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JULY 2025 - JUNE 2026
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PUBLISHED JULY 30, 2026
LETTER TO COMMUNITY
OUR TEAM & LEADERSHIP
OUR IMPACT
WHO WE SERVE
TECH-FORWARD
PARTNERSHIP ENABLED
Accelerating Career Growth for STARs To our Team, our Partners, and our Community, Looking back at the last year, I am filled with immense gratitude for what we have built together. SkillUp Coalition launched in 2020 as a collective of visionaries, with a singular, bold mission: to help the millions of nondegree workers displaced because of COVID-19 find new skills, better jobs, and a clearer future. From the uncertainty that was born from the pandemic to today, six years later, we are no longer just a startup; we are a national force, in partnership with others, for economic mobility. Curious about our origin story? Hear more!
INNOVATION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY: SKILLUP AI AND DATA INTEGRATION Our continued growth is guided by three core pillars: being Regionally Focused, Technology Forward, and Partnership Enabled. As the world of work changes at light speed—driven by shifts in policy, content consumption, and artificial intelligence—SkillUp is moving at that same pace. This year, we made significant strides in our Technology Forward priority: •
This year was defined by the theme of our 2025 Impact Report: “Five Years of Impact, A Future Without Limits for STARs”. We have proven that by centering the needs of young people and adults Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs), we can rewire the very infrastructure of workforce development. OUR IMPACT 2025 - 2026
•
The numbers from this past year tell a story of rapid growth and proven outcomes:
• • •
•
1.3 Million+ Workers Supported: In the last year, we have supported over 1.3 million individuals in their career journeys. 75,591+ Job Placements: We estimate that over 75,591 of our users have secured new, high-opportunity jobs. $8.5 Billion in Increased Wages: The estimated additional wages for SkillUp job attainers this year was more than $8.5 billion, representing a transformative shift for their families and communities. 499:1 Return on Investment: For every dollar invested, SkillUp generates significant economic value, a testament to the efficiency of our model.
These are not just statistics; they represent people like Winston who took previous work experience to launch a new chapter in the public sector or Ricardo who is now pursuing a career in engineering after gaining a better understanding of the skilled trades. Their stories are the heartbeat of our work.
1
•
Google.org, GitLab, and HP AI Accelerators: Through our participation in the Google.org, GitLab, and HP Accelerators — along with our key technology funders (Gates Foundation, GitLab Foundation, Cognizant, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and others) - we are building a humancentered AI system that provides personalized, empathetic support at scale, guiding workers through exploration, training, and employment. AI Evaluation Framework: To ensure the safety and trustworthiness of our tools for vulnerable workers, we developed a first-of-its-kind Evaluation Framework, prioritizing accuracy, latency, and ethical alignment in every AI interaction. Data, Research and Integration: Building on a shared commitment to economic mobility and equitable access to opportunity, our partnerships pilot and scale integrations that promote the highest quality programs/employers/initiatives across the country (Where You Work Matters, Credential Value Index, nXu, and others), anonymized data sharing for more holistic worker journeys (Atlanta Fed, MDRC and LinkedIn) and allow SkillUp’s high quality API to power other career navigation platforms (Claude.ai in development, GoZig, Willow, Overgrad, and others).
STRATEGIC EVOLUTION AND FUTURE VISION Technology and AI advancements aside, we’ve also made big strides in our Regionally Focused and Partnership Enabled pillars. This year, we expanded our regional footprint to more than 60 MSAs, with a goal of reaching the top 100 MSAs by 2030 to ensure economic mobility happens at the local level. We are also deepening our focus on youth, with nearly half of our current profile creators being young adults seeking early-career momentum.
REGIONALLY FOCUSED
OUR PARTNERS
OUR LEARNING LAB OUR QUALITY STANDARDS
As we look toward our 2030 NORTH STAR, our ambitions remain high. We aim to: • • •
Unlock opportunities for 10 million STARs. Secure 1 million high-opportunity jobs. Generate $50 billion in estimated additional wages.
