Pathways Resource Library

The 2023 American Opportunity Index evaluated nearly 400 large U.S. firms to produce key findings on how firms maximize their internal talent to drive corporate performance and the growth of their employees. It also raised significant disparities in promotion and retention among companies and underscores the business choice in talent management practices. Among their key findings are that large companies that excel in employee retention save up to $400 million annually on turnover costs, primarily by offering promotion opportunities and competitive wages. Additionally, top companies are 2.5 times more likely to promote employees and pay 68% more for the same roles, benefiting corporate performance and worker growth.

This Message Manual contains research-based language and guidance for anyone communicating about racial justice and equity in education. The manual introduces a Racial Justice and Racial Equity Frame that provides guidance for communicating about justice and equity in aspirational ways that move beyond buzzwords and invite new audiences into the conversation. The guide provides research-tested language and specific examples of how to apply the frame when sharing data, crafting story-driven content, and tailoring messages for different audiences.

In 2023, SHRM Foundation commissioned Topos Foundation to investigate the effectiveness of various framing, language, and argumentation deployed in an ongoing effort, by SHRM Foundation and many other partners, to promote hiring that puts less emphasis on academic degrees and considers all the ways job candidates may be qualified for a position. This report contains valuable insights into effectively communicating the case for skills-first hiring with the broadest audience.

Communications and marketing are critical in the effort to transform the nation’s degree-centric postsecondary model to an incremental credentialing system. To support such a major transformation, communications and marketing are needed at three levels: state and institution Wide, individual credential and program levels, and nationwide. This Playbook focuses on the first of these.

This study examines recent community college student's motivations for enrolling, their self-reported perceptions of the value of their education and training experiences, and the degree to which they achieved their goals for enrolling. The outcomes they pursue range from skill development to certificates to degrees to transfer. Fewer than half of career seeking students report that their education helped them fulfill these motivations, or develop the skills needed for their subsequent outcomes such as critical thinking, communication or leadership. Additionally, the report finds that students are less likely to feel their education was worth the cost of that it helped them achieve their goals.

This website captures insights and lessons learned from the Pathways Narrative Project and shares tools and resources for organizations interested in engaging in narrative change as part of their mission and work. The Pathways Narrative Project is a two-year collaborative initiative, led by Wonder: Strategies for Good and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Walton Family Foundation and others, that convened nine organizations to improve education and career pathways for young people. Together the cohort explored how to leverage the power of narrative to advance programs and systems change in the pathways space.

The State of the Future U.S. Workforce: Student Ability Report analyzes anonymized data from the YouScience Discovery aptitude-based career guidance assessments taken in U.S. high schools (grades 9 through 12) across all 50 states in 2021. They outline our findings and suggest solutions that address the challenge in a holistic, practical way in this report.

This resource includes a set of skills-based hiring toolkits that include a skills-based job-posting, interview questions, and onboarding plans. Each Skills-Based Hiring Toolkit is packed with valuable resources that will help you transform your hiring strategy.

The Tear the Paper Ceiling: STARs Hiring Playbook gives human resource professionals, talent leaders, and hiring managers practical tools and guidance to shift their hiring to include STARs - workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes.