June 23, 2025 • 17 mins
The U.S. faces a talent crisis with millions of skilled candidates overlooked due to outdated hiring practices. The SHRM Foundation's Center for a Skills-First Future aims to bridge this gap by transforming how employers approach talent acquisition.
In this HRchat conversation with Bill Banham, SHRM Foundation President Wendi Safstrom reveals why skills-first hiring has moved to the forefront of strategic thinking for forward-looking organizations. "Talent is America's greatest asset," she explains, noting that employers increasingly rely on workforce creativity and innovation to compete. Yet traditional credential-based hiring creates artificial barriers that exclude qualified candidates simply because they lack formal degrees.
The statistics paint a sobering picture: 75% of employers struggle to fill positions, nearly half face retention challenges, and replacing employees costs up to four times their salary. Meanwhile, one-third of working-age adults without four-year degrees possess valuable skills that remain untapped. As AI and technology rapidly transform skill requirements, the disconnect between educational outputs and workforce needs continues to widen.
Beyond addressing the immediate talent shortage, the Center for a Skills-First Future expands support for overlooked talent pools, including military community members and "opportunity youth" aged 16-24 who are neither in education nor employment. The initiative provides HR professionals with practical tools, including a new certificate program focused on skills-first recruitment strategies.
Learn more about the SHRM Foundation to join a movement reshaping America's workplace.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's
most downloaded and sharedpodcasts designed for HR pros,
talent execs, tech enthusiastsand business leaders.
For hundreds more episodes andwhat's new in the world of work,
subscribe to the show, followus on social media and visit
hrgazettecom.
And visit hrgazettecom.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to another episode of the HR Chat Show.
Hello listeners, this is yourhost today, bill Bannon, and in
this episode we're going to lookat the Sherwin Foundation's new
initiative called the Centerfor a Skills-First Future, which
recently launched.
And joining me on the show toshed light on this new
initiative is the amazing,awesome today somewhat haloed uh
(00:50):
wendy saftrup, the ceofoundation president.
Hey, wendy, how are you doingtoday?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I am doing fantastic, bill.
Thank you so much excited toshare with you a little bit
about what we're up to lately atthe foundation.
Uh, that, that reference to thehalo business, could you be
like?
What's bill talking about?
Uh?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
there's a little bit of sunlight earlier.
What we're up to lately at thefoundation, that reference to
the halo business, becauseyou'll be like what's Bill
talking about.
There's a little bit ofsunlight earlier, when Wendy and
I were talking and it lookedlike she was an angel, which was
very nice.
Wendy, beyond my reintroductionjust a second ago, why don't
you take a minute or two andtell our listeners a bit more
about yourself?
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Sure, wendy Safstrom, as you mentioned, I'm president
of the SHRM Foundation.
I've been here for almost eightyears and we really have
transformed, I think, the workof the SHRM Foundation over the
last couple of years.
In particular, I think what wefocus on in terms of our mission
, and that is really to elevateand empower HR professionals to
(01:38):
lead positive social change inthe workplace, could not be more
relevant or resonate withwhat's going on in our world, in
our country and in ourworkplaces.
And it's really an honor to bepart of the SHRM Foundation
leading those efforts.
And we're part of the broaderSHRM enterprise where the
philanthropic affiliate of SHRMand lean in heavily in this
project in particular to workingwith all of our colleagues
(02:01):
across SHRM to pull this off.
And this has been a projectthat's about two and a half
years in the making and excitedto share a little bit more about
it with you today.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the HR Chat
Podcast.
If you enjoy the audio contentwe produce, you'll love our
articles on the HR Gazette.
Learn more at hrgazettecom.
And now back to the show.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Learn more at HRGazettecom.
And now back to the show.
We are recording this episode,of course, very shortly before
2025.
It's in about a week and a half, in fact, not very long at all.
What are you excited to see atthis year's big annual
conference?
Speaker 3 (02:40):
This year.
I'm excited to see the buildout, if you will, of our skills
first marketplace.