But HOW we do it is ever-evolving. More and more - based on research from Camber Collective (experiences that power economic mobility), The Project on Workforce at Harvard (career navigation hurdles), and our own research in partnership with LinkedIn - our theory of change is evolving. Anchored on the belief that the real problem to solve, AI-enabled, is the journey, not just the destination: AI navigation support to address the multiple fork-in-theroad moments in the non-linear, lifelong journey STARs confront to economic mobility. In this vision, AI serves as the tireless engine mapping real-time data and pathways, while human coaching provides the essential layer of trust and accountability to ensure STARs stay firmly in the training-to-employment pipeline. Our mission doesn’t change; in fact, it’s reinforced. To provide a guided and supported path to ensure every worker has high-opportunity employment remains at the core of our ambitious goals. And crucial to this mission is our guiding principle to be “data-driven, heart-led.” We can’t accomplish anything without keeping the worker first in everything we do and holding true to our rigorous quality standards.
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
A NOTE OF SINCERE THANKS None of this would be possible without our 180+ coalition partners and our dedicated staff of 22 passionate individuals. To our board, partners, and funders, we thank you for your unwavering belief in our mission, and for keeping us accountable to our ambitions, and many mistakes. Progress is rarely linear, and we have learned as much from our inevitable missteps as we have from our successes. But we move forward with “fearless humility,” committed to doing this work with clarity and dedication. The journey to lift millions into economic mobility keeps unfolding and evolving. Here’s to 2030 and beyond, and a future where every worker has a path to success!
With gratitude,
Steve Lee
Cheif Executive Officier
Josh Jarrett Board Chair
In June, our team gathered for our in-person get together in Portland, Oregon.
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LETTER TO COMMUNITY
OUR TEAM & LEADERSHIP
OUR IMPACT
WHO WE SERVE
TECH-FORWARD
PARTNERSHIP ENABLED
Our Team Our massive impact is powered by our dedicated team and an actively engaged Board of Directors. This year, SkillUp experienced significant team growth, welcoming seven new team members to drive our tech-forward mission. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Andre Bennin
Sarah Croft
Founder, M’Adwene Holdings
Vice President of Product, Navigating Cancer
Emily M. Dickens
Maria Flynn
Chief of Administrative Officer, SHRM
President & CEO, Jobs for the Future
Benjamin Geyerhahn
Josh Jarrett
CEO, Workers Benefits Fund
Des Lovell Vice President, Finance, Idea Public Schools
3
SkillUp Founder & Board Chairman, SVP and GM, AI Growth, Wiley Education
REGIONALLY FOCUSED
OUR PARTNERS
OUR LEARNING LAB OUR QUALITY STANDARDS
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
SKILLUP STAFF
NEARLY 25% OF OUR STAFF ARE STARs THEMSELVES, and we continue to post every role without degree requirements.
I’m the person SkillUp exists for. I used the platform to find my path — upskilling without a degree and without a roadmap, ultimately earning my Google IT Support, Google Data Analytics, and CompTIA A+ certifications. Now I’m on the team, quietly behind the scenes, making sure that our catalog is accurate so every user’s story has the best possible chance of a chapter like mine. Tanner Maino
SkillUp Operations Coordinator
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LETTER TO COMMUNITY
OUR TEAM & LEADERSHIP
OUR IMPACT
WHO WE SERVE
TECH-FORWARD
PARTNERSHIP ENABLED
Action & Acceleration Tracking Our 2030 Vision
$50 with opportunities unlocked
secured for STARs
As the workforce landscape rapidly evolves, we are proud to be the only comprehensive career service platform designed specifically with and for individuals skilled through alternative routes (STARs). In a world where career advice is everywhere and often contradictory, SkillUp cuts through the noise with something rare: a deeply vetted, trustworthy catalog of career, training, and job opportunities. No degree required. As part of our 2030 vision, we framed three levers necessary to achieve our north star metrics - to remain regionally focused, partnership enablement and technology forward. This year, leaned into a critical shift: leveraging AI to improve user experiences and contribute positively to economic opportunities for our workers.
