June 16, 2021
JFFLabs Market Scan | To be prepared for the work of today and tomorrow, we need more than just the right skills. We need an infrastructure that supports continuous and transformative learning throughout a lifetime.
Providers of alternative education and training programs have an opportunity to help employers access new pipelines of untapped talent and offer workers new pathways to rewarding careers in fields like tech, health care, manufacturing, telecommunications, cybersecurity, and green energy.
With the generous support of The Workday Foundation, JFFLabs took a deep dive into the complex and evolving alternative education and training market, focusing on high-quality solutions that have a measurable impact on workers’ wage and employment prospects. The providers of these programs and platforms are crucial resources for employers, helping them to recruit, develop, and retain workers from diverse talent pools. They also make up an ecosystem of opportunity that workers can turn to throughout their careers as they navigate new pathways in an ever-evolving economy.
Training that prepares individuals to enter the workforce is crucial, but we also know that learning doesn’t stop when someone signs an offer letter. At Workday, our employees are our number one core value, and we are deeply invested in their development and offer continuous opportunities to gain new skills. That’s why we’re thrilled to partner with JFF on this market scan of workforce education and training providers, with a spotlight on the innovators that can really make an impact on economic mobility through in-demand skills development.
Carrie Varoquiers, Chief Philanthropy Officer, Workday
The way we see it, workforce education and training programs aren’t meant to prepare participants to reach their final career destinations upon completing just one course or earning one certificate. Instead, they are all parts of an ongoing journey of lifelong learning during which workers continually develop new skills depending on how the economy has evolved and what stage of their careers they’ve entered.
We use the words Navigate, Prepare, Shift, Accelerate, Recharge, and Journey to describe each segment of the market. They reflect the varying needs of adult learners at each stage of the career continuum. This table offers an overview of the types of programs and services available in each segment.
Our Innovators to Watch are on the leading edge of this new frontier of impact for workers.
A select group of visionary enterprises, our Innovators to Watch are at the leading edge of market trends and they distinguish themselves from other forward-looking companies by their potential to create significant, business-aligned social impact. Many span multiple segments, introducing new product offerings seemingly every few months. Each offers a potentially transformative innovation or is led by inspiring founders and teams that we believe in.
Made possible through the generous support of The Workday Foundation
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