak peek at our new platform to help spur skills-first conversations, Skills Speak Although there’s still a tremendous amount of work to do, we’re invigorated by the momentum of the skills-first movement and energized by the strong network of partners helping to lead this vital work. Grads of Life has come a long way since our founding as the systems change arm of Year Up United in 2014! Any reflections or memories come to mind? Let us know in the comments! #GradsofLife #SkillsFirst #10Years #AnniversaryReport

In this newly published Forbes piece, Grads of Life Founder & Managing Partner Elyse Rosenblum spotlights our partner Blackstone and its Career Pathways program — a skills-first initiative designed, launched, and supported in collaboration with Grads of Life. With more than 60 of Blackstone’s portfolio companies currently participating, #BXCareerPathways expands the pools from which companies hire and advance talent through inclusive practice adoption to deliver better business outcomes.? This repeatable model is delivering strong results: Since 2020, Blackstone’s portfolio companies have made more than 10,500 hires from historically excluded communities.? Learnings from Blackstone’s Career Pathways program point to 4 key steps companies can take to start measuring the value of their skills-first talent practices:? ? Identify your skills-first goals? ? For each goal, outline 1-3 #ROI metrics? ? Build buy-in? ? Track & iterate Grads of Life partners with employers on each of these steps to ensure you’re not only adopting skills-first practices, but doing so in a way that’s impactful for your organization. We’re proud to partner with Blackstone to advance the #SkillsFirst movement and demonstrate the business and societal benefits of skills-first talent management to employers across the country. Read the full piece here: https://lnkd.in/g9sN_yQK #GradsofLife #Blackstone #PartnershipInAction