Walmart & the Walmart Foundation Announce $16 Million in Grants to Seven Nonprofits to Provide Training, Education & Career P...
February 26 2015 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Grants serve as first investment by the company
and its foundation as part of larger $100 million commitment to
create economic mobility for the U.S. retail workforce
Today, at the National Opportunity Summit in Washington, D.C.,
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation will announce an initial
investment of $16 million to seven national nonprofit
organizations, as part of a new Opportunity initiative, a $100
million commitment to help increase the economic mobility of entry
level workers in retail and adjacent sectors. This significant
investment aims to address some fundamental challenges to
advancement, including the skills gap among U.S. workers. The $100
million commitment was first announced last week by Walmart
President and CEO Doug McMillon, in conjunction with the roll out
of new opportunities and enhanced benefits for Walmart
associates.
“We are delighted that Walmart is among the growing group of
employers investing in education and employment opportunities for
workers across the country," said Russell Krumnow, managing
director of Opportunity Nation. “The National Opportunity
Summit is an event where leaders from all sectors can come together
around shared ideas to restore opportunity in America, and commit
to action that will transform our businesses, communities and our
country."
The skills gap among workers is a pressing issue facing the
United States today. According to the Bridge the Gap report
published by Harvard Business School, 51 percent of retailers find
it difficult to fill middle-skills roles.
“We have been working in the dark for too long as we try to
address the skills gap among U.S. workers. Now is the time for
corporations, educators, and policymakers to come together to
identify critical middle-skills jobs, and pinpoint the specific
qualifications needed to keep America competitive,” said Matthew
Sigelman, CEO of Burning Glass Technologies. “Through its
commitment, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are already leading
the way and working with strategic partners to further develop
skills training and job placement programs, and create clear career
pathways to help workers find a lifetime of success.”
With an initial investment of $16 million in grants, Walmart and
the Walmart Foundation will help more than 12,000 retail and
related sector workers gain the knowledge and training they need to
advance in their careers through programs offered by the following
nonprofit organizations: Achieving the Dream, The ACT Foundation,
Dress for Success, Goodwill Industries, Jobs for the Future,
McKinsey Social Initiative and the National Able Network. The
programs will provide skills training, job placement support and
develop interactive maps to showcase career paths within retail and
adjacent sectors.
“We are excited to partner with other foundations, employers,
training providers, government bodies and nonprofit organizations
to improve career pathways for people in retail and adjacent
sectors,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart
Foundation, senior vice president of Corporate Affairs. “We believe
progress requires collective action in the industry to align on the
skills required for advancement and to develop more innovative,
effective, and universally-used training and assessments that
recognize on-the-job learning. Ultimately, we aim to increase
economic mobility of the U.S. retail workforce as a whole.”
The grants from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation will support
the following programs:
Partner
Grant Amount Program
Achieving the Dream $1 million
Build the capacity of four community colleges to place students in
training and secure middle-skills jobs in the retail sector,
creating a framework that can be replicated at other colleges (914
students served by the grant)
The ACT Foundation
$2.265 million Develop a retail sector-wide
competency model and interactive career maps to showcase the career
paths of existing jobs in retail, logistics and customer service
Dress for Success $2.58 million
Provide 5,400 disadvantaged women from more than 30 states with
pre-employment training that will help them obtain jobs and advance
in their careers
Goodwill Industries $3
million Build the capacity of eight Goodwill
affiliates to provide training and career pathways to advance
people from entry level to middle-skills jobs in retail, logistics
and customer service (1,500 individuals served by grant)
Jobs
for the Future $3 million Grow the
capacity of 10 organizations to provide training needed for entry
level workers to access jobs in the transportation, distribution
and logistics sectors (3,000 individuals served by grant)
McKinsey Social Initiative $3.2 million
Develop an innovative retail training and job placement
model, and pilot with 650 low-income youths
National Able
Network $1 million Build the
capacity of 18 centers to train and provide job placement
assistance for 1,000 individuals working in retail, logistics and
manufacturing
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation’s $100 million commitment
over five years will create the career maps, training approaches
and alignment among employers and training providers that will help
many of the 15 million people working in retail today, including
seven million women. In developing these tools and practices, the
Walmart Foundation will support programs that directly help 50,000
people, including 30,000 workers move from entry level to
middle-skills jobs. The commitment is part of the Walmart
Foundation’s focus on creating economic opportunities for
individuals globally. The Foundation is also committed to helping
people live better through philanthropic efforts in the areas of
sustainability and community.
About Philanthropy at
Walmart
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are committed to helping
people live better through philanthropic efforts that draw on the
strengths of Walmart in the arenas of sustainability, economic
opportunity, and community. As part of our commitment to creating a
more sustainable food system worldwide, Walmart and the Walmart
Foundation are leading the fight against hunger in the United
States. They recently exceeded a $2 billion goal to fight hunger
one year ahead of schedule and have donated more than 1.5 billion
pounds of food to those in need across the country. To learn more
about Walmart’s giving, visit www.foundation.walmart.com.
WalmartTricia Moriarty,
1-800-331-0085news.walmart.com/reporter
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