Our mission goes beyond technology deployment; we are transforming lives, strengthening communities, and unlocking potential for millions of workers. Backed by our coalition, we bridge innovative technology with human-centered design to provide trusted, scalable career support. As we evolve, we remain dedicated to meeting the pressing needs of both STARs and the broader workforce ecosystem. The numbers tell a story of rapid acceleration, proven outcomes, and unlimited potential—and they are just the beginning.
We believe that, when designed with the worker in mind, AI serves to elevate human potential rather than displace it, ensuring that every STAR can access the opportunities they deserve, confidently and intuitively.
5
estimated additional wages for STARs
REGIONALLY FOCUSED
OUR PARTNERS
OUR LEARNING LAB OUR QUALITY STANDARDS
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Building Momentum:
Six Years of Growth JULY 2020 - JUNE 2026
60 regional locations
291,005+
estimated SkillUp users who obtain jobs
180+
coalition parnters
499:1
estimated ROI to funders
$18.7 billion estimated additional wages to SkillUp job attainers
1 in 3
SkillUp users are enrolled in work-based learning models like apprenticeships, internships and on-the-job training programs
470,000+
22
35%
19,148+
user profiles created
full time staff dedicated to STARs
SkillUp users reporting enrollment in training programs
career coaching participants
Supported over
5 million workers Attributions: CMS Profile Data, SkillUp Pulse Survey 2022-2026
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LETTER TO COMMUNITY
OUR TEAM & LEADERSHIP
WHO WE SERVE
OUR IMPACT
TECH-FORWARD
PARTNERSHIP ENABLED
Who We Serve SkillUp champions accessibility, equity, and economic mobility for all job seekers.
75%ARE UNDER 34 YEARS OLD
AGE
55-64 years old (3%) 45-54 years old (7%) Under 18 (22%)
Our platform users reflect the multifaceted workforce, spanning diverse ages,
35-44 years old (15%)
educational backgrounds, and income levels. They are all united by a desire for change. Attributions:
18-24 years old (29%)
25-34 years old (25%)
MAIN SOURCE: CMS Profile data on actual profile creators’ demographics, July 2025–June 2026 SECONDARY SOURCE: Pulse Survey data, July 2025–June 2026
79% HAVE AN ANNUAL INCOME OF LESS THAN $40K
INCOME LEVEL 22%
PUBLIC BENEFITS
21%
N
14% 14%
42%
11% 8%
8%
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REGIONALLY FOCUSED
GENDER 50%
OUR PARTNERS
OUR LEARNING LAB OUR QUALITY STANDARDS
48% IDENTIFY AS FEMALE
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
RACE/ETHNICITY
55% IDENTIFY AS PEOPLE OF COLOR
Native American or Alaska Native (1%)
48%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (1%)
Middle Eastern or North African (1%) Multi-cultural (11%)
Black or African American (29%)
Asian or Pacific Islander (4%)
Hispanic or Latino (9%)
2% Male
S
Female
Non-Binary
White (45%)
58% REPORTED RECIEVING PUBLIC BENEFITS
Non-recipients Public Benefit Recipeients
AI SENTIMENTS HOW USERS REPORT FEELING ABOUT AI:
58%
EXCITED
35%
CONCERNED
21%
CURIOUS BUT CAUTIOUS
18%
UNSURE ANXIOUS NO STRONG FEELINGS
14% 8% 4%
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LETTER TO COMMUNITY
OUR TEAM & LEADERSHIP
OUR IMPACT
WHO WE SERVE
TECH-FORWARD
PARTNERSHIP ENABLED
Who We Serve Cont. EXPERIENCE LEVEL
EDUCATION LEVEL
4-year degree or higher (9%)
35%
35% OF WORKERS HAVE 2 YEARS OR LESS OF WORK EXPERIENCE
Less than a 4-year degree (91%)
91% OF WORKERS HOLD LESS THAN A BACHELOR’S DEGREE
16% 7%
<2
HIGHLIGHTING STARs
Ricardo explored Skilled Trades with SkillUp. “As an electrical engineering student, I wanted to understand how to apply my studies to realworld careers. SkillUp helped me explore career paths, training opportunities, and industry expectations while showing me what employers look for in entry-level candidates. The platform gave me confidence and a clearer direction for building my skills and preparing for a career in electrical engineering.” Ricardo G.
