Five Years of Impact, A Future Without Limits for STARs
A Letter to Our Community
In Summer 2020, the world looked very different. ChatGPT didn’t exist, COVID was everywhere, and millions of workers were out of jobs. From that chaos, a crew of big thinkers launched SkillUp Coalition with a bold goal: to help people find new skills, better jobs, and a clearer path forward.
Today, we’re stronger than ever. We’re honored to stand by our name: a coalition that’s grown to 150+ partners working together for collective impact. We’re thrilled to have a team committed to our mission and our worker-first values. And most importantly, we’re proud of the impact we’ve had for individuals skilled through alternative routes (STARs) across the country: nearly 4 million workers supported, and estimated 166,000 users who attained jobs and increased lifetime earnings by $11.2 billion
What you won’t see in this report— because they’re harder to quantify— are the lessons we’ve learned through inevitable missteps. Every success we celebrate has been shaped by the course corrections, the recalibrations, and the honest reflections of how “we could have done that better.” Those moments have made us stronger, more thoughtful, and more committed to doing this work with humility and clarity. I think that’s an important part of the journey.
If you know anything about SkillUp, we don’t rest on our laurels. We’re proud of the impact we’ve had in the past five years, but the past is certainly not our prologue. The world of work—particularly for STARs—is changing at light speed shifts in policy, how people consume content, and of course, AI. So we need to move at a similar pace; anticipating “where the puck is going” and planning our growth, and lines in the sand about the future, accordingly.
Looking back, and looking forward: that’s the theme of this Impact Report, and the driving force motivating our team, our partners and our STARs every day. Together, we’re living our core principles to “Empower Impact” by accelerating what’s working, learning from the past, and driving toward our North Star: 2030 and beyond.
10 million: STARs with unlocked opportunities 1 million: Jobs secured for STARs $500 billion: Lifetime Earnings gained for STARs
Oof. This won’t be easy. But at SkillUp, we like a challenge. The question, though, is how will we do it? We’ve anchored on three core priorities, to be Regionally Focused, Technology Forward, and Partnership Enabled. Learn more about those priorities on page 8 of this report.
Significant growth and evolution come with challenges, trade-offs, and inevitable mistakes, pivots and learnings. As you peruse this report, you’ll see the scope of our ambitions. But we’re excited by the effort, and most importantly, we’re excited to continue this journey—and all it unlocks for those we serve—alongside you.
Over the past five years, our greatest joy has been to partner with like-minded organizations and individuals with a kick-_ _ _, get-_ _ _ _-done mentality, unafraid to explore with a mindset of humility and learning. On a personal level, to many of you, we’ve not just become colleagues, but dear friends. Thank you to our incredible SkillUp Board and tireless team (who has grown from three staff to 18 in just five years!), and to all of our coalition partners for your support, partnership and friendship! Here’s to working together over the next five years, and beyond, in the journey to lift millions into economic mobility.
With gratitude,
Steve Lee Chief Executive Officer
Josh Jarrett Board Chair, SkillUp Founder
2030 NORTH STAR
Our Team
Our Board of Directors and SkillUp staff work diligently to bring subject matter expertise to the forefront and champion worker-first in all we do.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Andre Bennin
Managing Director, Rethink Educationtion
Sarah Croft
Vice President of Product, Navigating Cancer
Emily M. Dickens Chief of Staff & Head of Government Affairs, SHRM
Maria Flynn
President & CEO,
Jobs for the Future
Benjamin
Geyerhahn
CEO, Workers Benefits Fund
Josh
Jarrett
SkillUp Founder & Board Chair, SVP Strategy, Wiley
Des Lovell
VP Finance, Alliance CollegeReady Public Schools
SKILLUP STAFF
As a team, we’re passionate about the impactful work that we get to do together and we’re as committed as ever to living out our core values each and every day—values that we built alongside one another through deep vetting and team collaboration.
Learn more about our team >>
Proven Outcomes, Unlimited Potential.
SkillUp believes every individual deserves a guided and supported path to high-opportunity employment .
