Announcing the Winners of the Reimagining Pathways to Employment Challenge

MIT Solve is pleased to announce the 5 winners of the inaugural Reimagining Pathways to Employment in the US Challenge, put forth by the Morgridge Family Foundation, New Profit, CSU Global, IBM, and powered by MIT Solve. These innovative teams responded to the Challenge question "How can workers in the United States attain the knowledge and learn the skills needed to access sustainable jobs and livelihoods in the new economy?"

"Attuning for people in the margins will make solutions that will really work for everyone," said Dr. Angela Jackson, Managing Partner at New Profit, during the Winner Announcement Event earlier today. 

From electric vehicle charging station technician training to apprenticeships for careers in creative technologies, all of the winning solutions accelerate pathways to current and future employment across the country. These solutions are all the more timely in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting high levels of un- and under-employment throughout the US – which have inordinately affected BIPOC and female workers. 

Arts2Work: Centering racial and gender justice in a bold new model of apprenticeship for careers in digital media and creative technologies

Centro: Empowering women and minorities to pursue entrepreneurship as a pathway towards employment and a secure financial future through an inclusive app

ChargerHelp!: Getting people and electric vehicle charging stations back to work!

Generation USA: Transforming education to employment systems to prepare, place, and support people into sustainable career pathways

The Last Mile: Empowering incarcerated individuals with the skills today’s job market demands, leading to gainful employment and reduced recidivism rates

“The thing I'm most excited about is finally meeting the other winners and all the incredible funders and thinkers who have brought this whole thing together... the idea of not feeling so siloed and alone in the transformative work we are trying to do is really extraordinary," said Wendy Levy of Arts2Work. 

Challenge winners will have access to a US$625,000 prize pool made possible by Challenge partners Morgridge Family Foundation, New Profit, CSU Global, and Gary Community Investments. These grants will fund the development of validation pilots with innovative US Workforce Boards as part of New Profit's Future of Work Grand Challenge.