So we've really got real closeto the SHRM booth.
The foundation shares a boothwith the broader again with
broader SHRM.
Really close like 10 piecesaway from that is our skills
first marketplace and that's anactual build out and it's all
completely focused on everythingyou ever wanted to know about
(03:05):
our skills first future and theCenter for Skills First Future.
That is a tongue twister forsure.
We've also launched a newcertificate for individuals if
they're interested in gettingcertified in being an HR
professional who knows whatthey're doing and has it going
on.
When it comes to incorporatingskills first recruitment and
(03:25):
retention strategies withintheir organizations, there's a
lot of energy, a lot of externalpartners who have come together
that don't necessarily worktogether all the time but kind
of have in the past tended towork in silos to pull this off.
And I'm talking about externalorganizations because we all
care very deeply about talent.
We know that talent isAmerica's greatest asset and
(03:49):
increasingly, employers arerelying on creativity,
productivity and innovation,quite frankly, of their
workforce to compete and in fact, our economy depends on access
to skilled and really motivatedworkers to thrive.
I'm most excited to see thiscome to life.
We also have board meetingsthat are going on.
We've got three or four days ofreally great keynote speakers.
(04:13):
The foundation is leading about25 sessions and smart stages
and workshops.
We're having a skills firstlaunch party during annual
conference.
So I'm excited to see all ofthat come to life and then see
what we make of it movingforward.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Okay, so you just give us a little taster, but
maybe you can take a bit longernow and explain what the Center
for Skills, first Future reallyis, what the mission is and what
motivated the Sherm Foundationto launch this effort now you
know why is this particularlyimportant now, in the summer of
2025?
.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
You know, talent is America's greatest asset and
people are competing for talent.
It's what's keeping CEOs up atnight.
It's what's keeping CEOs up atnight, and it's keeping us up at
night because traditionalpathways to employment for
prospective employees and thenthe strategies to help engage
and support current employeesare falling short.
(05:07):
And that means we've got morethan 7.6 million positions that
have gone unfilled and continueto go unfilled.
And the skills kind of inparallel to that, the skills of
millions of workers are underleveraged and we've got a
workforce that's under mountingpressure.
Right, there's some prettyscary stats Employers are
(05:28):
struggling to fill jobs, as Isaid, and only 75% of employers
report difficulty in fillingfull-time positions, but nearly
half are struggling withretention and it's costing
employers up to four times aperson's salary to replace them.
And I mentioned, at the sametime, in parallel, we've got
millions of job candidates whoare overlooked and underutilized
(05:51):
Again scary stats one in threeworking age adults don't have a
four-year degree.
And applicants from untappedtalent pools many who do have
the skills and the experience toexcel continue to be overlooked
and excluded from opportunities, not because of their
capabilities but perhaps becauseof life circumstances or lack
(06:12):
of formal credentials.
So solving this challenge issuper critical to what we're
phrasing as supercharging ourcompetitiveness and creating
economic prosperity for today'sgeneration and future
generations.
And so the solution that'sreally risen to the front, this
work and I have to, in allfairness, a lot of folks have
(06:35):
been at this skills firstmovement or work for quite some
time, but I think what wasreally, really was missing was
this complete leaning in of theemployer community to say this
is important work to us.
We've got to change how we'redoing business, we've got to
change how we recruit and, Ithink, just as importantly, if
(06:56):
not more importantly, retainthose employees.
And so this, as an initiative,has really moved front and
center in strategic thinking andwhere the foundation
representing, together with SHRM, representing the employer
community, is leaning in andthat is fostering a skills first
, thriving, focused workplace.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
So just picking up on one thing you mentioned there
around university education.
I interview a lot of folks onthis show.
This episode is going to go outand it's going to be around
about 825 or something.
Lots of interviews over theyears and increasingly here
which I celebrate that a formaluniversity education ain't as
(07:38):
important as it used to be.
