Opportunity@Work Receives $20 Million from MacKenzie Scott

Transformative grant will accelerate national nonprofit's effort to drive $20 billion in wage gains for workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs)

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Opportunity@Work, a national nonprofit focused on catalyzing economic mobility for the American workforce, announced today that it has received a grant of $20 million from Yield Giving, the groundbreaking philanthropy founded by MacKenzie Scott. The unrestricted funding will support Opportunity@Work's mission to generate a $20 billion boost in annual earnings for workers who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs). There are more than 70 million STARs in the U.S. (over 50% of all U.S. workers), all of whom have gained their skills on-the-job—such as through military service, community college, partial college completion, workforce training programs, skills bootcamps, and more—rather than through a bachelor's degree.

"Today's labor market is not working for the half of U.S. workers who are STARs," said Byron Auguste, co-founder and CEO of Opportunity@Work. "MacKenzie Scott and Yield Giving's commitment affirms the critical role that STARs play in building our economy and brings us closer to fulfilling our mission of building a skills-first labor market that works for STARs—one where if you can do the job, you can get the job. This investment allows us to capitalize on our years of foundation-building to now generate skills-based hiring solutions for scale."

MacKenzie Scott and Yield Giving represent the latest philanthropic commitment to the STARs movement, joining other philanthropic partners investing in impact solutions for STARs hiring and mobility. Opportunity@Work will utilize this investment over the next four years to:

• Equip large companies and the public sector to hire STARs into good, in-demand jobs;
• Shift employer behavior to include the STARs talent pool in regional and industry initiatives; and,
• Engage large-scale talent technology platforms to incorporate STARs-centric data and workflows.

"Building a labor market around skills rather than pedigrees is not an easy task. It will take rigorous research, visionary leadership, and a commitment to collaboration to translate these ideas into reality for employers and workers alike," said Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and Chair of Opportunity@Work's Board of Directors. "Opportunity@Work is bringing all three of those crucial qualities to bear on leading the skills-first movement, along with leaning into scaling tactics with GenAI and talent tech integrations. They're proving that while there's still a long way to go, the shift to skills is not a fad—it's a major step towards sustainability in ensuring that STARs can succeed across all levels of the U.S. economy."

The organization is working closely with key partners to develop a nationwide initiative, formally launching in January 2025, to create a powerful platform for regional, industry, philanthropic, and policy leaders to empower STARs—the majority of whom are also Women, Black, Hispanic, Rural, and Veteran U.S. workers—to work, learn, earn, and contribute to their full potential, enriching communities and industries as they do. 

Over the past four years, Opportunity@Work's landmark research proved that millions of STARs have demonstrated skills for roles with salaries at least 50% higher than their current jobs, but have been blocked from those roles by a "paper ceiling" consisting of degree screens, stereotypes, biased hiring algorithms, and more. The organization introduced public and private sector employers to STARs as a "skilled talent category" by launching the award-winning "Tear the Paper Ceiling" campaign in partnership with the Ad Council and Ogilvy, generating over 5 billion media impressions in just the first 18 months. The campaign has generated commitments from 70+ national corporate, technology and non-profit partners to adopt new systems and standards for skills-based hiring – including the world's largest job site and Fortune 500 employers. Opportunity@Work also created the STARs Public Sector Hub for federal, state, and local leaders, in direct response to and collaboration with the 22 states that have recently removed degree requirements from public-sector job postings. This means a total of 500,000 jobs that were once inaccessible to STARs are now within reach. 

Opportunity@Work developed the "STARs" language to change the false and damaging narrative that "low wage equals low skill." Across the country, STARs have identified with this new community and have shared that they now feel seen, understood, validated, and empowered. "I never got a college degree. But I am a skilled worker, and now a CEO," says LaShana Lewis, who is also a member of Opportunity@Work's STARs Advisory Council. "Opportunity@Work has created, alongside STARs, a powerful call-to-action for employers to realize this talent, right in their backyards. A few years ago, no one identified as a STAR, but now, thousands do—it's a spotlight based on what we as STARs can do, not on what we aren't. This investment in Opportunity@Work is an investment in STARs; it's an incredible and powerful signal."

In the years ahead, Opportunity@Work and its private and public sector partners will work towards economic mobility for STARs together, on purpose. The organization welcomes all who wish to advance STARs' career mobility and earnings while building a stronger US economy to learn more at opportunityatwork.org.

About Opportunity@Work

Opportunity@Work is a national nonprofit dedicated to re-wiring the labor market so that all individuals skilled through alternative routes (STARs) can work, learn, and earn to their full potential. Opportunity@Work engages with companies, public sector employers, philanthropic institutions, and workforce partners to directly address the barriers that STARs face, recognize STARs' talent, and transform STARs hiring and mobility practices. Learn more at www.opportunityatwork.org.

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SOURCE Opportunity@Work