We're delighted to announce that Opportunity@Work has received a grant of $20 million from Yield Giving, the groundbreaking philanthropy founded by MacKenzie Scott. This investment will accelerate our efforts to drive $20 billion in wage gains for workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs). #HireSTARs #TearThePaperCeiling #Grant #workforcedevelopment Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eN9brmaR
Opportunity@Work
Civic and Social Organizations
Washington, DC 30,853 followers
#TearThePaperCeiling: Let's shatter the myth that no degree equals no skill. Join us!
About us
Our mission is to rewire the labor market so that all workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs) can work, learn, and earn to their full potential. Tag #TearThePaperCeiling or #HireSTARs for a chance for your photo or story to be featured.
- Website
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http://www.opportunityatwork.org
External link for Opportunity@Work
- Industry
- Civic and Social Organizations
- Company size
- 51-200 employees
- Headquarters
- Washington, DC
- Type
- Nonprofit
- Founded
- 2015
- Specialties
- workforce development, future of work, and labor market
Locations
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Primary
1111 19th Street N.W., Suite 1180
Washington, DC 20036, US
Employees at Opportunity@Work
Updates
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Does your company undervalue on-the-job training? 92% of hiring managers agree that the best place to develop skills is on-the-job. Learn the value of skills-first hiring. https://lnkd.in/dz9dpC8S #HireSTARs #wkdev #tearthepaperceiling
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Byron Auguste's recent fireside chat with McKinsey & Company was listed in the “Trending” section of this week's newsletter by ASPA (American Society for Public Administration)! Take a look at the article here: https://lnkd.in/en5kJ4de #HireSTARs #SkillsFirst
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Opportunity@Work reposted this
SXSW EDU 2025 Panel Picker voting is LIVE! We are excited to have three dynamic sessions in the mix for March 2025. Please take a moment to review our sessions and VOTE! 💡 Leveraging Data to Empower STARs’ Career Success Join us for an insightful panel on how data and technology revolutionize access to training and employment for STARs (people Skilled Through Alternative Routes). Discover how SkillUp, Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) Kentucky, and BuildWithin collaborate to support skills-based hiring and empower non-degree workers. Hear a first-hand account of a STAR’s journey with SkillUp from search to training to employment, and explore SkillUp platform data insights that reveal the employment journey of STARs, showcasing innovative approaches to economic mobility with measurable outcomes. Steven Lee, CEO, SkillUp Coalition Colby Hall, Executive Director, Shaping Our Appalachian Region, Inc. (SOAR) Brianna Griffin, Systems Engineer, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Philip Minardi, Co-Founder, BuildWithin VOTE HERE: https://lnkd.in/geEpkQV2 💡 Does AI Work? Evaluating AI Tools for Education & Work In the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, it's crucial to move beyond the buzz and showcase real-world applications that are making a tangible difference. Our panel "Does AI Work?" brings together a diverse group of leaders who are pioneering, monitoring, and evaluating AI-driven solutions in education and career navigation. We delve into how AI is being used to address challenges in the K12-postsecondary-workforce pipeline and how the field is using, monitoring, and evaluating AI-enabled tools to drive education and mobility outcomes for students and learners. Richard Hendra, Director, Center for Data Insights, MDRC Isaac K. , Deputy Executive Director, Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) Dr. Roberta Lenger Kang, Executive Director, Center for Professional Education of Teachers at Teachers College, Columbia University Steven Lee, Chief Executive Officer, SkillUp VOTE HERE: https://lnkd.in/gukpT7WK 💡 Beyond Data: Understanding Worker Voice in the Labor Market In a rapidly evolving labor market, it’s crucial to engage the voices of workers, particularly those in lower-wage roles, to understand their experiences in employment. In this conversation, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and SkillUp discuss their partnership, which leverages SkillUp’s survey panel of 7,000+ workers to inform the Bank’s Worker Voices series, which amplifies how workers in lower-wage roles navigate the labor market. The parties will discuss key learnings to date and plans to leverage data for additional insights to inform policy and practice for greater economic mobility. Steven Lee, Chief Executive Officer, SkillUp Coalition Sarah Miller, Principal Adviser, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta VOTE HERE: https://lnkd.in/gWW6TTDj #SXSWEDU #SXSWEDU2025 #PanelPicker #SkillUp SXSW EDU
Leveraging Data to Empower STARs’ Career Success
panelpicker.sxsw.com