If you're going to be a doctoror if you're going to be an
architect, sure you need thesethings, but from what you guys
are seeing, have you seen thatshift that actually employers
are more interested in thoseskills over the old school
qualifications, if you will?
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Yeah, and to your point.
You know, for decades companieshave relied on four-year
college degrees or two-yearcollege degrees right to supply
talent or really validate be thevalidation for identifying or
supplying the talent thatthey're looking to recruit.
But we are all talking about AIand as AI and technology
evolves, skill requirements areshifting faster, I think,
(08:18):
perhaps, than traditional degreeprograms can adapt, and that
has created a growing disconnectbetween educational outputs a
very technical term and what theworkforce needs, and I like to
approach it as a yes and or anor, or maybe both.
I have some folks in my familywho went through, graduated from
(08:40):
high school.
College was not in the cardsbecause it wasn't something they
were necessarily committed todoing and furthering their
education just based on wherethey were in their mind and
their life space at the time anda way to finance.
It wasn't in the cards either.
And I've got folks in my familywho got a four-year degree and
pursued a job and a careerafterwards that was not
(09:01):
necessarily directly linked tothat four-year degree.
I like to think that the familywho got themselves through high
school and then were kind ofwondering what was next if they
had the ability and or theawareness, because this was 15,
20 years ago to tap into thingslike apprenticeship, or if there
were career and technicaleducational programs they could
(09:21):
pursue post-high school, I thinkthat would have accelerated
their securing jobs and careers,especially in the industries
that they ended up going intoanyway.
I think it could haveaccelerated their pathways in a
much faster way than they couldhave or would have 15 to 20
years ago.
So again, the employercommunity is leaning in saying,
(09:41):
yes, degrees are important.
It's one method or methodologyof validating an individual's
skill sets or what they'rebringing to the table.
But there are other options.
Just as people are diverse andcomplex, the route to how people
come prepared to go to work andthen, once they're in jobs, how
they kind of navigate thatlattice as they move up or over
or out can look really differentdepending on the person.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
I noticed when the other day, that show announced
that Joe Biden is going to bespeaking yeah, annual this year
which makes me even sadder thatI'm not going to be there in
attendance this year.
I'll be back next year.
What are the?
What are the sessions that youlook forward to seeing at the
annual conference next week?
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Well, I'm looking forward to seeing all the main
stage sessions, and you knowSHRM has had former presidential
folks on stage previously, soI'm really, really excited to
see that they're adding Bidenthis year.
The other sessions we'rebringing a lot of the skills
first stuff to life.
Right, it's one thing to talkabout it We've got a booth, but
we're actually having workshopswith HR professionals, and all
(10:46):
of the things the foundation isdoing linked to skills in
particular is reflected in theapps that you can download for
SHRM 25 and in the program books.
I'm also excited to see some ofthe smart stages where the
foundation is kind of givingquick snippets or overviews of
what the foundation is doing,what the foundation is doing in
terms of programmatic work andhow we're, I think, leveraging
(11:10):
the investments made by donors,and that includes members of our
chapter and council networks.
They're very generous when itcomes to donating to the
foundation.
It looks a lot different thanit did 10 years ago and, like I
said, we're investing in helpingHR professionals because we
know they can lead to changethat improves society through
(11:31):
the lens of the workplace, andso there's programming linked to
untapped pools of talent.
We have programming that'ssupporting creating cultures of
care.
When it comes to workplacemental health and wellness,
caregiving is becomingincreasingly a thing.
I'm a caregiver myself and Idon't have children, so that
wasn't necessarily a conceptthat I had in my mind.
I have two parents who luckilyboth turned 80 years old, but
(11:55):
they are a five-hour flight awayfrom me in Washington, and this
notion of how you balance workand life, or integrate that, is
going to become increasinglyimportant, especially as the
country ages and gets grayer, asthey say, and caregiving looks
very different.
The impact that it's going tohave on our workplaces is going
to get increasingly complex aslife is getting increasingly
(12:16):
complex.
And then we've got theunderpinning of everything.
