A Call to Value People's Skills, Not Just Degrees

 So many Americans have great skills, but for too long we’ve valued the college degree as the primary path to success even though 70 percent of Americans don’t have one. This has left millions of Americans frustrated by a lack of opportunities that could help put them on a path to more fulfilling careers and income growth.

This is especially true for middle-skill workers—those with high school diplomas, and possibly some college, but not bachelor’s degrees.  Those who want to learn or demonstrate the skills or credentials to advance their career need a new way in! To provide these workers with the tools and support they need, the Markle Foundation and our national partners LinkedIn, Arizona State University, and edX created Skillful—a skills-based jobs platform that values people’s skills, not just degrees—to help jobseekers learn about available pathways and get on them.

Skillful is informed by data and research from some of the best firms in the nation, including LinkedIn, Burning Glass, McKinsey, Civis Analytics, and North Star Opinion Research. For more than a year, our team conducted eighteen stakeholder focus group sessions, five economic studies, and several market surveys in an effort to better understand the labor market and to develop a skills-based marketplace tailored to the needs of today’s digital economy.

The research found that jobseekers want quick and cost-effective training programs to improve their career options; employers need to fill middle-skills positions, but are unable to find enough qualified candidates; and educators want to coordinate with employers and alumni to improve their curriculum, but lack the means to do so. 

Skillful works to solve these problems through an engaging online platform and community of resources that focus on the key skills and training needed for each job. Skillful is the GPS for a jobseeker’s career.  User friendly tech tools combine with on-the-ground engagement to help jobseekers know where to look to find good paying jobs in high growth industries, which companies are hiring in those industries and the skills required, and where to find the training to get those jobs.

Job seekers will have access to LinkedIn’s new Training Finder, which shows the programs affiliated with employers, skills the program will teach them, and jobs they’ll be qualified for when they complete the program, among other things to help them get the job they want. 

With Skillful, users also will have access to navigators who are experienced advisors and career coaches. They will work with job seekers one-on-one to inform them about available pathways; share insights about additional training or schooling; and help them understand how to demonstrate their skills and interests to employers.

Skillful also works with employers to offer innovative tools and advisors to create transparent, skills-based job descriptions and to hire workers based on the core skills needed for the job. Employers will be able to better connect with local education and training institutions, which can then tailor programs to ensure workers have the skills and knowledge to be successful. Both of these collaborations will provide businesses with access to a broader talent pool.

By combining the power of an online platform with on-the-ground engagement, we can build a true grassroots effort to reach jobseekers in their communities and help people find new and fulfilling career paths.

We are partnering with some of the leading employers, educators, and workforce development organizations in the state of Colorado and the city of Phoenix, where Skillful will first go live. These locations were chosen for their track record and commitment to job and opportunity creation, education, and innovation, as well as their commitment to building partnerships aimed at improving the lives of their citizens. 

At a time when the digital economy is dramatically changing the workforce and business needs, it is critical that there be many more pathways that lead to fast growing and well-paying jobs. We believe Skillful will serve as a national model for giving job seekers what they need to not only access critical new skills and opportunities, but the support system they need to take that first step.