SkillUp Advocate
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22%
21%
s ar ye
-4
2
s ar ye 5
0 -1
s ar ye 11
4 -1
s ar ye
+ 15
s ar ye
SKILLED TRADES LEARNER
READY NEXT
GENERATION
REGIONALLY FOCUSED
OUR PARTNERS
OUR LEARNING LAB OUR QUALITY STANDARDS
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
SENSE OF PURPOSE
65% ARE CURRENTLY EMPLOYED
73% AGREE THEY HAVE A STRONG
SENSE OF PURPOSE IN THEIR LIVES
Unemployed (35%) Employed (65%)
69% AGREE THAT THE
THINGS THEY DO EACH DAY FEEL MEANINGFUL
35% 65%
HIGHLIGHTING STARs
Stacy used SkillUp to become remote work ready. “SkillUp has helped me learn new skills, job market secrets, remote work skills, and improve my resume. In addition to that, SkillUp has amazing resources for anyone looking for a job. I’m now more confident in my job search and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
TALENTED
CONFIDENT
PREPARED
Stacy S.
SkillUp Advocate
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LETTER TO COMMUNITY
OUR TEAM & LEADERSHIP
OUR IMPACT
WHO WE SERVE
TECH-FORWARD
PARTNERSHIP ENABLED
Tech-Forward
Engineering Economic Mobility: The SkillUp Platform
The SkillUp platform is a first-of-its-kind career navigation engine built to tear down the “paper ceiling” and eliminate the fragmented navigation burden traditional systems place on STARs. Operating as the connective tissue of the workforce ecosystem, our platform surfaces 60+ indemand, non-degree career pathways, over 20,000 living-wage job openings, and more than 8,000 short-term training programs. STARs gain immediate access to over 20,000 vetted, livingwage job openings—refreshed multiple times each week—alongside 8,000+ short-term training options that can be completed in under a year, including more than 1,000 completely free programs.
At our core, we provide: In-Demand careers across five industries.
Thousands of vetted shortterm trainings.
Proprietary catalog of vetted training providers & employers Living wage job openings, refreshed weekly.
National and local resources to support workers.
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Read SkillUp’s AI Vision: Leveraging an AI Paradigm Shift to Achieve Economic Mobility for STARs WHY AN AI CAREER COACH?
REGIONALLY FOCUSED
OUR PARTNERS
OUR LEARNING LAB OUR QUALITY STANDARDS
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
AI-Powered Career Navigation SkillUp is actively leveraging an AI paradigm shift to achieve economic mobility for STARs. Our AI vision isn’t about deploying technology for technology’s sake; it is about grounding cutting-edge innovation in human-centered support and worker empowerment. Early integrations taught us a vital lesson: STARs don’t want just another AI chatbot. Instead, we are shifting to seamless AI integration across our entire platform. While AI is essential for career navigation, human connection remains irreplaceable for building confidence. This summer, we are elevating this balance with our new AI Career Coach. Our sophisticated multi-agent system makes structured decisions on every interaction—assessing if a user needs training, job applications, or wrap-around support like childcare. Beta users will receive personalized recommendations, intelligent search results, and contextual guidance that remembers them—without having to formulate questions they might not know to ask. We are not innovating in a silo. Our tech advancements are deeply partnership-enabled. As selected participants in several AI Accelerators, including Google.org, GitLab, and HP Foundation, we ensure our tools remain robust, accessible, and grounded in our worker-first commitment. These strategic partnerships allow us to harness tools like Where You Work matters, the Credential Value Index (CVI), and integrate dynamic interactive elements that empower STARs to upskill and secure living-wage jobs faster and more confidently than ever before.
