Today, Guild, the leader in opportunity creation for America’s workforce, announced a record year of momentum and impact in 2023.
Amid economic uncertainties in 2023, talent retention, skills development, and career mobility remained central to employers’ workforce strategies. To help employers and employees alike adapt to the changing environment, Guild evolved beyond education to more squarely focus on career mobility, with education and skilling serving as a means to that end, in order to better serve employers and members along the entire career journey. Additionally, the company entered new verticals, introduced new product capabilities, and much more.
“Guild saw three important trends converge in 2023 — rapid technological change, employers’ deepening commitment to upskilling and talent development, and employees’ desire to build skills and advance their careers. That allowed us to power incredible impact across the workforce,” said Bijal Shah, Interim CEO at Guild. “We know that the pace of change will continue. We also know that it will demand more of leaders and their workforces. Guild will continue to unlock opportunity and deliver a return that drives impact by providing best-in-class products and services for all of our stakeholders.”
In 2023, Guild increased its employer partners by nearly 50%, including new partnerships with Charter Communications, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, OSF HealthCare, Providence, Smithfield Foods, Trilogy Health Services, and USAA.
“Our employees have had an overwhelmingly positive response to the Guild tuition-free program, which allows them to continue or complete their education without financial burden,” said Paul Marchand, Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer for Charter Communications. “In the first two months of our partnership, more than 30% of eligible employees became Guild members, and participation has increased by four times compared to our previous tuition program. This benefit is yet another way Charter is directly investing in developing a highly skilled workforce that can best serve the needs of our customers.”
According to a recent Guild survey, nearly two-thirds of U.S. employees are seeking mobility at work, but they also report reaching those goals is stressful. To meet the growing demand from employers and the needs of employees, Guild introduced new product capabilities to its Career Opportunity Platform™. New product capabilities and offerings include:
- Career Accelerator: On-demand, bite-sized activities that allow members to consume proprietary content and acquire career advancement skills at their own pace.
- Enhanced career coaching: Additional specialized knowledge to support members in gaining insight into the roles they want to pursue and develop strategies to get there.
- Priority Pathways: Well-trodden and highly curated skilling pathways—outlining the career steps and credentialed learning that help employees advance their careers and meet their employer’s future talent needs.
- Talent Development Analytics: A Guild-exclusive dashboard visualization that provides employers with end-to-end data insights on their talent pipelines, illustrating learners’ journeys across learning institutions and programs. This includes key points such as program enrollment, program discipline alignment, and program progression.
- AI-skilling bundle: A first-of-its-kind bundle of AI skilling programs designed to support the 112 million frontline workers most at risk of needing to change occupations in the near future due to AI-related shifts in the workplace.
- Candidly partnership: Guild partnered with Candidly to provide Guild members access to student loan benefits, helping to reduce debt incurred prior to utilizing Guild.
“When we announced our partnership with Guild, we were hopeful the accessibility would provide our Mission Partners holistic support for their personal and professional development,” said Shelley Nguyen, Chief Human Resource Officer at OSF HealthCare. “We are pleased to see a 42% increase in enrollment in nursing programs for the fall 2023 semester, illustrating the impact of removing the financial burdens of education on individual career journeys.”
Across existing partnerships, Guild drove significant outcomes for both employers and employees.
- On average, Guild learners are 2.2x more likely to experience internal mobility within their companies compared to non-engaged employees.
- Across healthcare employer partners, nursing learners were 3.4x less likely to leave their employer in the last 12 months relative to non-participants. In financial services, learners were 90% more likely to be promoted than their non-member counterparts.
- In the five years since the launch of their programs, Walmart has saved associates nearly half a billion dollars in tuition costs and Disney has promoted more than 3,600 employees and cast members.
- At Target, where in the first 18 months of the partnership, promotions for hourly team members enrolled in a program through Guild were more than 3x higher compared to non-participants and turnover was more than 70% lower, the impact on individuals is significant.
“When I first heard about Target, what attracted me career wise was that development piece. They walk the walk by incorporating Guild into our benefits. Being able to access that development helped me accelerate,” said Vaden W., Senior Operations Manager at Target. “I’ve been able to get promoted twice, and it means the world to me that Target is invested in the growth of their people.”
In addition, Guild announced a corporate rebrand, launched its award–winning Opportunity Divide podcast, featuring renowned future of work experts Adam Grant, Brené Brown, Daniel Pink, Geoffrey Canada, Ken Chenault, and Malcolm Gladwell. Guild also kicked off the first-of-its-kind Education and Career Mobility Fellowship in partnership with the Aspen Institute’s UpSkill America. Guild was honored with recognitions from leading organizations for its work to create career opportunities, being named to the Forbes Cloud 100 list for the fifth consecutive year, the CNBC Disruptor 50 list for the fourth consecutive year, and the Great Places to Work Best Workplaces for Parents list.
In the next year, both new and familiar challenges will bring more opportunities for Guild to make an impact on the nation’s workforce. Continued urgency around digital transformation, the rapid evolution of AI, and a growing skills gap underscore the increasing need for agile, forward-looking talent development programs at scale. Cybersecurity and healthcare programs continue to draw the most enrollment from Guild members, while interest in emerging fields such as AI is on the rise. The company will continue to evolve its Learning Marketplace offerings to meet the skilling needs of members and employer partners in these high-demand areas.
Along with these needs, Guild anticipates entry into new verticals, as technological changes advance and labor shortages continue to materialize in critical industries like transportation, manufacturing, and utilities. The company will continue investing in its Career Opportunity Platform™, expanding its product capabilities to enhance the personalization of its member support and provide strategic partnership to employers. A particular area of focus will be expansion of the company’s product capabilities that provide career advancement services for members and talent development capabilities for employers.
Learn more about Guild’s impact and how it is creating opportunity for America’s workforce here.
About Guild
The Guild Career Opportunity Platform™ enables forward-thinking employers to invest in their employees, unlocking life-changing opportunities for personal and professional growth through education and learning programs, career development, and one-on-one coaching. Guild partners with the nation’s largest employers — including Walmart, Chipotle, Discover, Hilton, Target, The Walt Disney Company, and healthcare systems like Providence Health and UCHealth — to create cultures of opportunity that help them attract and retain top talent, and build the workforce of the future. Guild offers a marketplace of curated education and learning programs designed for the success of working adults. Layered onto that is support, guidance, and resources at every step to help ensure the new skills employees are building translate into career pathways that are in demand at their companies — all without paying for tuition or career services on their own. For more information, visit https://www.guild.com.
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