We hear it over and over: the problem isn’t just awareness of jobs or training, it’s about knowing what’s in demand and which programs actually lead to real career opportunities. Job seekers, especially those without a four-year degree who are skilled through alternative routes (STARs), are inundated with job boards, “hot careers” lists and training ads that promise the moon but deliver very little. The result? Confusion, skepticism and stalled momentum.
People deserve better. We built our career, training and jobs catalogs with clear standards for what gets included and what doesn’t hit the mark. The catalogs were developed to provide the highest yields for the lowest investment, removing the barriers of cost, time, and misinformation that our users face. These standards reflect our commitment to mobility and real-world outcomes. They also make us one of very few platforms in the workforce space where workers can explore their options with confidence.
What Makes Our Career Platform Different
Our goal is to ensure every career and training opportunity on SkillUp is worth a worker’s time, money and energy.
We use rigorous criteria grounded in national labor market data, real employer requirements and local wage benchmarks to evaluate what’s featured. We prioritize gateway jobs with demand growth and scalability, training programs that are short-term and affordable and credentials that actually help someone get hired.
We’ve set the bar high, and we’re proud of that. When job seekers explore SkillUp, they aren’t overwhelmed by overpriced or irrelevant credential and job listings. Rather, they can compare, evaluate and choose with clarity and ease.
Trusted Partners That Help Us Raise the Bar
SkillUp’s quality standards are built in alignment with some of the most respected voices in workforce and education reform. We proudly draw on and integrate frameworks and data from:
- Opportunity@Work, Onet, CareerOneStop, Bureau of Labor Statistics and Lightcast, whose gateway labor data and career categories form the foundation of how we define and present high-potential career paths for STARs.
- America Succeeds, whose durable skills framework helps ensure job seekers know what transferable, human-centered skills they need to succeed across industries.
- American Opportunity Index, which informs our filters and highlights employers committed to job quality and advancement.
These standards are not only internal guidelines. They are active components of our API, which partners like Willow Education, Kuder, American Student Assistance (ASA) and Overgrad use to embed trusted content directly into their own platforms, extending SkillUp’s impact and ensuring quality guidance meets job seekers where they already are.
“Our partners choose to integrate SkillUp’s catalog because they value its rigor and impact,” said Desirée Jewell, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications at SkillUp. “We’ve done the hard work of meticulous curation so our partners and their users can focus on what matters most — connecting people to high-opportunity careers.”
A Platform You Can Build On
Whether it’s a funder seeking scalable impact, a nonprofit looking for vetted training programs or a tech platform integrating high-quality content, partners choose SkillUp because we’ve done the work to ensure what’s behind the scenes matches what’s promised on the surface.
We’ve curated training programs that are:
- Short-term, with most taking under a year to complete
- Affordable, with tuition transparency and financial aid indicators
- Credential-aligned, so job seekers aren’t spinning their wheels
- Supportive, prioritizing providers with wraparound services like job placement, career coaching, or mental health support
And we continuously grow our reach. With over 3.5 million users served and localized expansions in over 37 regions, our catalog meets more STARs with tools that are clear, credible and actionable.
Want to Partner with Us?
Our catalog — and the quality standards behind it — are available for integration right now. If you’re building something for STARs, don’t start from scratch. We’ve done the vetting, the filtering and the user testing.
You can embed SkillUp’s career and training data directly into your platform via our API, or you can collaborate with us on outreach to connect more users with tools that truly work. Whether you’re designing new tech or scaling an existing solution, we’re here to help you deliver quality and impact.
Let’s connect your users to real opportunities, not dead ends. Learn more and contact our team below:
SkillUp Quality Standards Overview
SkillUp Quality Standards Infographic