For five years, SkillUp has championed job-ready talent who are Skilled Through Alternate Routes (STARs), guiding them toward high-opportunity careers with clarity, confidence, and without the barrier of a four-year degree.
SkillUp has evolved from a startup to be the only comprehensive career service platform designed specifically with and for STARs. In a world where career advice is everywhere and often contradictory, SkillUp cuts through the noise with something rare: a trustworthy catalog of career, training and job opportunities.
But this work is about more than workforce development or job placement. It’s about transforming lives, strengthening communities, and unlocking the full potential of millions of workers across the country.
SkillUp, by name and ethos, is a coalition. Nothing we do is done alone; we stand on the back of, and in partnership with, so many of you. Together, we’ve proven what’s possible— and we’re just getting started. We will continue to offer the best-in-class tools, trusted guidance, and high-quality information at scale. We’ll continue to innovate new solutions, listen to our community, and evolve the SkillUp value to meet the needs of STARs and the broader workforce ecosystem. But we’ll also make mistakes, and be accountable to our errors. Because nothing worth doing is devoid of failures, and the transparency of those failures.
For five years, this has been our promise—and it will remain our commitment .
Our First Five Years: July 2020–2025
The numbers tell a story, and they’re just the beginning.
IN JUST FIVE YEARS WE’VE ACHIEVED:
workers supported nearly
coalition partners united
estimated SkillUp users who attained jobs
estimated additional wages to SkillUp job attainers
371:1
estimated ROI to funders
regional locations
of respondents start a new and/or better job within 6 months
300,000+ 15,500+
career coaching participants
user profiles created
18 85,000+
full-time staff dedicated to STARs SkillUp users referred to training programs
Inside the SkillUp environment, STARs don’t just access opportunities—they gain confidence, clarity, and encouragement needed to pursue meaningful non-degree career pathways on their own terms.
But we’re not just building tools—we’re building belief.
SkillUp Users
Our platform is also a great tool for:
• High school grads looking to jumpstart their career quickly
• Under- or unemployed individuals needing more job stability
• Multi-passionate people wanting a career change
• Anyone uncertain of a career change
All thanks to SkillUp, I was able to find opportunities to strengthen my research and design skills . I was hired by a local company to work on web design and logo design skills. I was granted access to these opportunities and feel so grateful because of SkillUp.
Tara M. Web Designer, SkillUp Advocate
Pulling All Levers to Scale
By 2030, SkillUp will unlock opportunities for 10 million STARs, helping 1 million STARs secure high-opportunity jobs, for a total of $500 Billion in Lifetime Earnings. Transforming futures and driving lasting change across the workforce, economy and communities.
The
path forward isn’t singular. To achieve our goals we will be:
Regionally Focused
As we know, economic mobility happens at the local level. We build each localized experience using real-time labor market intelligence and community partnerships to connect job seekers with careers, training and job opportunities where they already work and live. Today, we are live in 40+ regions and will serve the Top 40 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) by the end of the year.
As we look to 2030, we are laser focused on building local workforce solutions and partnerships that work. We strive to deliver a personalized and curated program collection for every STAR and scale to the Top 100 MSAs.
No matter the size of the community, this local-first approach ensures that workers have access to opportunities that align with their region’s workforce needs and economic realities.
Partnership Enabled
By 2030, our deepened, scaled partnerships will provide authentic human connection to enhance engagement, accelerate growth and expand our reach to new audiences. SkillUp aims to build regional and national collaborations to co-create aligned solutions, enhance innovation, and further brand confidence. It’s an air game (technology) and ground game (support) strategy that allows SkillUp to serve at scale, humanly.
Our partners also gain access to our trusted API and data insights that strengthen their programs, making the quality collaboration mutually reinforced and mission-aligned.
Technology Forward
We’ve always been technology first. We now anchor on being technology forward. This means using technology not just as a tool, but as a catalyst for equity and innovation.
Our 2030 product approach focuses on three core fronts:
Human-Centered AI:
Advancing from static web experiences to Agentic AI through emerging technologies like MCP and Agent2Agent protocols—unlocking dynamic, personalized, and proactive support at scale.