We've got our strengthening HRsessions.
It's really all designed to helpimprove the mental health and
wellness of those listening whoare HR professionals and really
promote the fact that we've gotundergraduate scholarships,
we've got graduate scholarships,we offer professional
development grants for emergingprofessionals.
(12:38):
I love that particular body ofwork and I say often, if we can
help contribute to thedevelopment of tomorrow's next
generation of HR professional,everything else that we're doing
at the foundation is going tobe table stakes and I'll be out
of a job.
I hate to say that but inreality if we're effective and
we're having the impact that wereally want to have.
(12:58):
That's what I really love tovision.
So, again, an opportunity tosee everything we do at the
foundation in the culmination ofthree, three and a half four
days in sunny san diego.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Is it going to be sunny, though, because I got
tricked into this?
Nobody told me about.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Was it uh, june?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
gloom gray may.
Yeah, I walked up there.
In fact I was earlier when Iwas wearing my san diego hat.
It's like british weather,wendy you know, so I hope it is
sunny I I.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
so what?
So I was born in seattle, right, and it's I think it's Wendy, I
hope it is sunny.
So I was born in Seattle, right, and I think it's a misnomer.
It doesn't rain as much as theysay in Seattle, but I'm okay
with a rainy day.
I have heard there's somethingcalled the marine layer.
I probably get it wrong and mycolleagues who are from Sandia
will get upset with me, butlisten, it's on the water.
We've got everybody got theshermiest of the sherm together,
as they say, and everybody'sreally excited and focused and
(13:50):
we are talking and I think morebroadly and bigger, if you will
about the work of the foundationthat I've ever seen in the
eight years I've been here andthat's really exciting to me.
So, whether or not it's sunnyor not, um, I know we're in for
a good time sherm leaves nothingto chance.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
I'm sure you guys have booked the weather.
Yes, you're all good, wendy.
Before we wrap up for today,how can our listeners connect
with you?
I've sent you a LinkedIn invite.
Please accept that.
Are you on Instagram?
Anything you want to do there?
And also, of course, how canthey learn more about all of the
amazing work happening over atthe SHRM Foundation?
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Yeah, no, instagram, not on Instagram the foundation
is.
Our handles are run under theSHRM handles, so you can access
all of the work of thefoundation.
Then again, shrm is anenterprise on those social
channels.
But LinkedIn I was just onLinkedIn this morning.
I was at a conference earlierthis week and I've connected
with a lot of people who havemessaged me individually and I
(14:41):
do follow up on those as quicklyas possible.
I think something else I wantedto highlight we have broadened
our scope under support forveterans who are making a
transition from military serviceto civilian work and life to
include that of members of themilitary community.
So those are members of familymembers who perhaps have a
(15:06):
veteran who served in theirfamily, a military spouse, and
we're going to have a great,terrific gathering conversations
about how to best supportmembers of the military
community as they transitionagain from service to civilian
work and life, because it's notjust the veteran that's making
that transition, it's all thosefolks or individuals in the
(15:27):
sphere of their individual careas well.
I know I've come from amilitary family.
My dad was in the army, my momwas a mill spouse.
There's an impact but tremendousopportunity again to tap into
that untapped pool of talent,and we're also taking on a new
project related to supportingopportunity youth Opportunity.
Youth are individuals anywherebetween 16, 18 to 24, and that's
(15:48):
a group of folks who are notenrolled or in education or
taking a career tech ed courseor pursuing any kind of
particular form of certificationor credentials, and they're not
working, but they're lookingfor opportunities to get a job
and that'll hopefully lead intoa really lucrative career, and
so we're embracing that groupand supporting them as we can,
(16:10):
as appropriate from the employercommunity's perspective, and
leaning in heavily.
We've got a convening that'sgoing on, that's going to be
talking about that reallyimportant topic that is today's
generation and, in fact, thefuture generation of our
workforce, and we've got to do abetter job of embracing those
individuals and bringing theminto our place of work I'm
delighted to hear that I'mactually on the board of uh, of
(16:30):
an organization that supportsneeds.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
I don't know if you use the term needs in the us.
