Skills Accelerator is taking Miamians from jobless to gainfully employed | Guest Opinion

The Bureau of Labor Statistics states the unemployment rate in Miami-Dade is 1.4%, significantly lower than the national average of 3.5%. However, this statistic does not tell the entire story — and actually paints a false narrative that the recovery efforts of our labor force are working for everyone.

In reality, Black and Hispanic Floridians have significantly higher unemployment rates, at 4.2% and 3.1% respectively, according to the Economic Policy Institute. This disparity speaks volumes about how the effort and impact of employment programs aimed to support employment recovery are falling short.

The gener8tor Skills Accelerator program, founded at the height of the pandemic in July 2020, specifically was designed to find, train and place job seekers that are unemployed, underemployed and often hidden in the workforce.

Hidden workers are those eager to work and willing to learn the necessary skills employers need but are not currently active in the labor market for several reasons, according to the “Hidden Workers, Untapped Talent Report” by Accenture. These workers are missing from the workforce because of long-term unemployment and those that are missing hours, creating a struggle for survival while working.

There are several reasons why these workers are not engaged in the workforce. Health issues, physical and mental/neurodiversity challenges, gaps in employment, family care issues, few formal educational qualifications and disadvantaged backgrounds all combine to make finding employment difficult and, at times, nearly impossible for many.

Each of these barriers is exacerbated for Black and Hispanic workers because of the systemic racism built into our processes.

Ensuring we can find and train workers that are seeking employment, but who also need additional support to get into the workforce, is of utmost importance to bringing economic equality and justice to all workers.

To accomplish this, gener8tor Skills is a training program focused on helping job seekers gain the skills they need for today’s workforce. Our program has helped more than 1,500 job seekers in 20 different regions since 2020. It is an online, rapid-skilling program for people looking for jobs in high-demand roles in their communities or working remotely for companies across the country. Participants in gener8tor Skills build their confidence alongside their technical knowledge in small cohort-based groups where they receive one-on-one support from career coaches to achieve their goals. The program utilizes the LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn platforms to provide high-quality instruction in multiple fields, including data analytics, software development and project management, to name a few.

A recent graduate of the gener8tor Skills Miami program shared, “I definitely recommend gener8tor Skills Accelerator because not only did I learn everything I needed to take the CompTIA A+ exam, but they also provide a great support team to help you every step of the way.” Her experience showcases that both the technical skills taught coupled with the concierge business coaching are what made the difference in her ability to learn the skills and develop the confidence to move into the IT industry.

The gener8tor Skills Accelerator solves for many of the barriers to entry that the unemployed, underemployed and hidden workforce grapples with because it can be accessed anywhere with broadband, can be done anytime with a self-paced curriculum, includes wrap-around support, one-on-one career coaching and long-term job-placement support. Nationally, we have a graduation rate of 80% and a job placement rate of 71%. Our graduates earn an average annual salary of $54,000.

In partnership with YWCA South Florida, the Skills Accelerator just kicked off its second cohort in Miami-Dade County in January and is transforming the way we find, train and place workers into meaningful employment that supports their personal career goals.

Cole Shearer is vice president of Skills Accelerator, gener8tor. Kerry-Ann Royes is president & CEO of the YWCA South Florida.