A WORKERFIRST CAREER COACH THAT SUPPORTS WITH VOICE Talk, don’t fill out forms. It remembers you. Real careers, training & jobs Built for one outcome.
SEE MY CAREER COACH BETA IN ACTION
HP Future of Work Accelerator 2026 Cohort
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LETTER TO COMMUNITY
OUR TEAM & LEADERSHIP
OUR IMPACT
WHO WE SERVE
TECH-FORWARD
PARTNERSHIP ENABLED
Partnership Enabled We have cultivated a coalition of over 180 partners, uniting training providers, leading employers, technology developers, and philanthropists. Together, we translate a 30,000-foot vision into actionable, localized strategies that create measurable outcomes for STARs across the country.
Core focuses of the last year have been centered o
Anchoring human connection.
By partnering with nXu f
for text-based advising, w
confidence and navigatio
employment path. Local
offer literacy training and
and help workers gain th
The hardest part of product design is moving users from curious browsing to meaningful action. This partnership with SkillUp proved that when we make career paths visible and skills-based, STARs show up ready to engage. The next frontier for career navigation platforms isn’t just meeting talent where they are; it’s closing the gap between discovery and application so passive browsers become confident applicants for the high-impact local government jobs they’re already qualified to do.
Pursuing national scale.
We are working alongsid
and WAY to bring additio
Partnerships with the Cr
initiative help us expand
informed decisions abou
Supporting youth & returning learners.
Turnkey integrations with
our vetted catalog direc
impact without duplicati
like Alamo Colleges and
talent in San Antonio, tra
toward high-opportunity
Natalia Lara Director of Product Design - STARs Inclusion Mode, Platform Partnerships Opportunity@Work
13
Our hope is to demonstrate the scalable p people where they are, collectively improv
Jaime-Alexis Fowler Founder and CEO, Empower Work
REGIONALLY FOCUSED
OUR PARTNERS
OUR LEARNING LAB OUR QUALITY STANDARDS
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
on:
for purpose-centric live sessions and Empower Work
we provide a consistent support layer that builds
on clarity, keeping job seekers on the training-to-
l partners like Literacy Center of West Michigan
d English language lessons to improve reading levels
he confidence to build a career.
de major brand partners including Adobe, UPS, Target,
onal visibility to non-degree career opportunities.
redential Value Index and Where You Work Matters
d the tools and resources that help STARs make confident,
ut their careers.
h partners like EvolveMe (ASA) and GoZig/Britebound extend
ctly to early-career STARs—multiplying our collective ecosystem
ing effort or cost. Developing regional partnerships with institutions
d the Mays Family Foundation allow us to re-engage non-degree
ansforming prior college experience into alternative pathways
y careers.
power of combining deep human connection with technology that meets ving economic and emotional well-being. READ MORE ABOUT OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH EMPOWER WORK
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LETTER TO COMMUNITY
OUR TEAM & LEADERSHIP
OUR IMPACT
WHO WE SERVE
TECH-FORWARD
PARTNERSHIP ENABLED
Partnership Enabled Connecting the workforce ecosystem through APIs.
Using labor market analysis and proprietary data, we are
Meeting demands in skilled trades.
Partnering with platforms like TradesForce, CareerView, and
positioning apprenticeships and training as top tools for economic growth. Our turnkey API allows partners like Willow, OverGrad, and Project Access to integrate our vetted training and jobs data, scaling our collective impact.
Prentix, and securing Autodesk and The Home Depot as lead industry partners, we have built a vetted network for Clean Energy, Skilled Trade and Apprenticeship expansion.
HIGHLIGHTING STARs
SkillUp’s platform gives workers the roadmap to clean energy careers, all the way from career exploration to the actual job postings. But reaching STARs who’ve been told these careers aren’t for them requires more than technology. It also requires showing up in communities, telling authentic stories and proving that clean energy jobs are for people without degrees.
15
Winston transi from the milita Public Sector r His advice to other STARs?
