High Impact Philanthropy: Funding Skills Training for a Changing Workforce
The workforce is changing fast and could easily fall into crisis.
By 2030, as many as 375 million employees globally—14% of the global workforce—will have to change jobs or learn new skills because automation and AI will reshape work. This isn’t a prediction of a distant future; it’s present now. The World Economic Forum reports that 44% of workers’ core skills will change in the next five years alone.
What happens when a factory worker’s job vanishes? When a retail employee is automated? When a midcareer professional discover their skills are obsolete?
The global skills shortage isn’t just a number—it’s a crisis of opportunity.
Behind these statistics are real people facing uncertain futures. This change impacts everyone, but the hardest hit are those with obstacles to quality employment.
Previous workforce transformations—like the shift from agriculture to manufacturing—happened over decades, allowing older workers to retire and new generations to adapt. Today’s changes are happening within careers, not between them. Millions of midcareer workers must reinvent themselves while struggling to support families and maintain financial stability.
The Funder’s Opportunity: Why Philanthropy Matters More Than Ever
This is where philanthropy can make a critical difference:
- Traditional education systems move too slowly.
- Employers focus on immediate needs rather than long-term workforce development.
- Government programs vary in effectiveness and often lack the agility to pivot when needs change.
Philanthropic funding can be the catalyst that connects these pieces, creating pathways where none exist.
Investment in skills training does more than fund programs. It transforms lives, strengthens communities, and builds economic resilience. It creates ripple effects that extend far beyond individual success stories.
Generation centers on this transformation: preparing, placing, and supporting people into life-changing careers that otherwise remain out of reach. Since 2015, we’ve helped more than 139,000 graduates secure meaningful employment, earning more than $1.9 billion in wages that change lives and communities.
But what makes skills training worthy of your philanthropic investment? The data tells a compelling story.
The Case for Skills Training: Data, Impact, and ROI
The return on investment for skills training is clear and compelling. A study in New York City found that every dollar invested in industry-focused job training programs yielded between $2.80 and $17.78 in societal returns over five years, and up to $35.21 over ten years, compared to standard job matching services. Taxpayer ROI was also positive, reaching up to $3.68 per dollar invested over a decade, while participants saw lifetime earnings gains of $54,000 to $108,000.
This isn’t abstract impact—it’s measurable change:
- 76% of Generation alumni remain in paid work 2-5 years after graduation, demonstrating long-term employment sustainability.
- 75% of employed Generation alumni work in roles directly related to their Generation training, showing strong program-to-career alignment.
- 71% of alumni can cover their daily financial needs, compared to just 31% before entering the program.
Generation graduates’ earnings reach a breakeven point, covering the cost per graduate, within only 2 to 5 months. This rapid return highlights the efficiency and impact of targeted employment programs.
Employment programs and job placement drive economic mobility. The World Bank identifies such programs as one of the most effective levers for reducing inequality and creating sustainable prosperity.
Generation’s Model: What Makes It Work
Not all employment programs deliver equal results. Generation’s approach stands apart through three key principles:
- We take a demand-led, employer-driven approach.
We don’t train for jobs that don’t exist. We work directly with employers to identify skills gaps, design curriculum around real needs, and create pathways to actual positions. This ensures our graduates are job-ready from day one.
- We provide holistic skills and support.
Technical skills matter, but so do behavioral skills and mindset. In a world of ever-changing job requirements, for example, a growth mindset – the belief that you can learn new skills – is the hallmark of individual employability. And our wraparound services, including mentorship, job placement assistance, and a strong peer community, address a range of barriers that keep talented people from thriving in the workforce.
- We focus on reversing pervasive unemployment.
Our programs create on-ramps where traditional paths have failed.
We address both sides of the employment equation—preparing people for jobs that exist while helping employers find the talent they need to grow. And the data about what works is clear. Coming into our programs, 90% of learners are unemployed. Within 6 months of completing a Generation program, 83% of graduates have jobs. And the majority of graduates gain not only a job, but a good job: 56% of graduates earn a living wage.
The Funder’s Role: Ways to Engage and Lead
As a funder, you have multiple paths to create impact through Generation:
Direct funding supports our global hub team in developing programs, tools, and services that scale our reach. It also enables in-country affiliates to run profession-specific employment programs aligned with your strategic priorities.
In-kind support leverages your unique assets—learning content, tools, certifications, subject matter expertise, or volunteer teams—to strengthen our programs and reach.
Ecosystem engagement opens doors to job vacancies for our graduates through your customer, partner, and supply chain networks.
The most powerful partnerships combine these approaches, creating comprehensive solutions that address both immediate needs and systemic challenges.
What happens if we don’t act? The costs are steep. Growing inequality. Wasted human potential. Economic stagnation. Social instability. The skills gap won’t close itself—it requires intentional investment and collaborative action.
By stepping forward now, you position yourself as a leader in solving one of the defining challenges of our time.
The Durability Difference
Your investment in Generation doesn’t just address immediate employment needs—it creates durable career pathways that align with global priorities. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, call for sustainable employment outcomes.
Durability is at the core of Generation’s work. While many workforce programs measure success by initial job placement alone, we focus on long-term career sustainability. We look at impact along three dimensions – breadth (our reach), depth (short-term employment and income outcomes), and durability (employment, income and well-being outcomes 2-5 years after program completion). Our alumni surveys consistently demonstrate that graduates maintain employment years after program completion, work in roles directly related to their training, and achieve lasting financial stability. These aren’t just statistics—they represent transformed lives and communities.
This durability focus addresses what major research institutions identify as critical for future economic resilience. McKinsey Global Institute projects that automation and AI will transform work, requiring not just one-time training but ongoing skill development. The World Economic Forum emphasizes that sustainable employment pathways—exactly what Generation builds—are essential for economic stability.
By supporting Generation’s durable employment model, you’re investing in a solution that creates lasting impact. Your contribution helps build resilient career pathways that withstand economic shifts and technological disruption, turning short-term interventions into generational change.
Be the Catalyst for Change
The future of philanthropy lies in creating sustainable pathways to opportunity. Employment programs represent one of the highest-impact investments you can make, touching individual lives, strengthening communities, and building economic resilience.
Generation offers a proven model, global reach, and measurable results. We invite you to join us in transforming education-to-employment systems to prepare, place, and support people into life-changing careers.
Connect with us to explore partnership opportunities. Share your strategic priorities and see how Generation’s work can amplify your impact. Visit our website at generation.org/partners or reach out directly to start a conversation.
Together, we can create a world where technological disruption becomes an opportunity for inclusive growth rather than a driver of inequality.
