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The Rework America Alliance is an unprecedented nationwide collaboration to enable unemployed and low wage workers to emerge from this crisis stronger. The Alliance aims to help millions of workers, regardless of formal education, move into good jobs in the digital economy by accelerating the development of an effective system of worker training aligned to jobs that employers will need to fill.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented health and economic crisis, impacting tens of millions of people and devastating families across our country. This crisis is affecting some much more deeply than others -- in particular, people of color, women, those working low-wage jobs and those without a bachelor’s degree -- as the outcome of long standing racial, ethnic, gender and class bias.
Against an uncertain future, we must immediately ensure that unemployed workers have government financial support for food, housing, and other vital needs -- but we must do more. We must also act to address the longer-term challenges from our changing economy and create opportunity for workers as the economy recovers, and as even more of the good, in-demand jobs will require new digital skills.
The Alliance will focus on enabling unemployed and low wage workers to move to better jobs in this digital economy by providing a wholesale backbone for all types of organizations supporting workers. The Alliance will create products and services that enable these organizations to understand the good jobs that will be most in-demand and connect adults to effective rapid and affordable training and career coaching to prepare them for these jobs. We will work with employers to hire and advance workers who may not have the degrees or experience that would traditionally be required, and to enable the creation of more good jobs.
Together, the Rework America Alliance aims to achieve impact at the scale and speed this crisis requires to help workers transition to good in-demand jobs in the digital economy.
The Alliance is helping worker-facing organizations connect displaced workers to good jobs and employers to build a more diverse workforce by providing access to career guidance and talent management resources.
Read about the formation of the Alliance in the Open Letter from Markle CEO and President Zoë Baird. You can also learn more about our progress including local partnerships, and new resources developed by the Rework America Alliance.
In June 2021, the Rework America Alliance, a Markle initiative, studied the job histories of 29 million people across more than 800 occupations to look at how to realize the potential of the more than 5.8M workers from low-wage roles currently unemployed and without a college degree. From this, the Alliance has identified actionable steps that can be taken to help these workers to return to work in better roles. These findings are detailed in “Unlocking Experience-Based Job Progressions for Millions of Workers” authored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Markle, McKinsey & Company, and the National Urban League with input from many of our partners in the Rework America Alliance.
Two new tools have also been developed so we can take action based on these insights:
Working with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, civil rights organizations, and key experts, we will identify select training programs that are effective at preparing people for good, in-demand jobs, and include a mix of local and national options, beginning with programs from initial participating organizations.
And supported by the work of Rework America Business Network members and Skillful
All partners will contribute to this work in multiple ways by applying their expertise, experience and resources to the Rework America Alliance.
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“The Center for Workforce and Economic Opportunity and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is excited work with the Alliance to create the big structural solutions needed to generate greater worker power. We want to learn and advance new ideas to create a system that expands choices and opportunities for those affected by entrenched inequities in the labor market and as a result of this crisis. We are excited to partner with the Alliance leaders to come together in working with communities to serve their workers.”
"Google.org has been proud to support the work of the Markle Foundation since 2017. Now, it is particularly important to ensure cross-sector collaboration as we all aim to help rebuild an economy that works for everyone. We are optimistic about the promise of the Rework America Alliance and its goal to help connect workers with training and jobs that increase their economic opportunity and career mobility.”
“McKinsey is proud to join the Rework America Alliance and contribute data-driven insights to help light a path for workers toward resilient, higher-wage jobs that have historically been out of reach for those without degrees or traditional experience. The rising wave of automation – combined with the economic disruption from the COVID-19 crisis – magnifies inequalities in the workforce, particularly for women and racial minorities who are disproportionately affected. Together with Alliance partners, we can help workers build the skills they need to advance in a shifting labor market and equip employers and educators with practical tools to shape a more inclusive economy.”