Data as a Catalyst of Change:
As a data steward, integrating high-impact datasets—like the American Opportunity Index and Credential Value Index—into our platform to surface high-quality, high-opportunity career pathways for STARs. Simultaneously, exporting our own data and product catalogs to support the tools and strategies of mission-aligned partners across the workforce ecosystem.
Additionally, collaborating with data aggregators such as CredLens, Opportunity Insights, Credential Engine, and SkillsFWD, aim to incorporate validated employment and wage outcomes for shortterm credentials, enhancing our ability to deliver personalized, evidence-based guidance that leads to stronger outcomes for workers.
Trusted Guidance & Personalization:
Delivering high-quality information and personalized “For You” experiences that help STARs navigate their career paths, build social capital and navigate new technologies with confidence.
Optimizing for Outcomes: 2020–2030
Estimated Cost per Job Estimated Jobs Attained
Before SkillUp, I felt stuck and unsure how to move forward in my career. I found a free IT support course through Google on the SkillUp platform, and it really opened doors for me. I learned essential tech skills and how to build a stronger resume. A few weeks after completing the training, I got hired as an entry-level IT technician. SkillUp gave me the tools—and the confidence—to take that next step.
Deborah M. IT Support Specialist, SkillUp Advocate
I would recommend SkillUp to people who want a remote job. I have been able to do my studies, work remotely, do my freelancing jobs remotely, so that’s the confidence I have right now. Don’t break your confidence, don’t lose your hope, and go for it .
Faryal S. Remote Medical Coder, SkillUp Advocate
Every STAR deserves the chance to choose—and chase— a meaningful career.
That’s why SkillUp is rapidly expanding with a presence in 40+ regions today, and a goal to serve the top 100 MSAs by 2030.
As the only comprehensive career navigation platform built specifically for STARs, we combine national scale with deep local insight and human connectors, ensuring that every worker has access to opportunity, no matter where they are.
In a place like eastern Kentucky, where regional collaboration is critical and economic challenges are complex, having strong partners like SkillUp accelerates the impact we can make. Our ideal program candidates are folks who are not currently in the workforce and may be difficult to connect with. SkillUp is an expert in reaching the right people and showing them there are viable career opportunities available.
Will W. Economic Recovery Fellow, SOAR, EDA Grantee
Smart Tools Built for STARs
Continued investment in our platform allows us to deliver more personalized, data-informed experiences such as:
• “For You” personalized modules sync based on career goal, regional opportunities and content recommendations
• Expanded durable skills, education benefit, and public sector visibility
• Automated nurture communications (email, SMS) synced with in-platform activity
• Improved resources, advising and AI-prompted coaching support
• Public API with continued auditing and maintenance
Interactive hub for career navigation
Career coaching tips
Proprietary catalog of vetted training providers & employers
“For You” dynamic recommendations
We believe technology can be a powerful force for equity. By 2030, we’re expanding our platform to include:
Agentic AI-empowered support & recommendations
Single Stop AI
High-impact data sets
Purpose-driven assessments
Labor & employment outcomes
Coaching & wraparound supports:
Mentorship Community
1:1 texting support
Local & virtual coaching
On-demand videos
“For You” tools & resources
Scaling Impact with Coalition Partners
To drive lasting impact at scale, we must cultivate deeper, more integrated partnerships that do more than extend our geography and technology—SkillUp aims to build regional and national collaborations to co-create aligned solutions, expand reach, enhance innovation, and ensure the human experience remains central in our platform, fostering trust, shared ownership, and measurable results.
These partnerships are a two-way street: Our partners also gain access to trusted tools and insights that strengthen their programs, making the collaboration mutually reinforcing and mission-aligned.
As we work towards our 2030 goal , SkillUp hopes to become an essential infrastructure for the workforce ecosystem, offering APIs, tools and data that power efforts in talent development, youth support, and training access.
ASA Center for Career
In partnership with SkillUp, the Navigation at JFF will leverage catalog API to ensure young adults vetted, short-term training programs launching this Fall.