Jon van Gelder Executive Director TradesForce
“Sell your skills, and if there’s you can demonstrate those s take advantage of that oppor Winston H.
SkillUp Advocate
REGIONALLY FOCUSED
itioned ary to a role.
OUR PARTNERS
OUR LEARNING LAB OUR QUALITY STANDARDS
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
CHECK OUT THE CAREERVIEW EXPEIRENCE
HARD WORKING EXPERIENCED
CAPABLE
’s a way that skills, try to rtunity...”
Helping someone discover that a career isn’t the right fit is just as valuable as helping them find one that is. The sooner we can help people identify that, the happier and more confident they’re going to be in a career choice.
Matthew Chaussee READ HIS STORY HERE
CEO & Co-Founder CareerViewXR
16
LETTER TO COMMUNITY
OUR TEAM & LEADERSHIP
OUR IMPACT
WHO WE SERVE
TECH-FORWARD
Expanded Pathways
PARTNERSHIP ENABLED
SkillUp is scaling to operate in t driven by a dee the creation of
*As of July 31st, we’ve expanded into Honolulu Hawaii!
This year, we added 9 new states and 20 new MSA’s, and are continuing to increase our presence to nearly 70 regional sites across 38 states with 80% coverage nationwide by the end of 2026. 17
REGIONALLY FOCUSED
OUR PARTNERS
OUR LEARNING LAB OUR QUALITY STANDARDS
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
This strengthened regional infrastructure and our deepening local partnerships have created a powerful platform for growth into new highopportunity careers within Skilled Trades, Clean Energy, and the Public Sector for STARs.
g its regional footprint with a North Star goal: the Top 100 MSAs by 2030. This expansion is ep commitment to community engagement and a sustainable operational backbone.
SkillUp balances this rapid growth with dedicated sustainability. Simultaneously, we are scaling our site maintenance volume by over 400%, maintaining 108 sites by 2030. Through statewide funding and vital local partnerships, we ensure our localized support translates into lasting economic mobility.
TOTAL NUMBER OF SKILLUP USERS
0
12,500
25,000
37,500
50,000
It’s about meeting STARs where they are, with opportunities that make sense for their local economy. In harbor cities, you may see marine and ship-related trades; in energy hubs, it could be wind or oil-related roles. The catalogs are adaptable — but they’re always rooted in local need and relevance.
Lauren Dietz Current SkillUp Regions
VP - Strategy & Operations SkillUp
Top 100 MSAs by 2030
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LETTER TO COMMUNITY
OUR TEAM & LEADERSHIP
OUR IMPACT
WHO WE SERVE
TECH-FORWARD
PARTNERSHIP ENABLED
Making Impact with Ambitious Partners PARTNERS REPRESENTED THROUGH JUNE 2026 Our vast impact is built on the collective strength of our 180+ coalition partners. We extend our deepest gratitude to the training providers, employers, technology developers, and philanthropists who share our ambitious vision.
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 Organizations that finance national and local SkillUp efforts. They will stay partners for a lifetime.
Allstate Foundation
GitLab Foundation
State of Ohio
Apollo Opportunity Foundation
State of Washington
Ascendium
Horace Goldsmith Foundation
Strada Education Network
Bank of America
HP Foundation
Target Foundation
Barclays
Jobs for the Future (JFF)
Tarsadia Foundation
Crimsonbridge Foundation
Macquarie Foundation
The James Irvine Foundation
Gates Foundation
Mark IV Capital
The State of Colorado, Office of Economic
Black Family Philanthropies
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
Development and Trade, Opportunity Now Colorado
Bloomberg Philanthropies
New York Worker’s Fund
The UPS Foundation
CAEL
Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
TradesForce
Catalyze Challenge
Rainwater Charitable Foundation
Truist Foundation
Charles D. and Mary A. Bauer Foundation
Samvid Philanthropies
Walmart Foundation
Charles Koch Foundation
Schultz Family Foundation
Walton Family Foundation
Cognizant Foundation
SOAR
Workday Foundation
deLaski Family Foundation
Sobrato Family Foundation
Yield Giving
DonorsTrust
Stand Together
PLATFORM PARTNERS Companies that enhance our platform by direct or indirect integration, service delivery, or provide external connections to valuable opportunities that enrich the user experience.
