SkillUp’s Strategy to Support Youth in Attaining High-Growth Careers

SkillUp’s Strategy to Support Youth in Attaining High-Growth Careers

Published January 23, 2025

Research shows that nearly half of high school students feel unprepared to make informed career decisions, and traditional four-year degree pathways aren’t the only route to economic mobility. Alternative pathways, like short-term training and credentialing, offer an affordable, focused approach to career growth.

At SkillUp Coalition, we are hard at work to address these challenges head-on, empowering individuals aged 16-24 to connect with high-growth, non-degree career opportunities tailored to their skills and aspirations.

Our Youth Strategy

Since launching our youth strategy in late 2022, SkillUp has seen a 400% increase in youth engagement and helped nearly 600,000 young individuals nationwide connect to high-quality jobs and training opportunities — and we are just getting started. By targeting barriers like a lack of centralized career resources and gaps in accessible training and skill-building resources, we aim to create a more equitable future where every young person has the tools they need to thrive.

Our strategy is built on four pillars, each designed to address the unique challenges young jobseekers face and supported by collaborative partnerships to amplify our combined impact:

Scaled Coaching

SkillUp has partnered with organizations like InsideTrack, Social Capital Builders and Empower Work to scale our coaching services and offer personalized, one-on-one guidance and group coaching that helps users set goals, evaluate training options and build confidence. More than 13,000 users have benefited from our coaching services, and we plan to expand these offerings further through SkillUp AI to make personalized support accessible to everyone.

Durable Skills

Technical skills alone aren’t enough to grow in a career. That’s why SkillUp has incorporated the durable skills framework from America Succeeds into our career catalog. We aim to bring additional visibility to skills like communication, critical thinking and leadership for all users, especially young people who look to understand what is needed to thrive in an evolving workplace.

Employers of Choice

SkillUp curates jobs aligned to our job quality framework and elevates employers on the American Opportunity Index who are committed to growing their own talent. We refer to these companies as “employers of choice” — those that offer living wages, opportunities for advancement and equitable workplaces. This focus ensures young workers can access quality jobs that provide long-term career growth.

Product & Partnership Integrations

We work to meet young people where they are — quite literally. We partner with organizations like American Student Assistance (ASA), Willow, Overgrad and Gladeo, which already reach thousands of youth. By integrating our APIs and resources, we create a youth-focused tech infrastructure that ensures young people have access to the guidance and support they need. For example, ASA’s EvolveMe platform now incorporates SkillUp’s tools for work style assessments, career exploration and training program discovery, empowering young users to make informed decisions about their futures.

“Research tells us that the vast majority of young people who had chosen to pursue a non-degree pathway said they are satisfied with their choice and perceive that they are workforce-ready. Through our strategic partnership with SkillUp, we are increasing access to diverse, high-quality postsecondary pathways that lead to career and economic success,” said Clay Colarusso, CMO and SVP of Digital Strategy, American Student Assistance (ASA).

And our partnerships go beyond product integration. We also collaborate with organizations like YUPRO, Opportunity College and Education is Freedom to amplify their capabilities like on-the-ground supports, enhanced scaling capacity and systems change.

These partnerships are a testament to our shared commitment to uplift youth through innovative, youth-first strategies. “Meaningful change doesn’t happen in isolation,” said Elissa Salas, SkillUp’s Senior Vice President of Strategy & Operations. “These partnerships allow us to amplify our collective strengths, ensuring that young people have access to not just resources, but real and personalized support that sets them up for long-term success in today’s workforce.”

SkillUp’s youth initiatives are made possible through generous funders like Bloomberg Philanthropies, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Schultz Family Foundation and Stand Together. Their support ensures we can continue to provide young workers with greater access to career-aligned training programs, quality job opportunities and the resources they need to build long-term economic mobility.

What’s Next for 2025?

The year ahead promises even more exciting opportunities for SkillUp to empower youth. In May, SkillUp will participate in the National Youth Employment Coalition Conference in Minneapolis, MN, leading a session titled Igniting Economic Mobility for Non-Degree Job Seekers via Durable Skills. This discussion will focus on bridging the gap between young job seekers and the competencies they need to succeed in a skills-first workforce.

We’ll continue to prioritize our youth initiatives through advancing skilled trades and green jobs, elevating capacity-building support for career navigators, and mobilizing media and partnerships to shift the narrative on non-degreed pathways — including a new partnership with Stand Together and Make It Movement that will bring youth career resources to Ohio and Wisconsin. With every step, our mission remains clear: to ensure every young person has access to quality career pathways that lead to long-term success.

Join Us on This Journey

Young folks hold the keys to the future workforce. Together with our partners and community, we are poised to elevate even more career pathways for job seekers. Let’s work together to build a brighter future — one young worker at a time.