Single Stop AI
As a Google.org Generative initiative unites career and social capital (Upsolve) into one to build a federated, seamless user experience users to the right support
Career Navigation at JFF
the ASA Center for Career leverage SkillUp’s proprietary training adults see only the highest-quality, programs via the new platform
Grounded
In partnership with SkillUp, Grounded is expanding on SkillUp’s proven career navigation platform to launch a new AI-powered experience connecting workers to clean energy careers. The newly developed experience will focus on wage mobility, barrier reduction, and access to training and job opportunities in the rapidly growing clean energy sector. This partnership aims to deliver on Grounded’s mission to ignite sustained climate action at scale by integrating economic opportunity, cultural infrastructure, and cross-sector collaboration.
Generative AI Accelerator selectee, this collaborative career navigation (SkillUp/WhereWeGo), mentorship (Climb Together), and legal/financial support one scalable, agentic AI experience. Together, we aim federated, privacy-conscious architecture that creates a experience while allowing agentic AI to intelligently guide support at the right moment.
Texas Flywheel
In partnership with SkillUp and the Charles Koch Foundation, Texas Flywheel aims to build awareness of the new digital economy in West Texas. This program will create accessible career pathways and training essential to support thousands of skilled trades and technology roles needed to support significant Data Center development planned in the region.
FIVE YEARS OF IMPACT, A FUTURE WITHOUT LIMITS
PARTNERSHIP ENABLED
Scaling Impact with Coalition Partners
We cannot do this alone.
We are so grateful for our partners, including many new organizations joining the coalition this year.
FOUNDING PARTNERS
Organizations that built the concept and launched SkillUp. They will stay partners for a lifetime.
Jobs for the Future Guild Opportunity @ Work
FUNDING PARTNERS
Allstate Foundation
Apollo Opportunity Foundation
Ascendium
Bank of America
Barclays
Bloomberg Philanthropies
CAEL
Catalyze Challenge
Charles D. and
Mary A. Bauer Foundation
Charles Koch Foundation
Cognizant Foundation
deLaski Family Foundation
Gates Foundation
Organizations that finance national and local SkillUp efforts. They will stay partners for a lifetime.
GitLab Foundation
Haworth Macquarie Foundation
Mark IV Capital
Michael & Susan
Dell Foundation
New York Worker's Fund
Rainwater Charitable Foundation
Schultz Family Foundation
SOAR
Sobrato Family Foundation
Stand Together
State of Ohio
State of Washington
Strada Education Network
Tarsadia Foundation
The James Irvine Foundation
The State of Colorado, Office of Economic Development and Trade, Opportunity Now Colorado
The UPS Foundation
Truist Foundation
Walmart Foundation
Walton Family Foundation
Workday Foundation
Yield Giving
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Array Education, Inc.—
Opportunity College
Bridges From School To Work
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
Code Tenderloin
Education is Freedom
Empower Work
Community based organizations that serve as a local market expert and/or provide a range of services and programs to serve vulnerable populations, youth or workers seeking career support.
Hebrew Free Loan Society
Illum Residential Care Inc
Literary Center of West Michigan
N3XUS USA
Persevere
Philadelphia Works
Reach Pathways
PLATFORM PARTNERS
AdeptID
America Succeeds
American Student Assistance
Climb Together
SKILLUP NETWORK
Accenture/FutureofU
Amazon
Apprenti
Bender
BLS
Bright Horizons
Brighthive
BuildWithin
Burning Glass Institute
CAEL
CareerOneStop
Climb Hire
Cloudera
CollegeApp
CompTIA Tech
Career Academy
Coursera
Creating Coding Careers
CSAA
Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR)
The Academy Charter School
The Drake House
The Next Step, Inc.
Western Nevada College
Work Money
YUPRO
Companies that enhance our platform by direct or indirect integration, service delivery, or provide external connections to valuable opportunities that enrich the user experience.
Gladeo
Grounded MDRC
Overgrad
The CE Shop
Upsolve
WhereWeGO
Willow Education
Partners with tools and solutions that support SkillUp and our users.