“The Black community is bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. The health and economic upheaval will cause damage that will reverberate long after the virus has been contained. We cannot let people fall into debt or destroy their financial futures as a result of this crisis. The NAACP is excited work with the Rework America Alliance to provide the training, resources, and job opportunities necessary to ensure that everyone can continue to provide for themselves, their families and their communities without the constant fear of impending financial hardship.”
"The National Partnership looks forward to working with this phenomenal coalition of industry, corporate, advocacy and labor leaders, with the mission of putting Americans back to work. Our nation faces a crisis upon on a crisis - both in the coronavirus pandemic and our struggle against racial inequality and injustice. Through our work helping women and all families achieve economic equality, we look forward to joining the Rework America Alliance to help shape a new society that looks at work and workers holistically.”
“UnidosUS is excited to partner with the Rework America Alliance. Prior to the pandemic, Latinos had been disproportionately concentrated in low wage hourly jobs in hard hit industries. As a result, our community is bearing a larger brunt of the crisis. We need training and jobs programs that will help our community stay afloat and thrive. The Alliance will do that by providing the capabilities and tools that will connect our community to livable wage jobs. ”
“Emsi’s mission is to use data to connect people, education, and work. This new partnership is one of the more clear and concrete manifestations of that mission and we are glad to support it. Many of the employment problems we see in the market today are results of jobseekers not being able to articulate their value to employers using the same language that businesses use: the language of skills. We hope this partnership helps people find work and helps businesses find the best person for the job.”
"Wipfli's mission is to “create lasting, positive impact” and we are honored to be among the prestigious organizations of the Rework America Alliance. Our expertise as a full-service CPA and Consulting firm will be leveraged to help define, refine, develop and deploy smart systems that help coaches navigate and effectively use training and digital tools through a skills-based approach. Now more than ever, it is vital that organizations work together to enable these coaching programs to empower the dignity of work for all Americans.”
“The Colorado Community College System (CCCS) is pleased to join the Rework America Alliance. As the largest institution of higher education in Colorado, CCCS is well positioned to contribute to the Alliance as it works to develop solutions for economic recovery and reskilling of displaced individuals impacted by the global pandemic. CCCS looks forward to collaborating with industry and education leaders from across the nation using data, modeling, and forecasting to continue developing industry relevant programming for recovery.”
“Emily Griffith Technical College, located in Denver, Colo., is proud to partner with the Rework America Alliance to provide education, training and coaching to people looking to retool their skills, opening up new career opportunities for those who need it most.”
“Healthcare Career Advancement Program (H-CAP), is proud to support the Rework America Alliance to address unprecedented labor market challenges, contribute to an equitable recovery from the current economic crisis, and empower workers. H-CAP looks forward to partnering to build the workforce for quality care, using H-CAP’s experience as a national partnership of SEIU unions and healthcare employers to develop quality healthcare career education models for high road jobs and increase equity in the healthcare workforce.”
“North America’s Building Trades Unions looks forward to working with the Rework America Alliance. Our world-class workforce development model creates career pathways and lifelong skills that provide family-sustaining wages and benefits, and we welcome the opportunity to share our perspective and experience in the important work of this Alliance.”
“Per Scholas energetically supports the Rework America Alliance and is committed to helping the US workforce rebuild in a post-pandemic economy by focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion as pivotal tools for growth and recovery. Per Scholas will support the alliance by offering rigorous and tuition-free technology training and professional development to help workers successfully retrain or transition to IT careers, while also creating onramps to businesses in need of their talents.”
"Goodwill Industries International enthusiastically joins the Rework America Alliance to connect credentialing and employer partners into a seamless system that advances sustainable careers. Through equitable upskilling, skills-based hiring practices, earnings and advancement, we can ensure everyone benefits from equitable economic opportunity. Together, we can change systems and strengthen communities across the country."
“IBM is eager to share its expertise with the Rework America Alliance to help give job seekers the skills for higher quality jobs in all industries. By making technical acumen as important as academic degrees, employers are now realizing the benefits of diverse, adaptive workforces. IBM-led career readiness movements like P-TECH and resources like IBM's SkillsBuild have demonstrated that great things can happen when public, private and not for profit sectors collaborate to create new opportunities for all.”
