Skills for America's Future

Our mission is to close the workforce skills gap and move the unemployed into open positions by directly responding to the hiring needs of employers. Although the current US Jobless rate is 3.7%, unemployment does not affect each demographic group and region equally. Nationally, marginalized communities experience higher unemployment and less acces... s to quality jobs resulting in higher poverty and less economic mobility. Job seekers often struggle in part-time positions when they would prefer full-time work. Eliminating this access gap is the catalyst for the development and expansion of the Skills Model. Using an independently evaluated model launched in Chicago and successfully replicated in Rhode Island, Skills for Americas Futures (Skills) demand-driven approach successfully connects those most impacted by unemployment and poverty, with jobs. The Skills model uses a demand-driven or jobs-first approach, starting by first engaging in a consultative relationship with businesses that have unmet hiring needs. Unemployed job seekers are then sourced and screened directly into jobs or facilitated into train-to-hire career programs. This job-first method produces proven impact for unemployed job seekers, the communities they reside in, and the businesses they become employed at. Skills for Chicagoland's Future has been operating the Skills Model since 2012, consistently growing in scale and impact every year since. Skills for Chicagoland's Future currently places over 100 individuals into jobs on a monthly basis with a diverse set of employers across all industries. In 2016, Skills for Rhode Island's Future became the first site to replicate the Skills Model outside of Chicago. Skills for Rhode Island's Future plays a vital role in Rhode Island's workforce system and the lives of its unemployed residents.Read More