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"OneTen research found that while the majority of hiring managers are having difficulty finding qualified candidates, those who practice skills-first hiring find it twice as easy. Focusing on skills connects you with qualified candidates you may otherwise overlook and screen out, including over 70 million job seekers who are "Skilled Through Alternative Routes" rather than a four-year degree—or STARs, as coined by Opportunity@Work." Read this recent article in Forbes by Raj Mukherjee of Indeed: https://lnkd.in/eGh7RJg4 #HireSTARs #wkdev #skillsfirst
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Our own, Blair Corcoran de Castillo, Vice President of Policy, joined Bob Lavigna, IPMA-HR SCP of UKG for a podcast discussion on "Leading Change: Insights on Public Sector Leadership and Engagement." Tune in here: https://lnkd.in/evpZ28As #HireSTARs #PublicSector #Government
In my latest podcast conversation in “Leading Change: Insights Public Sector Leadership and Engagement,” I speak with Blair Corcoran de Castillo, Vice President of Policy, Opportunity@Work. Blair’s organization is leading the national movement to “shred the paper ceiling” by eliminated unnecessary degree requirements for job applicants. This strategy opens the #hiring process to talented people who are “Skilled Through Alternative Means” (STARs). In our conversation, Blair and I discuss why this is important, especially for the #publicsector, and how organizations have implemented #skillsbasedhiring to expand and #diversify their applicant pools. Blair Corcoran de Castillo Patrick Bennett Opportunity@Work Gina Rosen, PhD John Kelly Bryan Peck Andrea Velez-Greene UKG NASPE PSHRA ICMA - International City/County Management Association National Association of Counties Karla Wilkins Beatriz Mitchell Lisa Juley Phillip Clary Jamie Haskins
Leading Change: Insights on Public Sector Leadership and Engagement
www.linkedin.com
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Whether you are a community college leader, a state agency employee, or a local government official, partnering with community colleges to create and enhance pathways for STARs is an opportunity to identify the skills needed for new and vacant positions. ACCT's new Community College Skills Based Hiring Playbook outlines how individuals can establish these relationships. We are proud to have partnered with the Association of Community College Trustees on this playbook along with the State of Maryland, select employers, and four pilot Maryland Community Colleges. Take a look: https://lnkd.in/evmHpMn6 #HireSTARs #CommunityCollege #PublicSector
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Our CEO and Co-Founder, Byron Auguste, joined Darius Bates and Carolyn Pierce of McKinsey & Company, for a discussion about how organizations can improve their hiring processes and adopt practices that encourage a workforce with a diversity of experience, skills, and perspectives.
To fully tap into the talent marketplace, companies can reconsider the way they hire. In this fireside chat, McKinsey Partner, Darius Bates, moderates a discussion between his colleague, Carolyn Pierce, and Byron Auguste, co-Founder and CEO of Opportunity@Work, about how organizations can improve their hiring processes and adopt practices that encourage a workforce with a diversity of experience, skills, and perspectives. #SustainableInclusiveGrowth #TearThePaperCeiling #OpportunityGap #EquityOutcomes
Opportunity@Work: Addressing the opportunity gap and improving workforce equity outcomes
mckinsey.com
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Is your company experiencing a "talent gap"? Or have you overlooked the 70 million workers that are skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree? Learn the value of skills-first hiring. https://lnkd.in/dz9dpC8S #HireSTARs #wkdev #tearthepaperceiling
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"Do you have your BA?" - Interviewer "Like from college?" - Applicant "I'm so sorry, they're actually really strict about that here. I know it's super annoying, but they always like to promote from within so all the new hires have to have degrees, for leadership potential." - Interviewer "But I did this exact job for 15 years." - Applicant "No for sure. I'm sorry. Maybe you could try night school? Would definitely help with the job hunt." - Interviewer "Yea, maybe..." - Applicant Season 3, Episode 6 of The Bear really tugged at our heartstrings. In this episode, Tina (beautifully portrayed by Liza Colon-Zayas) finds herself blocked by The Paper Ceiling. She applies for a job that she’s done for 15 years and is clearly qualified for, but was told by the interviewer that they can’t hire her because she doesn’t have a college degree. This is the reality that 70+ million STARs (workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes) can face every day in our nation. Unnecessary bachelor’s degree requirements screen out too many qualified, talented individuals, leaving employers unable to fill roles, and STARs unable to achieve upward mobility. We must #TearThePaperCeiling so that all qualified talent- like Tina in The Bear- can get jobs they’re qualified to do. FX
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