Dive Brief:

• In cooperation with the NAACP, Fifth Third Bank is launching a training program aimed to upskill community members with “tools, resources and information regarding career literacy that will empower individuals to find employment and to enhance their employment skills," according to a statement.
• The Workforce Development Program targets under- and unemployed individuals in the communities the bank serves. The program will launch in Detroit, Tampa and Orlando, and it will provide in-person workshops, training and multimedia courses to develop career and success skills. On NextJob’s Job Seeker’s Toolkit, learners can access tips on creating a resume, video interviewing tips, interviews with job search experts and more. They hope to train over 100,000 people across the bank’s 10-state footprint by 2020 with partnerships at the national, regional, state and local level.
• Fifth Third began working with the team at the NAACP in 2016, with a sponsorship of their national convention. The Workforce Development Program is part of an overall strategy that set aside $30 billion for low- and moderate-income borrowers and low- and moderate income communities from 2016 to 2020.

Dive Insight:

Fifth Third joins a growing list of businesses working within communities to upskill and ready workers for current and future jobs. The historically low unemployment rate continues to drop as the skills gap widens making it challenging for businesses to maintain staffing levels or even consider growth.

Local community groups, colleges, NGOs, even the Obama Foundation are working to help those in underserved communities develop the skills they need to find and retain meaningful work. Some companies are even marketing to high school students with the promise of college credits to create an applicant pipeline for the future. As more businesses look to non-traditional markets for talent, the prospects for overall community improvement increases. Many employers are even rethinking their overall requirements and looking more to soft skills and trainability for their staffing needs.