SAN FRANCISCO, June 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The SkillUp Coalition, a national collaboration of nonprofits, training providers, and employers, today announced the Hire Opportunity Coalition (HOC) will merge with SkillUp. The combination of the organizations will enable SkillUp to build deeper relationships with a wide array of leading American employers, thereby providing a guided and supported career path to more workers.  For the Hire Opportunity Coalition, joining with SkillUp will deliver new benefits to partner employers, including helping them hire more opportunity talent, learn emerging best practices and amplify their equitable employment efforts. Moving forward, the initiative will be known as the SkillUp Coalition Employer Network.

The HOC was created in 2015 by Starbucks and the Schultz Family Foundation, which was co-founded by Sheri Schultz and Starbucks chief executive officer Howard Schultz. HOC has long been a pioneer in helping national employers hire, retain, and professionally develop Opportunity Youth (16-24-year-olds who are disconnected from school and/or employment). Legacy HOC members include Amazon, Verizon, Five Guys, and Hyatt, to name just a few. Meanwhile, SkillUp has emerged as a worker-centric innovative enabler of hundreds of thousands of job seekers. Together, SkillUp and HOC stand to make an even greater impact on worker mobility -- by working hand-in-glove with leading employers -- at a time when it's needed most.

"SkillUp's commitment goes beyond simply providing resources; we aim to further connect the infrastructure of the workforce development ecosystem and drive change in employer hiring and retention strategies," says Elissa Salas, VP, Partnerships & Opportunities for SkillUp. "We feel privileged to continue building relationships with so many companies that have long been committed to empowering diverse, opportunity talent and we're eager to support their efforts to help these job seekers get hired, grow and thrive in their careers."

"By combining the Hire Opportunity Coalition with SkillUp, we believe we can have an even bigger impact on improving worker mobility," says Marie Groark, Director of Programs for the Schultz Family Foundation. "Together, SkillUp and HOC will help America's biggest employers tap into a diverse pool of talent, while providing young job seekers greater opportunities to develop new skills and pursue new career paths."

SkillUp is a Mission-Aligned Home for the HOC

SkillUp's goal is to help workers across the country develop the knowledge, confidence, and skills to land in-demand, high-growth jobs. In less than two years, SkillUp has built a thriving coalition of more than 75 leading training and education providers, employers, technology companies, job readiness nonprofits, and philanthropies. With a robust national direct-to-worker strategy, SkillUp has supported over 900,000 workers and launched localized efforts in 8 regions across the country, many of which align with HOC employers' priority hiring markets. SkillUp is excited to learn and iterate alongside the HOC.

New Opportunities for HOC Employers

Joining forces with SkillUp will help to take the coalition to new heights. This partnership will help employers hire, learn, and amplify their efforts.

Help Employers Hire: SkillUp will become a resource to help HOC employers recruit diverse talent in priority markets, and SkillUp's technology platform will allow HOC employers to connect with talent at all times. Additionally, SkillUp's "Earn and Learn" initiative will help employers offer best-in-class education and upskilling benefits to employees; companies that meet certain criteria will be eligible to receive marketing support from SkillUp, free of charge, joining current national partners including UC Health, Verizon, Bright Horizons, TTEC, Worthington Industries, and more. Further, SkillUp's partnerships with top training and education providers can help HOC employers tap into a stream of workers who have recently completed specialized training programs or received new accreditations.

Help Employers Learn: SkillUp will offer members expanded access to resources and coalition partners including Guild, Jobs for the Future, OneTen, Opportunity@Work, and the New York Jobs CEO Council. SkillUp can also glean original insights about the efficacy of employers' hiring and retention practices through direct access to thousands of frontline workers nationwide.

Help Employers Amplify Their Efforts: For employers seeing success in hiring, retaining, and growing opportunity youth and opportunity talent, the SkillUp Coalition offers dozens of ways to boost the signal on leadership and lessons learned.  Some opportunities include SkillUp's bi-annual Impact Lab, joining with coalition partners on high-profile workforce development events, partnering with SkillUp on joint white papers, blog posts, podcast interviews, or other thought leadership efforts.

Carrying Forward the HOC's Accomplishments

Since its inception in 2015, members of the Hire Opportunity Coalition -- previously known as the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative -- have hired over 200,000 opportunity youth. Joining forces with the SkillUp Coalition is a proud way to honor, build upon, and carry forward these accomplishments, plus open up a bright next chapter.

Employers interested in learning more or getting involved with the coalition are encouraged to visit SkillUp.org/Employer-Network.

About the SkillUp Coalition

Founded in July 2020, SkillUp Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that connects workers with the right tools, resources, and support so they can make confident career shifts, find quality living-wage jobs, and position themselves for promising career growth. The SkillUp ecosystem provides career exploration, training & employer connections, career coaching, and resources to support workers at any stage of their career journey.

The coalition brings together over 75 leading organizations including training and education providers, technology developers, policymakers, employers, and philanthropies. In addition to its national reach, SkillUp operates LevelUp local partnerships in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Florida, Louisiana, Northern Nevada, Philadelphia, New York City, and Ohio. Since its founding less than 2 years ago, SkillUp has connected over 900,000 workers to career and training support throughout the country.

SkillUp proudly advocates for an affordable, equitable, upskilling ecosystem that ensures every worker has high opportunity employment. For more information, please visit www.skillup.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

SOURCE SkillUp Coalition

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