Bridging Small Business with Community College Talent

Assisting small businesses is key to creating strong community economies; small businesses employ 50 percent of the American workforce and are more likely to employ a diverse worker pool. Small businesses face systemic challenges in finding, hiring, and retaining qualified talent. But a strong local pipeline is currently untapped: Community college students. Facilitating the connection between the local diverse talent pools and small businesses in communities is necessary for the continued fight for equitable economic advancement for all.

Goldman Sachs’s 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) program is designed to support businesses by matching them with a local community college “fellow” to support their business needs and provide an opportunity for local learners to gain professional experience. As an implementation partner, the program is grounded in work-based learning principles produced by Jobs for the Future (JFF).

In a report released today by Goldman Sachs, the company announced the publication of 10,000 Small Businesses Fellows: A Model for Addressing Talent Needs in Small Businesses, featuring JFF. This report outlines a framework for developing high-impact internship programs that connect small businesses with community college students to bolster local talent pipelines.