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Anthropic
CareerViewXR
Haworth
TradesForce
America Succeeds
Climb Together
Level
The CE Shop
American Student Assistance
Educational Results Partnership
nXu
Upsolve
Burning Glass Institute
Education Design Lab
Overgrad
Willow Education
CampusEvolve
Gladeo
Recidiviz
REGIONALLY FOCUSED
OUR PARTNERS
OUR LEARNING LAB OUR QUALITY STANDARDS
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
COMMUNITY PARTNERS 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.
¡HICA! — the Hispanic and Immigrant Center of Alabama
Birch Community Services Bridges From School To Work
Indiana Construction Roundtable
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
Foundation
Can Code Communities
Literacy Center of West Michigan
City of Tampa
Merge Opportunities
Education is Freedom
New Visions For Public Schools
Galt Professional Services
Persevere
GulfCoast Trade Institute
The Drake House
Western Nevada College Wheaton High School Work For Warriors
Philadelphia Works
Hebrew Free Loan Society
The Academy Charter School
The Next Step, Inc.
New Era Academy
Friendship Public Charter School
Safe Families for Children Alliance
The Home Depot
N3XUS USA
EmpowerWork
Reach Pathways
Skilled US
LiftUp Communities
CareerSpring
Project Access
Work Money
Point Source Youth
YUPRO
RESEARCH PARTNERS A research partner is an individual, organization, or stakeholder that actively collaborates around a learning agenda. The goal is to test, learn, and share turning real-time data into practice.
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
MDRC
SKILLUP NETWORK Previous partners or those in our network that have partnership potential, tools or solutions that support us and our users. Accenture/FutureofU
Dallas College
Jewish Vocational Services (JVS)
Serve Washington
AdeptID
Daytona State College
JobTrain
SHRM
Amazon
Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN)
Lightcast
Social Capital Builders
MedCerts
South Louisiana Community College
Merit America
StellarWorx
Multiverse
Strategic Education, Inc.
Network of Jewish Human Services Agencies
Sunrun
North Louisiana Economic Partnership
Tech Elevator
Now Foods
Technical Employment Training
NPower
The GRIT Project
Ohio Means Jobs
TTEC
One Acadiana
UC Health
ONet
UKG (Kronos, Inc)
OneTen
United Way Northwest Indiana
PerScholas
Unmudl
Prentix
Upwage
Propel America
Valencia College
Pueblo Community College
Verizon
Pursuit Transformation Company
Working Nation
Renown
Worthington Industries
Seminole State College
Young Adult Institute (YAI)
Array Education, Inc. - Opportunity College
EdSafe AI Alliance
Apprenti
edX
Bender
Five Guys
BLS
Florida Department of Education
Bright Horizons
ForgeNow
Brighthive
Future Plans
BuildWithin
Generation USA
CAEL
Goodwill Southern California
CareerOneStop
Greater New Orleans Development Foundation
Climb Hire Cloudera Code Tenderloin CollegeApp CompTIA Tech Career Academy Coursera Creating Coding Careers CSAA
Hamilton HCL America HYATT I.C. Stars Illum Residential Care Inc Indian River State College Inside Track Jason’s Deli
20
LETTER TO COMMUNITY
OUR TEAM & LEADERSHIP
OUR IMPACT
WHO WE SERVE
TECH-FORWARD
PARTNERSHIP ENABLED
Learning & Impact DRIVING THE FIELD WITH DATA SkillUp doesn’t just support STARs; we function as an innovation hub that advances the entire workforce field through unparalleled, data-driven research. Our Learning & Impact lab continuously generates vital insights into worker behavior, journey mapping, and the evolving labor market. At the heart of our research is the SkillUp Pulse Survey, a one-of-a-kind longitudinal study that has rapidly grown to exceed 20,000 panel members. By actively listening to job seekers’ most pressing concerns and career aspirations, we ensure that STARs have a direct voice in influencing policy, programmatic, and funding decisions.