Dallas College
Daytona State College
Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN)
EdSafe AI Alliance
Education is Freedom edX
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Five Guys
Florida Department of Education
ForgeNow Future Plans
Generation USA
Goodwill Southern California
Greater New Orleans Development Foundation Hamilton
HCL America
HYATT
I.C. Stars
Indian River State College
Inside Track
Jason’s Deli
Jewish Vocational Services (JVS)
JobTrain
Lightcast
MedCerts
Merit America
Multiverse
Network of Jewish Human Services Agencies
North Louisiana Economic Partnership
Now Foods
NPower
Ohio Means Jobs
One Acadiana ONet
OneTen
PerScholas
Propel America
Pueblo Community College
Pursuit Transformation Company
Renown
Seminole State College
Serve Washington
SHRM
Social Capital Builders
South Louisiana
Community College
StellarWorx
Strategic Education, Inc.
Sunrun
Tech Elevator
Technical Employment
Training
The GRIT Project
TTEC
UC Health
UKG (Kronos, Inc)
United Way Northwest
Indiana
Unmudl
Upwage
Valencia College
Verizon
Working Nation
Worthington Industries
Young Adult Institute (YAI)
Our ability to scale regionally, advance technology solutions and deepen partnerships is grounded in a core value: curiosity and continuous learning.
What do STARs really need to thrive? Where are the blind spots in today’s workforce system that can be transformed in the next five years, and beyond? How can we turn insight into action, and action into lasting change?
These and other questions power our Learning & Impact Lab—an engine of discovery that leverages SkillUp’s unique capabilities to drive actionable worker-first insights for the workforce ecosystem. It utilizes our internal expertise, real-time platform and campaign analytics, qualitative research, and partnerships with leading organizations, positioning us to adapt to the shifting marketplace and drive systemic change.
Partners in Action
These and other partners are working closely with our team to answer many of these questions. By grounding every decision in real data and lived experiences, we’re not just improving a platform—we’re evolving a movement. We listen, we test, we make mistakes. We learn, we share, we turn real-time data into practice.
Key Questions We’re Asking:
Can AI better coach STARs toward their right-fit career paths?
What role do durable skills play in youth career exploration?
Can AI tools be bundled together for greater impact?
How can we build better visibility for skilled trades?
Do direct connections to public sector jobs serve STARs and society?
Our Commitment to Quality
Our quality standards:
Quality information isn’t aspirational; it’s an intentional commitment from SkillUp. Our quality standards encompass every aspect of our work, enabling our coalition to ensure that every career, job, and training experience on SkillUp is worth a worker’s time, money, and energy.
• Set the bar for what is considered quality in training and employment for STARs
• Integrate industry-trusted frameworks and data from Opportunity@Work, Onet, CareerOneStop, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Lightcast, American Opportunity Index and America Succeeds
• Protect users from predatory or ineffective offerings
• Power trust across stakeholders by embedding transparency and accountability into the ecosystem, including ethical principles inspired in partnership with EdSafe AI Alliance
GUIDING STARS TO HIGH-OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT
We establish clear standards for careers, training, and jobs to help STARs make informed decisions.
Careers
SkillUp has identified high-opportunity career options tailored to STARs.
Living-Wage Jobs
Guides workers to employment opportunities that pay a living wage and offer growth.
Vetted Training Career Growth
Connects user with high-quality, affordable, and relevant training programs.
Supports STARs journey for long-term economic mobility and success.
SkillUp is like a library of knowledge,with something for everyone. Whether you’re looking to learn a new skill, advance your career, or simply expand your horizons, SkillUp has something for you.
Samwel W. SkillUp Advocate
$7,767,673 $1,246,594 $9,014,267
$6,289,257 $671,499 $185,621 $7,146,377
Future Forward
Thank you for taking this journey with us .
For your dedication and partnership over the last five years; and for all we’ll accomplish together over the coming five years and beyond.
Together, we will remain dedicated, innovative, humble and collaborative in finding solutions to lift families into economic mobility.
We’ll also debate whether BTS is the greatest band since the Beatles (they are), or whether Calvin & Hobbes is the greatest comic strip of all time (it is)... you know, the important stuff.
We cannot wait for what lies ahead, together.
With gratitude for this entire SkillUp Community,