In the uk it means not ineducation, training or
employment.
Uh, yeah, so it's uh in the uk.
Here it's nearly 1 millionneeds, which is a staggering
number when the population isaround 70 million.
So maybe that's one for sure tomention in the future.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Yeah, or do some kind of partnership with you right
across the pond someday.
I this is you know I grew upthinking I had a lot of
opportunities to be set up to goand do what I needed to do and
pursue what I wanted to pursuein terms of college, and that
just is not.
Everybody has that opportunity,those opportunities up to go
and do what I needed to do andpursue what I wanted to pursue
in terms of college, and thatjust is not.
Everybody has that opportunity,those opportunities, and I
think that we have anopportunity and obligation as
the employer community to leanand make that happen.
So I think you're doing great.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
I think you're doing great too, and that was a
wonderful interview today.
So, wendy, that just leaves meto say for today, thank you very
much for being my guest.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
Absolutely Pleasure to be here.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
And listeners as always, and visit HRGazettecom.
Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's
most downloaded and sharedpodcasts designed for HR pros,
talent execs, tech enthusiastsand business leaders.
For hundreds more episodes andwhat's new in the world of work,
subscribe to the show, followus on social media and visit
hrgazettecom.
And visit hrgazettecom.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to another episode of the HR Chat Show.
Hello listeners, this is yourhost today, bill Bannon, and in
this episode we're going to lookat the Sherwin Foundation's new
initiative called the Centerfor a Skills-First Future, which
recently launched.
And joining me on the show toshed light on this new
initiative is the amazing,awesome today somewhat haloed uh
(00:50):
wendy saftrup, the ceofoundation president.
Hey, wendy, how are you doingtoday?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I am doing fantastic, bill.
Thank you so much excited toshare with you a little bit
about what we're up to lately atthe foundation.
Uh, that, that reference to thehalo business, could you be
like?
What's bill talking about?
Uh?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
there's a little bit of sunlight earlier.
What we're up to lately at thefoundation, that reference to
the halo business, becauseyou'll be like what's Bill
talking about.
There's a little bit ofsunlight earlier, when Wendy and
I were talking and it lookedlike she was an angel, which was
very nice.
Wendy, beyond my reintroductionjust a second ago, why don't
you take a minute or two andtell our listeners a bit more
about yourself?
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Sure, wendy Safstrom, as you mentioned, I'm president
of the SHRM Foundation.
I've been here for almost eightyears and we really have
transformed, I think, the workof the SHRM Foundation over the
last couple of years.
In particular, I think what wefocus on in terms of our mission
, and that is really to elevateand empower HR professionals to
(01:38):
lead positive social change inthe workplace, could not be more
relevant or resonate withwhat's going on in our world, in
our country and in ourworkplaces.
And it's really an honor to bepart of the SHRM Foundation
leading those efforts.
And we're part of the broaderSHRM enterprise where the
philanthropic affiliate of SHRMand lean in heavily in this
project in particular to workingwith all of our colleagues
(02:01):
across SHRM to pull this off.
And this has been a projectthat's about two and a half
years in the making and excitedto share a little bit more about
it with you today.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the HR Chat
Podcast.
If you enjoy the audio contentwe produce, you'll love our
articles on the HR Gazette.
Learn more at hrgazettecom.
And now back to the show.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Learn more at HRGazettecom.
And now back to the show.
We are recording this episode,of course, very shortly before
2025.
It's in about a week and a half, in fact, not very long at all.
What are you excited to see atthis year's big annual
conference?
Speaker 3 (02:40):
This year.
I'm excited to see the buildout, if you will, of our skills
first marketplace.
So we've really got real closeto the SHRM booth.
The foundation shares a boothwith the broader again with
broader SHRM.
Really close like 10 piecesaway from that is our skills
first marketplace and that's anactual build out and it's all
completely focused on everythingyou ever wanted to know about
(03:05):
our skills first future and theCenter for Skills First Future.