“The Rework America Alliance presents a unique opportunity to bring forward proven resources from across sectors to help people get back to work and find good jobs. At Microsoft, we will bring forward the resources we committed to support 25 million unemployed workers from COVID and partner with the diverse group of stakeholders in the Alliance to accelerate the development of a new system of worker training that is both accessible and equitable to all.”
“African Americans are facing staggering income inequality because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the unemployment rate for workers with only a high school education rising to more than double the rate of workers with college degrees. The Rework America Alliance is marshalling the resources of an unprecedented roster of partners to help narrow – and ultimately close – that gap.”
“We know the current economic crisis and systemic racism disproportionately affect the 71 million workers without a college degree who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes, or STARs for short. STARs show up every day to work, learn, and contribute in essential ways. It's time for our institutions to show up for them. We look forward to working with partners in the Rework America Alliance to create a more inclusive and equitable labor market for STARs.”
“ The world of work is changing, and now more than ever, all of us need to come together to help workers gain the skills needed to obtain high-quality jobs and grow their careers. Joining the Rework America Alliance represents another important step in furthering our commitment to closing the opportunity divide, and we look forward to leveraging Workday skills cloud – a machine learning-powered, universal skills ontology – as part of this important effort.”
“BrightHive is thrilled to be part of the Rework America Alliance. With this incredible group of partners, we’ll be able to uncover, combine, and share the data and insights needed by workers, employers and training providers to rapidly reskill and rehire millions of unemployed Americans in good, in-demand jobs.”
“PAIRIN is pleased to be a founding partner of the Rework America Alliance. To support the initiative, we will act as a delivery partner and provide system integration with our My Journey platform to include specific data and content provided through the alliance. This will provide for those displaced by the pandemic a step by step system to identify transferable skills from existing experience, match those to new careers, discover the training and certifications to ensure success, and get connected to real, COVID-resistant jobs. ”
“As a New American University that assumes fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities we serve, Arizona State University will partner with the Rework America Alliance to provide training and learning opportunities that will ensure student success and help workers emerge resilient amidst the ongoing health, social justice, and economic crises. We look forward to working with the Alliance to design equitable and data-informed structural and education solutions that connect people from all socioeconomic backgrounds to the training and job opportunities they need to become master learners and thrive in the digital economy.”
“edX is thrilled to be part of the Rework America Alliance. As the country faces an economic downturn as a result of COVID-19, we are committed to working with the Alliance to help unemployed workers move into good jobs, with a stronger skill set than before. Developing programs and credentials that help people quickly, flexibly and affordably gain the knowledge and skills they need to unlock new and bigger opportunities is in edX's DNA. We are honored to join the Alliance and bring these offerings to those that need them most.”
“Futuro Health improves the health and wealth of communities by growing the largest network of credentialed allied health workers in the nation starting in California. We believe investing in education and skills training and retraining results in better-paying jobs for workers, better service for patients and better workers for employers to hire. We look forward to working collaboratively with the outstanding group of organizations in the Rework America Alliance to create effective training solutions at the scale and speed required to help workers move into career opportunities and gain economic security. ”
“Ivy Tech is pleased to be a part of the Alliance. We are eager to help develop and deploy the constructs and insights that will provide a bridge between the dynamically changing labor market, training and education needs, and opportunities for social and economic mobility. Ivy Tech will be able to bring to bear its own quantitative and quality workforce research, extensive library of market-driven training and education programs, career coaching leadership, and strong partnerships with employer and community-based thought leaders.”
“Today’s talent shortages and economic disparities warrant new thinking to ensure that both individuals have opportunities and businesses the talent needed to realize greater shared prosperity. SkillsEngine is thrilled to expand our relationship with the Markle Foundation to scale skills-based solutions. Alliances such as this are exactly what is needed to leverage capabilities across vendors and experts with a shared interest in closing the gap between education and the workforce.”