MDRC has worked with SkillUp to support research and learning around workforce development, economic mobility, and AI career navigation strategies that help workers without degrees access better job opportunities and training pathways.
Through our partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, SkillUp provided valuable insights into worker sentiment and confidence, helping deepen the Fed’s understanding of the experiences, perspectives, and evolving needs of today’s workforce.
21
When or MD wher That with, crea
Through our partnership with LinkedIn, we analyzed career outcomes for nearly 77,000 anonymized users to better understand where users work, how they move across the labor market, and what drives stronger outcomes over time. With access to LinkedIn profiles, we measured how anonymized SkillUp users progressed over the course of a year.
REGIONALLY FOCUSED
OUR PARTNERS
OUR LEARNING LAB OUR QUALITY STANDARDS
Quality Information & Optimizing Outcomes
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
OPTIMIZING QUALITY OUTCOMES We are committed to connecting job seekers to deeply vetted, high-quality training and living-wage jobs. Backed by our strategic partnerships with LinkedIn, MDRC, the Atlanta Fed, O*NET, Opportunity@Work, the American Opportunity Index, and America Succeeds, our robust quality standards evaluation guarantees low-risk, high-return pathways. These rigorous quality standards and tracking measures translate to deep trust with our users and optimized employment outcomes.
n SkillUp’s data sits alongside LinkedIn’s career data, the Atlanta Fed’s labor analysis, DRC’s AI evaluation research, our collective work gets sharper. We can see not only re workers land, but also what influences career progression and wages over time. t kind of intelligence lets platforms like SkillUp, as well as the partners we collaborate , stop guessing about what is needed and put our energy into the solutions we know ate impact. Steve Lee
SkillUp Chief Executive Officier
HIGHLIGHTING STARs
SkillUp and Opportunity@Work help Cherri find success in the public sector. “Working in the public sector has given me long-term stability, opportunities for growth, and meaningful work. For others considering this path, don’t let a missing degree stop you. Apply even if you don’t meet every requirement.”
LIFE-LONG LEARNER
TALENTED
MULTISKILLED
Cherri M.
SkillUp Advocate
READ OUR PUBLIC SECTOR CASE STUDY
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LETTER TO COMMUNITY
OUR TEAM & LEADERSHIP
OUR IMPACT
WHO WE SERVE
TECH-FORWARD
PARTNERSHIP ENABLED
Financial Transparency 2025 AUDITED FINANCIALS 2.7%
0.1%
4.2%
Revenue & Support 93%
Grant and Contribution Revenue
$6,709,528
Program Service Fee Revenue
$300,000
Interest Income
$195,666
Other Income
$9,341
Total
6.1%
Functional Expenses 7.9%
Program Services
$6,458,288
Fundraising
$593,119
Management & General
$461,777
Total
$7,513,184
Note: Estimated financials; final audit numbers are released in August.
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$7,214,535
86%
REGIONALLY FOCUSED
OUR PARTNERS
OUR LEARNING LAB OUR QUALITY STANDARDS
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Continued Acceleration The past year of growth proves that when we combine cutting-edge technology with human-centered support, there is no limit to what STARs can achieve. As we look toward our 2030 North Star, we remain focused on our aggressive acceleration: scaling our footprint to the Top 100 MSAs, expanding into resilient new industries, continuing to evolve our technology in support of efficiency, innovation and measurable impact to users. We invite employers, community leaders, and philanthropic partners to join our coalition. Together, we will continue to redefine the workforce landscape, ensuring every worker can confidently realize their full potential and purpose.
With gratitude for this entire SkillUp Community,
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SkillUp Coalition is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
The findings from our Learning and Impact Lab provide insights and tools for the entire ecosystem. We publish these, along with stories of STARs journeys, in our Pulse Newsletter. Subscribe today for monthly data, strategies, and inspiration!
www.skillup.org
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