Job Training and Mentorship for Job Seekers from Vulnerable Communities Increases Workforce Equity

September 14, 2022

Sixty percent of Americans over age 25 have no bachelor’s degree. Without this diploma, large numbers of workers have historically been shut out of high-earning professions and opportunities for economic mobility. But in the United States, the recent labor shortage has led employers to prioritize skills over degrees, opening the door for workers who have built these skills through non-traditional paths, like community college courses, workforce training, and job experience. 

Opportunity@Work, a nonprofit organization that connects overlooked and underrepresented talent to training programs and career opportunities, calls these individuals STARs (skilled through alternative routes). For others who are unable to pursue a college degree, especially those from disadvantaged or vulnerable communities, more accessible options to develop in-demand skills are needed. 

Here are five programs designed to help non-traditional job seekers, particularly individuals who have faced difficulty in their lives, build employable skills and find mentors to guide them in their education and career goals. 

• Bridge Over Troubled Waters supports runaway, homeless, and at-risk youth in transforming their lives and futures. Founded in the 1960s, the organization provides programs and services, such as education and career development, emergency residence, transitional living assistance, and counseling, that guide youth to self-sufficiency. Bridge has become a national model and program incubator for effective youth development programs and practices. Through the organization’s services, youth from vulnerable backgrounds have been able to continue their education; gain work experience through the organization’s paid internship Work-Based Learning Program; and access safe, supportive, and encouraging counseling and mentorship services. 
• Youthbuild is a non-profit organization serving young people who lack a high school degree or financial resources. With hundreds of locations in the United States and 17 other countries, YouthBuild’s programs support young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 to reclaim their education, develop job skills, and become community leaders. In 2020, the organization served approximately 7,000 students in the U.S. and 5,700 students in other countries, the majority of whom earned their high school diploma or equivalency, gained employment, or continued into postsecondary education. 
• The Last Mile is a non-profit preparing incarcerated individuals for successful workforce reentry. TLM provides in-prison business and technology education and training, and post-incarceration mentorship. Since 2010, TLM has served 974 students and counting, expanded to 24 classrooms across six states, and helped 379 returned citizens to successfully rejoin society. Graduates of the organization’s programs have a zero percent recidivism rate. In 2021, the organization created the Turn2U Scholarship to support the families of TLM participants in pursuing their educational opportunities. TLM is currently expanding its curriculum to include web design fundamentals, UI/UX design principles, and more opportunities to apply technical skills in real-world settings. 
• Laboratoria is a Latin American nonprofit organization that aims to provide women from underserved backgrounds the skills and opportunities to access high quality jobs in technology fields. Laboratoria’s programs include an immersive six-month bootcamp in technical and life skills and placement events and services to connect graduates with companies and employment opportunities. Since launching in Lima, Peru in 2014, Laboratoria has trained over 2400 women. In 2021, over 86 percent of Laboratoria graduates found employment in tech within nine months of graduating.
• The Center for Workforce Inclusion is a national organization dedicated to the workforce development needs of low-income job seekers age 50 and over. Founded in 1962, the non-profit works with partner organizations to provide low-income, older workers with training, guidance, and connections to economic opportunity. The Center has trained approximately 489,000 older job seekers to date, focusing particularly on those who have been underserved by traditional workforce development, including women, veterans, and formerly incarcerated individuals. In 2018, the organization launched CWI Labs to find data-driven solutions for tackling barriers to workforce equity.  

Whether the trend of employers prioritizing skills over college degrees continues, better access to job training and mentorship programs, developed specifically to meet the needs of job seekers from disadvantaged and vulnerable backgrounds, will go a long way in closing the workforce opportunity gap. 

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