Be Part of The Coalition The path to economic opportunity is rarely a straight line. It requires the right job, the right training, the right support, all at the right moment. SkillUp has built the infrastructure to make that possible, and our partners are what make it powerful. Whether you're investing in communities, building technology, or delivering services on the ground, there's a place for you in this ecosystem— and a reason it matters.
Learn how we can build together.
SkillUp Coalition: About Us & Our Partners
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About SkillUp is a nonprofit that enables individuals skilled through alternative routes (STARs) to break into new careers regardless of their degree-holding status. We focus on careers that pay a living wage and do not require 2 or 4-year degrees. We identify the credentials associated with those careers and only feature high-quality training programs that take less than 12 months, with thousands of programs offered free, low cost, or less than 10k. To close out the journey, we also feature jobs that meet similar criteria- no education barriers and pay living wages. We are dedicated to informing and enabling our end users to upskill, building more promising careers and mindsets.
Our Mission
Our Promise
Our Vision
Provide a guided and supported path to ensure every worker has high-opportunity employment.
Help people discover their potential, determine their career destination, and get there faster and more confidently with SkillUp.
Every worker gains equity and dignity in the workplace through access to highopportunity and quality employment.
The Partners Powering Our Work Our network includes:
Funding & Corporate Partners
Community-based Organizations
Platform Partners
Research Partners
who invest in scaling both national and local initiatives
that work directly with individuals to provide career support and services
that enhance the user experience through technology and integrations
who help test, learn, and improve outcomes through data and insights
Marketing & Outreach Partners We work with partners to amplify our shared mission and to reach new audiences side by side. Together, this ecosystem expands access to opportunity and drives stronger outcomes for the individuals and communities we serve.
Who We Serve & Community Partners
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Who We Serve Our goal is to empower workers seeking better jobs and economic mobility with the most creative and action-driven outreach possible, and the tools to help them change their lives. Workers earning less than $40K per year. Unemployed and Underemployed Workers. Career Seekers and Career Changers. Workers that have indicated they do not have a college degree and are long term unemployed.
Localized Impact
SkillUp provides dedicated localized support in regions across the nation, both urban and rural. With the help of real-time labor market intelligence, we tailor career pathways to specific regional economies, meeting STARs where they work and live. Presenting workers with training and career opportunities that are unique to their location makes career navigation simpler and strengthens local talent pipelines. We intend to scale to the Top 100 MSAs and all states by 2030. We invite national and local employers, educators, and community partners to join the movement to create meaningful career opportunities and drive economic growth for all.
Scaling Locally & Nationally with Partners Community Partners that work directly with individuals to provide career support and services
Birch Community Services partners with SkillUp to support families working toward financial stability through food assistance, financial education, and access to career and employment resources.
Local
The Literacy Center of West Michigan partners with SkillUp to help adult learners build literacy, language, and digital skills while connecting them to career pathways, training, and job opportunities.
Local
Empower Work partners with SkillUp to provide free, text-based coaching support that helps job seekers navigate workplace challenges, career stress, and job search decisions in real time.
National
WorkMoney partners with SkillUp to help workers strengthen their financial stability through budgeting support, money-saving resources.
National
How We Do it & Our Commitments
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How We Do It Everything we do is guided by the audience we serve, using data analytics to ensure STARs seamlessly discover our platform and find exactly what they need to thrive. Guided directly by real-time worker insights, our tech-forward platform removes the career navigation burden through four core catalogs: Career Pathways, Rigorously Vetted Trainings, Skills-First Jobs, and Comprehensive Career Resources. By turning direct worker feedback into immediate product innovation, we don't just connect talent to roles —we build the infrastructure for systemic economic mobility.
Our Audience Our targeting capabilities go beyond the basics. By reaching users based on location, career needs, and relevant demographics, we ensure every touchpoint is personalized, and every campaign generates actionable data to inform what's working.
Jason. G SKILLUP ADVOCATE
Faryal S.
Deja H.
SKILLUP ADVOCATE
SKILLUP ADVOCATE
an annual income 79% have less than $40,000
have 2 years or 35% oflessworkers of work experience
workers hold less than 91% ofa bachelors degree
recieving 58% reported public benefits
Our Commitments Our SkillUp Users Being intentional about everything we put in front of our users and partners Only feature careers and jobs that pay a living wage Create opportunity to upskill and build a mindset of continued investment in career improvement
SkillUp has amazing resources for anyone looking for a job. I'm now more confident in my job search...
STACEY S. SKILLUP ADVOCATE
Platform Partner
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SkillUp Platform SkillUp offers a curated ecosystem of careers, training, and jobs to help workers enter or transition into in-demand, living-wage roles.
Career Catalog
Our Career Catalog features 60+ researched occupations across five key industries, while our Training Catalog includes 8,000+ vetted, affordable programs aligned to these roles, offering industryrecognized credentials with flexible online and inperson options.
