Ready to Take Action? New Insights, Funding Opportunity, and Generative AI

We often use the phrase “Awareness to Action” at Opportunity@Work. We mean the first steps from realizing the overlooked value of STARs talent to taking action to “tear the paper ceiling” keeping apart STARs and employers hiring for in-demand, upwardly mobile jobs and careers. 

In this newsletter, I’ll share 3 new ways Opportunity@Work is helping our field take action. 

1. STAR Barriers and Breakthroughs: Where Will You Take Action?

The Tear the Paper Ceiling campaign takes aim at the multiple barriers STARs face at every turn as they navigate the labor market. Which is why this week Opportunity@Work released STAR Barriers and Breakthroughs - offering a powerful framework to apply data on economic mobility and lived experiences of STARs. It systematically explores six factors shaping STARs’ economic mobility - family situations, financial resources, employment access, inclusive workforce, community networks, and job quality. All of these are backed by real examples of how STARs experienced these barriers in the workforce.

For employers, regions, philanthropy, investors, or policy makers wanting to take action, I recommend downloading this free report to target barriers to tackle. 

2. O@W Grants for Talent Developers Empowering STARs’ Breakthroughs

STARs are “skilled through alternative routes” - military service, learning on the job, community colleges, and a variety of workforce training pathways. Some of the most inspiring institutions to watch in action are talent developers who offer training, mentorship, and wrap-around support to working learners. Inclusive talent developers already take action every day to help STARs break through barriers. In support of their work, O@W recently announced the “Powering STARs Breakthroughs Funding”, which will award 7-10 grants of $200,000-$300,000 each, open to talent developers with annual organizational budgets of $3M to $7M. Applications due on April 26th - more details here. Applicants can ground their work in STARs experience with O@W research, our data tools like Stellarsight, and other resources from Opportunity@Work and the Tear the Paper Ceiling Coalition. Please share this opportunity with your networks!

3. Leveraging Generative AI to Support Action for STARs Mobility

Finally, I’m delighted to share that Google has selected Opportunity@Work to join its first-ever generative AI non-profit accelerator to develop and deploy applications of generative artificial intelligence to unlock economic mobility for STARs. As GenAI goes mainstream, intention matters: AI does not choose our goals or how we use it, we do. Since many pre-AI hiring systems screen out STARs who can do the job, applying GenAI to 'screening out' could amplify that bias. However, GenAI could also enable employers more seamlessly to 'screen-in' candidates based on their measurable skills, give talent developers more visibility into ways to support STARs career paths, and allow STARs to better achieve breakthroughs beyond the labor market barriers they face. Opportunity@Work will leverage Google expertise and our inspiring non-profit peer group in the GenAI accelerator to better equip our organization and our partners to remove barriers for our country's 70 million STARs to work, learn, and earn to their full potential. 

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STARs are problem solvers, not “problems to solve.” STARs are already using their skills, talents, ingenuity, and determination to break through the barriers they face in today’s labor market.  As our field moves “from Awareness to Action,” it's vital to recognize how profoundly decision-makers in companies, public policy, and education have sometimes overestimated STARs’ skills deficits and underestimated the barriers STARs face. Millions of STARs make inspiring career breakthroughs despite the barriers - millions more will succeed as we remove barriers. Greater awareness should spur greater action.  I encourage everyone to read this report and ask ourselves - which of these barriers can we dismantle, together - on purpose?

All the best,

Byron

P.S.  Our message was featured in a recent episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - they featured a clip of my interview with PBS NewsHour's Paul Solman explaining that because of unnecessary degree "requirements," a majority of today’s admin assistants can’t even apply for the jobs they’re doing today. That’s not a skills gap that’s an opportunity gap. As Oliver says, “so many careers are off limits to anyone who hasn't been to college.” You can watch the clip here.

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