Panelists:
Wan-Lae Cheng, Senior Director, Markle Foundation
Alison Dorsey, Senior Manager, City and State Programs, LinkedIn
Michael Meaney, Project Manager, Education and Workforce Innovation, ASU
Russ Yelton, CEO, Pinnacle Transplant Technologies
Moderator: Steve Krafft, Reporter, Fox10 News, Phoenix

Skillful: A Skills-Based Labor Market Provides More Opportunity for Colorado and Phoenix

Skillful was recently created by the Markle Foundation and its partners, Arizona State University and LinkedIn, to address one of the biggest problems in today’s labor market. Many employers seek applicants who have a four-year college degree, even though 70% of Americans don’t have one. This has left countless Americans—especially those with a high-school diploma and some college experience—with fewer paths to opportunity, even as many employers struggle to fill open positions. Skillful, which just launched in Phoenix and Colorado, creates transparency around skills needed for fast growing and good paying jobs, provides access to training, and offers insight into career paths that value people’s skills rather than degrees.

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