Training Catalog
Our Jobs Catalog connects users to opportunities at every stage of their journey— from entry-level “Earn & Learn” roles with no prior experience required, to “Gateway Jobs” that align with short-term training and offer clear paths for advancement, as well as remote roles that meet our quality standards. Together, this ecosystem is built to expand access to economic mobility by providing practical, affordable, and scalable pathways into quality careers.
Platform Partners that enhance the user experience through technology and integrations
Job Catalog
My Path
Users can track their experience in their personalized dashboard where they are served relevant resources offered by our partners and other players in our space. These resources include AI tools, resume resources, coaching, skills discovery, and much more.
Britebound partnered with SkillUp and JFF to leverage SkillUp’s proprietary training, catalog API to ensure young adults see only the highest-quality programs.
SkillUp AI
API
SkillUp AI is a worker-centered career navigation platform built for STARs — people navigating the long road to economic mobility. At its core is a proactive AI career coach that acts as a long-term partner, guiding users through training, employment, and life barriers with personalized, actionable support.
Through our API, SkillUp enables companies and organizations to seamlessly integrate our quality-aligned training catalog directly into their platforms—whether that’s career navigation tools, search experiences, student guidance systems, or community apps.
Powered by an ecosystem of native AI tools and trusted partners, which include Climb Together, Upsolve, Empower Work, and Benefits Navigator — SkillUp connects users to the career and social resources they need, when they need them. The result: a seamless, friction-free experience that empowers STARs to move forward with confidence and measurable progress. For external partners, SkillUp AI represents a unique opportunity to be part of a collaborative platform designed to tackle interconnected economic challenges at scale.
Our API provides a simple, scalable way to embed trusted opportunities, giving your audience access to a fully vetted, comprehensive set of non-degree career pathways, ready for the user to take action. The result: faster access to high-quality opportunities, and a stronger foundation for growth and innovation.
Research Partners
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Research Partners who help test, learn, and improve outcomes through data and insights. MDRC has worked with SkillUp to support research and learning around workforce development, economic mobility, and career navigation strategies that help workers without degrees access better job opportunities and training pathways.
Through our partnership with LinkedIn, we analyzed career outcomes for nearly 77,000 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 profiles progressed over the course of a year. With LinkedIn, we found insights about the career paths of SkillUp users, including:
Through its 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.
78%
OF USERS ARE LABELED AS AN ‘EXPERIENCED’ SENIORITY LEVEL
18%
OF EMPLOYED USERS TRANSITIONED TO A NEW INDUSTRY
50%
MOVED INTO HIGH OPPORTUNITY INDUSTRIES
Using LinkedIn, we saught employment rates among degree and non-degree holders The majority of our users (80%) have no degree. Of the LinkedIn profiles we had access to, we compared employment rates of the two groups: USERS WITHOUT BACHELOR’S DEGREES
71% USERS WITH BACHELOR’S DEGREES
78%
Marketing Support & Our Impact
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We work with partners to amplify our shared mission and to reach new audiences side by side.
Grow Together Through Marketing Partner with us to bridge the gap of career navigation and everyday consumer ecosystems. There are several ways we connect with users:
Growth and Acquisition (Mid-Funnel)
What Makes SkillUp Different?
Retention and Engagement (Advocacy)
SkillUp is uniquely positioned to:
National Awareness Engine (Top of Funnel)
Cultural Amplification (High Volume, Regionality)
Convert brand impressions into economic outcomes Serve as a neutral, trusted career layer across industries Help corporations solve both talent and social impact goals
Why This Works: 1. Passive exposure (shopping, scrolling, commuting) 2. Trigger moment (“I need to make more money”) 3. Active search (jobs, training, career change)
Just a few of our many partners:
SkillUp has partnered with TradesForce to launch jobs, training, and resources connected to clean energy careers across the country. Together, we built a new industry catalog, held a thought leadership webinar, and promoted the new opportunities through new and existing users.
SkillUp is proud to be featured as a launch partner in the WAY campaign, a bold effort to empower young people and society to redefine career success through the lens of culture, creativity, and self-discovery.
Success Metric Areas Reach
Acquisition
% of U.S. workforce exposed through partner channels STARs reach/impressions
Cost per profile by partner type Conversion rates from embedded placements
Engagement Career, training, job exploration rates Return Visitors Coaching & advising sessions Content preferences Time on page
Impact Profile creations Training enrollments Job attainments Wage increases
Interested in becoming a partners? Connect with our team
here!
www.skillup.org
Our Impact We’ve built a worker outreach strategy and product experience that meets the needs of the millions of individuals without a college degree who are skilled through alternative routes (STARs). By honing in on the significant data we’ve collected from a survey panel of almost 20,000 SkillUp users, we have enhanced our guided platform experience. We’ve also expanded to nearly 60 regional markets and launched a STARS- focused remote jobs catalog. See our impact in action in our Impact Report, which illustrates key learnings, milestones, and outcomes from our non-profit coalition, July 2024 – July 2025.
*Click Here To View Report