DENVER — March 27, 2024 — Guild, the leader in opportunity creation for America’s workforce, today announced its newest product capability, Career Pathways, a career planning solution that empowers employees to pursue learning programs tied to in-demand career tracks at their employer, while also empowering employers to curate their education benefits to activate their frontline workforce and support business strategy.

Workforce transformation is a multifaceted and pressing issue for HR leaders today. From AI to rapid digital acceleration, the ever-evolving economy presents ongoing challenges for employers and employees who are struggling to maintain skills and talent at the pace of technological changes. Employers are desperate to fill in-demand roles internally, with 7 in 10 hiring managers preferring to hire internal candidates, according to Guild research. At the same time, employees lack visibility into internal opportunities. This combination has led to information and opportunity gaps within organizations. Through Career Pathways, Guild’s Career Opportunity Platform™ bridges this gap by connecting career insights and business priorities with actionable steps for employees.

“To remain competitive in the future of work, employers must embrace technology solutions that connect scalable employee skills development to their corporate strategies,” said Rohan Chandran, Chief Product & Technology Officer at Guild. “In doing so, they’ll build an agile and diverse talent pool to meet the short- and long-term skilling needs required to achieve their business goals, while supporting the professional advancement of their people.”

Guild’s Career Pathways offers a comprehensive career discovery solution with clearly defined and accessible pathways to help employees obtain in-demand skills—closing the gap between human potential and business results. Built within Guild’s platform, Career Pathways creates the connective tissue between employees’ career goals and employers’ talent needs. It does this in a seamless, productized way that’s integrated into the Guild experience for employees and helps them orient learning around their careers and move into new opportunities.

How Career Pathways works for employers and employees

Employers choose from Guild’s menu of pre-built Priority Pathways—vetted for employee and employer outcomes and aligned with the most in-demand roles—selecting those most relevant to their business. Guild then configures the selected Career Pathways within the platform, tailored to an employer’s unique needs and existing ecosystem of internal career resources. Employers can customize job titles, specify education requirements, link to internal career resources, and connect learning programs to the growth opportunities within their organization.

Employees are then guided toward career opportunities with the highest potential for advancement at their employer and can explore aligned learning programs to gain the necessary skills to move into a new role. Within the platform, employees can select a particular pathway which will then guide them to a suite of resources to help them break into a particular field, understand their transferable skills, and feel confident on their career journey.

“We have a fully funded end-to-end nursing pathway, which means you can join OSF as an entry-level frontline mission partner and go from no education, not even a high school diploma, and the pathway takes you all the way to a doctorate in nursing if you so desire. That’s huge for our mission partners and their families and our community as a whole,” said Jacki Fugitt, Vice President, HR Shared Services & Strategic Partnerships at OSF HealthCare.

Unique support for the end-to-end career journey, connected to talent needs

The need for accurate and relatable career information is more critical than ever, especially for frontline employees for whom reliable sources for career guidance are often unavailable. Guild has layered these resources within its platform and now uniquely supports employees in their end-to-end career mobility journey. In addition to Career Pathways, which supports career discovery,

Guild’s platform enables:

• • Skill building through its Learning Marketplace: Guild’s Learning Marketplace comprises career-aligned programs from a curated set of learning partners selected to expand access and drive advancement outcomes for every employee.
  • Job search through Career Accelerator: On-demand, bite-sized activities that allow members to consume proprietary content and acquire critical job search skills at their own pace.
  • Wrap-around human support through career coaching: Specialized knowledge to support members in gaining insights into the roles they want to pursue and develop strategies to get there.

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.