Introducing Grovo Grants: Helping Good People Get And Keep Jobs in the Modern Workforce
Today we’re thrilled to announce the launch of Grovo Grants, a brand new Grovo for Good initiative.
We’ll be providing five non-profit organizations with resources, technology, and support to train unemployed workers on the 21st century skills they need to get and keep a job today.
With labor participation in the U.S. workforce at a 38-year low and the number of global unemployed workers at 197 million and climbing — it’s clear we need to reverse this disturbing trend. As a professional development company, we felt it made sense for us to step up and see how we could help.
Bringing 21st century skills to those in need
At the helm of Grovo Grants is Grovo for Good’s manager, Kandace Davis. In mid-2015 she began meeting with various non-profits to identify their biggest challenges surrounding professional development. Several key themes kept cropping up.
“For a lot of organizations,” says Kandace, “they just don’t have the resources to provide the effective training needed to secure a job with a livable wage — whether it’s digital skills like how to represent yourself and your company well online, or behavioral skills like how to communicate effectively at work.” In today’s tech-driven workforce, these skills are no long just nice-to-haves — they’re essential.
Gaining speed with microlearning and mobile tech
Then there’s the issue of time — for the unemployed, there’s none to spare. “People don’t have time for a 6–18 month professional development program,” says Davis. “They have to pay bills now, feed their kids now. So they need a method of training that’s quick and can be used on the go.”
For these reasons, Grovo’s bite-sized microlearning lessons and mobile technology are well-suited to getting people back into the workforce as soon as possible. We also hope that as a cloud-based solution, we’ll be able to help our partners better scale their workforce development programs to train more people in a shorter period of time.
Early experiments point toward a promising future
Prior to the launch of Grovo Grants, Kandace and her team had begun experimenting with the Bowery Mission to pilot some of these ideas and see what impact could be made.
“The Bowery Mission was one of the first organizations that bought into this idea of blending Grovo’s product with their in-person trainings,” says Kandace.
After several months, things began to click. “They started to see people become more qualified for jobs, even entry level-type sales positions. It’s providing them with a sustainable living wage.”
Not only are we increasing job prospects, but we’re also elevating ambitions. Kandace recalls one gentleman who was particularly inspired. “When we first met this guy, he was pushing carts. His dream was to become a cashier,” she says. “After exploring some of Grovo’s leadership trainings on his own, his ambitions have changed. Now he wants to manage the store.”
Grovo is honored to be working with a great organization like the Bowery Mission, and we look forward to helping out even more non-profits as Grovo Grants unfolds.
For more information, and to apply for a Grovo Grant, visit www.grovo.com/grants.
