Why do talent gaps exist in the United States?
Charles Koch Foundation (CKF) Vice President for Future of Work Laura Demarse gives a surprising answer on a new episode of SchermCo’s Square Pizza podcast.
“There are millions of Americans who are currently not connected to the workforce,” says Demarse. “[But] it’s not because they don’t have talent and ability. It’s because there’s a visibility problem into where these opportunities are.”
To solve that challenge, all system stakeholders need to work together.
Employers must take the lead
Addressing talent shortages begins by employers communicating with educators and training providers. Schools, bootcamps, and job readiness programs cannot offer the right courses if they do not know what the marketplace is eventually going to demand of their learners.
“We have found when we bring employers around this challenge earlier, have them really working through the solutions … it helps us boil down what exactly are the skills and attributes that this individual needs in order to be successful in the job,” says Demarse. “We’re able to pare it down to get it to what exactly the solution is for the employer.”
Demarse also argues employers, educators, and training providers need to create new and different pathways toward meaningful work — particularly since skilled trades are experiencing a major resurgence.
“[W]hat’s really exciting is that there are so many now opportunities for people to contribute outside of getting a four-year degree,” says Demarse. “For decades, the primary signal of potential has been a four-year degree. And while we agree that’s a really important signal, we don’t think it should be the only signal.”
Philanthropies help de-risk experimentation and scale solutions
Demarse also discusses how CKF approaches partnership and social entrepreneurship.
“We have the capacity and scale as a large philanthropic community to bring in partners not just around capital,” Demarse says. “[It’s] really about how can we give [social entrepreneurs] capacity training or leadership development training or introduce you to others that can help you scale and connect to other people that might be better to help enable growth beyond the initial catalytic funding that we do.”
Stakeholders in North Carolina provide an excellent example of this model at work. In Charlotte, philanthropies like CKF and the Lennar Foundation have partnered with nonprofits like Goodwill and Beatties Ford Road Vocational Training Center to de-risk experimentation, scale training programs that are working, and bring new funders to the table.
The Square Pizza podcast focuses on the intersection of education, innovation, and diversity, hosting innovators who are working to ensure all students have access to an equitable education. Demarse has spent nearly 20 years working at the intersection of higher education, workforce development, industry, and philanthropy. At CKF, she is focused on helping more people connect to purpose, opportunity, and economic mobility.
Learn more about CKF’s efforts to empower people to engage in work that leads to lives of meaning and contribution.