Episode 20 of SOCAP’s podcast series, Money + Meaning: Stories of Unlocking the Potential of Global Markets for Imapct is now available!
Listen
Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to Money + Meaning on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or Spotify.
Unlikely Allies Bridging Gaps in Workforce Development and Creating Opportunities for Underrepresented Talent
Two-thirds of the workforce in the United States lacks a college degree. Because so many employers use a college degree as a filter when hiring, it can be very difficult for these “non-traditional” workers to find a pathway into the workforce.
Yscaira Jimenez saw the negative impacts this lack of opportunity can have on non-traditional workers and their families, because her own brother is one of them. His struggle to find employment opened her eyes to the fact that many smart, hard working people are currently locked out of the job market.
Early in her career, when the startup she was working for tasked her with the responsibility of building her own team, Jimenez first saw this challenge from the employer’s side. She discovered how hard it can be to find the right talent, especially talent from non-traditional backgrounds. Jimenez realized that the best way she could help workers like her brother was to solve the challenges she faced as a hiring manager. She then set out to build a skill-based talent platform. LaborX, the company that Jimenez founded, is a talent marketplace that connects workers with employers and training programs.
LaborX is now working with TechSF in a public-private partnership to create opportunities for underrepresented workers and local businesses alike. TechSF is a government agency that was started to provide access to technology and tech training for San Franciscans and to develop a local pipeline that could meet the demand for tech talent in the area. Through TechSF’s partnership with Jimenez’s company, San Francisco employers can use the LaborX platform to gain access to a diverse pipeline of vetted workers.
In this episode of Money + Meaning, Lindsay Smalling interviews Jimenez and Orrian Willis of TechSF about the insights they can offer into this challenge and the details of their innovative partnership, as well as the impacts they are seeing the program create for workers, employers, and communities.
Yscaira Jimenez
Founder and CEO of LaborX
Orrian Willis
Senior Workforce Development Specialist at City and County of San Francisco’s TechSF
Host: Lindsay Smalling
About Money + Meaning
Money + Meaning is the official podcast of SOCAP. This series aims to expand the conversation around impact investing and strategies to finance and support social change while stimulating innovative and valuable new partnerships across sectors.
