OneTen Hires 17,000 Black Professionals in First Year

OneTen, a coalition of business leaders and corporations who are working together to create opportunities for Black talent in America, has confirmed that it has hired 17,000 Black Professionals into family-sustaining jobs in its first year.

Its first report also details other meaningful, measurable progress made towards achieving its ambitious mission of upskilling, hiring and promoting one million Black individuals without four-year degrees into jobs over the next 10 years. The Year One Report: Building Momentum for a Movement illustrates how OneTen is transforming the American hiring ecosystem by closing the racial wealth gap; and shifting hiring practices and championing Black talent.

Led by Chief Executive Officer Maurice Jones, OneTen partners with member companies and talent developers. They include community colleges, online bootcamps, and military transition programmes, and community organisations across the US. The coalition’s aim is to shatter systemic barriers and unlock opportunities for Black talent without four-year college degrees.

UNLOCKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR BLACK TALENT

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 79% of family-sustaining jobs in the US require a four-year degree; yet 76% of Black talent ages 24 years and older are shut out from these opportunities because they lack one. Through a skills-first approach to hiring, which is five times more predictive of a person’s future performance than their education, OneTen hopes to serve as a model for creating greater economic and racial justice. Member companies, which represent some of the largest employers in the country, have committed to adopting skills-first hiring; reclassifying jobs and strengthening internal diversity, equity and inclusion practices to empower all talent to build and thrive in successful careers.

“We’ve designed a system meant to ensure our partners and coalition members remain engaged and accountable,” stated Ken Frazier, OneTen Co-Chair, and former CEO and Chairman of Merck. “We hold ourselves to that same standard by reporting on OneTen’s tangible progress. We strongly believe these measurable impacts will lead to immeasurable possibilities for Black talent over the next ten years and beyond; igniting potential for generations to come.”

FIRST YEAR PROGRESS IN NUMBERS

In its first year alone, OneTen’s impact includes: 

• 17,000 qualifying hires, 4,000 promotions, and an 89% talent retention rate. 
• 60 member companies that have formally joined the coalition and 50 talent developers and content partners providing education and upskilling. 
• More than 30 industries represented amongst jobs; 25 regional markets with a scalable OneTen presence, and over 360 locations across the US with OneTen job opportunities. 
• Partnerships with over 250 CEOs, CHROs, DEI executives and other senior leaders; who are actively working to change hiring practices within coalition member companies.

“Our OneTen coalition members share a common goal to dismantle the structural barriers that have kept qualified workers on the sideline,” stated Ginni Rometty, OneTen Co-Chair; and former CEO and Chairman of IBM. “We are proud of the progress we have made so far, but these numbers are just the beginning. As we continue to grow, we remain committed to being transparent in the ongoing retention, development, and advancement of Black talent.”

PLANS FOR 2022

Looking ahead to 2022, OneTen plans to: 

• Grow its coalition membership of companies, talent developers and community partners. 
• Significantly increase the number of Black talent hired and promoted by coalition member companies. 
• Expand employer access to high-quality sources of Black talent for family-sustaining jobs. 
• Increase the number of family-sustaining jobs currently not requiring a four-year degree among coalition member companies. 
• Broaden the use of apprenticeship models among employers. 
• Strengthen its community of practice forum for CEOs and talent leads for sharing best practices in recruiting, upskilling and advancing diverse talent. 
• Continue to support individual employers to accelerate internal progress. 
• Increase investment in organizations providing wraparound services to enable Black talent to succeed at work.

Read the full OneTen Year One Report here.

Here’s how OneTen to upskill, hire and promote one million Black Americans over the next 10 years into sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement.