A Boost for Skills Experiments
A new group of foundations is throwing its weight behind statewide and regional skills experiments.
SkillsFWD, as the collaborative is called, today announced six grants of $1.4M each for projects that harness learning and employment records. The goal is to encourage the development of a “more equitable skills-based hiring ecosystem.”
Walmart.org is one of the funders. The retail giant has been investing in a skills-based system for more than a decade, says Julie Gehrki, the company’s vice president of philanthropy. She says SkillFWD is a major step toward making that system a reality.
“We’re excited to see this create new career opportunities for workers and strengthen local communities—two pillars of our Walmart.org strategy,” Gehrki says.
The grants are an initiative of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, with funding from Ascendium Education Group, the Charles Koch Foundation, Strada Education Foundation, Walmart, and others.
