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I was working at a nonprofit called Generation when I met Jasmine.
Jasmine was only 24 years old, but she had already been through a lot and
life kept throwing her curveball after curveball.
She had held a few jobs off and on, but most were part-time and
it was hard to manage her work schedule with caring for her one year-old daughter.
She was living with her daughter's father for a while, so
that provided some stability.
But unfortunately he developed an alcohol abuse problem, and
she began to fear for own safety and her daughter's.
Jasmine found a community in Atlanta that provides a safe haven for
women who have escaped abusive situations.
With the solid footing of housing and safety, she began to look for
full time work, determined to create a better world for her daughter.
One that held the promise of opportunity that she never had.
Jasmine's determination was admirable.
She applied to multiple jobs every day, but
received interviews from very few employers.
The interviews she had, they weren't going so well either.
She knew someone had to be hiring, but
despite her best efforts, no one wanted to hire Jasmine.
This story is not uncommon.
What I found from my work at Generation is that while the details may change,
similar circumstances are experienced by many unemployed young people.
Now, when I say unemployed young people, I mean those aged 18 to 29 who
are not in school and are actively searching for work.
The International Labor Organization estimates that around the world,
75 million young people are unemployed.
Three times as many are underemployed.
This represents not just a source of individual despair, but
also a source of social unrest, as well as a gigantic pool of untapped talent.
Paradoxically, this is a two-sided problem.
According to a global report by McKinsey & Company,
40% of employers say that a skill shortage is driving entry-level vacancies.
Meaning, employers cannot find the skills that they need in the labor pool.
This problem has persisted for years, but it is only now beginning to be addressed.
The solution I proposed, modeled on this issue,
is to create partnerships between the nonprofit and for-profit worlds
that from the outset align outcomes and enable stronger collaboration.
I believe this proposition is valuable in many sectors, but for the purpose of
illustration, let's consider this issue of unemployment among young people.
There are three critical aspects of the education-to-employment journey.
First, enrollment.
Are enough young people being trained for the job market?
Two, building skills.
Is training giving young people the right skills?
And three, finding a job.
Can young job seekers find open positions?
So why does it not work for nonprofits to solve this issue alone?
A nonprofit that focuses on skills training has many priorities.
With limited time and resources, attending to this
entire education-to-employment journey is nearly impossible.
And there are outstanding questions on all three of these aspects.
First, enrollment.
The nonprofit sector is highly fragmented, and
with a donation-based business model, nonprofits cannot operate at the scale
needed to serve all of the young people who would benefit from their services.
Two, building skills.
Without employer involvement, there is no mechanism to ensure that
the curriculum and delivery is done in a way that prepares young people to
be successful on the job, not just in the classroom.
And third, finding a job.
Without commitments from, or at least connections with employers, nonprofits
may not be helping young people with the critical piece of actually landing a job.
So now, let's shift gears and
consider the other side of the coin, the for-profit world.
In this case, that means employers.
Why do employers not solve this issue alone?
Why don't they just hire young people, and then train them?
The problem is, it's expensive.
The employer would have to invest in developing the right type of
skills training.
And then when they hire employees, these employees spend a long time being trained.
And during that time, they're not producing output for the company.
Some large employers do have the capacity to develop training programs.
But the reality is, most unemployed young people aren't going to be working for
these resource-rich large companies.
Additionally, many unemployed young people come from difficult life situations,
similar to Jasmine.
They need social support structures in place
to help them succeed in their training and in their transition to the workplace.
And this is why nonprofits are also needed as part of
the equation to address the social issues of unemployment,
not just the talent development piece in which employers are invested.
In 2015, Generation, where I worked, was launched to bring together the nonprofit
and for-profit worlds to solve this issue of unemployment among young people.
When Jasmine went through the Generation Program,
she benefited tremendously from this model.
As a nonprofit,
Generation was able to provide social support services such as a mentor, and
a stipend to help her recover, her transportation, and food cost.
The program's emphasis on employer involvement was also key to
Jasmine's success.
For instance, Generation had worked directly with employers from
the beginning to identify the key skills and mindsets they needed.
And this was the foundation for Jasmine's training.
Generation has focused on proving the positive return on investment of
the program.
As this return on investment is proven, Generation's funding sources have become
diverse, and include governments, foundations, and employers themselves.
All stakeholders benefit from this collaboration.
Governments reduce their unemployment rate,
foundations provide economic mobility for young people, and
employers have a pipeline of talent with reduced turnover and higher productivity.
This collaboration is essential to reach the scale needed to truly move the needle
on unemployment among young people.
When Jasmine graduated from the Generation Program,
she received the job of her dreams.
She called me and
said something to the effect of, I feel like my life has changed already.
I want my daughter, when she's grown, to look back and
be proud of the life we made.
I think that's possible now.
The program worked for Jasmine.
The program has worked for over 25,000 young people in
99 cities across 9 countries, and it's expanding rapidly.
I had the opportunity to help launch the Generation Hong Kong program
in Spring 2018, right before coming to Stanford.
Here's a photo of their first graduation ceremony.
The program is impactful and scalable, and this would not be possible
without the collaboration among sectors in each Generation location.
Today I've told you a story about unemployment among young adults,
because it's an issue that matters deeply to me.
But I'm also excited to be sharing my story with you
because I want to extend an invitation.
I invite you to think about an issue that matters deeply to you.
It could be malnutrition, financial insecurity, access to healthcare,
or any other issue that moves you.
What would be possible if nonprofit and
for-profit organizations worked hand in hand every step of the way,
like they've done for Jasmine and like they've done for
thousands of other unemployed young people around the world?
I challenge you to extend this model to the issue that matters to you,
because there are so many more people in our communities and
around the world that we can help.
Thank you.
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