“The best social service program in the world is a job. We’re going to make sure the people who need those jobs the most get them.” – Louis J. King II, President and CEO
November 14, 2022 – A $5 million gift to OIC of America from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott will help launch the Sullivan Training Network, a national network of training programs offering accredited courses to low-income rural and inner city individuals who have been left out of this economy as a result of the decades of systemic racial economic inequality experienced by Black Americans.
This gift – and the confidence it shows in OIC – is more evidence that OIC’s approach is right for our times. These free accredited courses will prepare this underserved population with the skills to address the labor shortage in high demand fields across the country and connect them with employers who offer living wages in these fields.
Given the reality of our economy, OIC is well positioned to address the structural dynamics that drive inequality:
- Labor force participation rates are projected to continue declining as Baby Boomers exit the workforce and technology demands explode.
- As of Spring 2022, there were 11.3 million job openings and 6 million unemployed workers (Wall Street Journal, 2022)
- More than 39 million Americans have attended some college but earned no degree (Forbes, 2022)
As the United States continues grappling with record inflation and a massive labor shortage, the Sullivan Network will build the talent pipeline end to end. OIC of America is building a model to find and train up people from the most economically insecure parts of the country to take on high demand, well-paying jobs; and this gift from MacKenzie Scott helps OIC do just that.