That is a tongue twister forsure.
We've also launched a newcertificate for individuals if
they're interested in gettingcertified in being an HR
professional who knows whatthey're doing and has it going
on.
When it comes to incorporatingskills first recruitment and
(03:25):
retention strategies withintheir organizations, there's a
lot of energy, a lot of externalpartners who have come together
that don't necessarily worktogether all the time but kind
of have in the past tended towork in silos to pull this off.
And I'm talking about externalorganizations because we all
care very deeply about talent.
We know that talent isAmerica's greatest asset and
(03:49):
increasingly, employers arerelying on creativity,
productivity and innovation,quite frankly, of their
workforce to compete and in fact, our economy depends on access
to skilled and really motivatedworkers to thrive.
I'm most excited to see thiscome to life.
We also have board meetingsthat are going on.
We've got three or four days ofreally great keynote speakers.
(04:13):
The foundation is leading about25 sessions and smart stages
and workshops.
We're having a skills firstlaunch party during annual
conference.
So I'm excited to see all ofthat come to life and then see
what we make of it movingforward.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Okay, so you just give us a little taster, but
maybe you can take a bit longernow and explain what the Center
for Skills, first Future reallyis, what the mission is and what
motivated the Sherm Foundationto launch this effort now you
know why is this particularlyimportant now, in the summer of
2025?
.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
You know, talent is America's greatest asset and
people are competing for talent.
It's what's keeping CEOs up atnight.
It's what's keeping CEOs up atnight, and it's keeping us up at
night because traditionalpathways to employment for
prospective employees and thenthe strategies to help engage
and support current employeesare falling short.
(05:07):
And that means we've got morethan 7.6 million positions that
have gone unfilled and continueto go unfilled.
And the skills kind of inparallel to that, the skills of
millions of workers are underleveraged and we've got a
workforce that's under mountingpressure.
Right, there's some prettyscary stats Employers are
(05:28):
struggling to fill jobs, as Isaid, and only 75% of employers
report difficulty in fillingfull-time positions, but nearly
half are struggling withretention and it's costing
employers up to four times aperson's salary to replace them.
And I mentioned, at the sametime, in parallel, we've got
millions of job candidates whoare overlooked and underutilized
(05:51):
Again scary stats one in threeworking age adults don't have a
four-year degree.
And applicants from untappedtalent pools many who do have
the skills and the experience toexcel continue to be overlooked
and excluded from opportunities, not because of their
capabilities but perhaps becauseof life circumstances or lack
(06:12):
of formal credentials.
So solving this challenge issuper critical to what we're
phrasing as supercharging ourcompetitiveness and creating
economic prosperity for today'sgeneration and future
generations.
And so the solution that'sreally risen to the front, this
work and I have to, in allfairness, a lot of folks have
(06:35):
been at this skills firstmovement or work for quite some
time, but I think what wasreally, really was missing was
this complete leaning in of theemployer community to say this
is important work to us.
We've got to change how we'redoing business, we've got to
change how we recruit and, Ithink, just as importantly, if
(06:56):
not more importantly, retainthose employees.
And so this, as an initiative,has really moved front and
center in strategic thinking andwhere the foundation
representing, together with SHRM, representing the employer
community, is leaning in andthat is fostering a skills first
, thriving, focused workplace.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
So just picking up on one thing you mentioned there
around university education.
I interview a lot of folks onthis show.
This episode is going to go outand it's going to be around
about 825 or something.
Lots of interviews over theyears and increasingly here
which I celebrate that a formaluniversity education ain't as
(07:38):
important as it used to be.
If you're going to be a doctoror if you're going to be an
architect, sure you need thesethings, but from what you guys
are seeing, have you seen thatshift that actually employers
are more interested in thoseskills over the old school
qualifications, if you will?
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Yeah, and to your point.
You know, for decades companieshave relied on four-year
college degrees or two-yearcollege degrees right to supply
talent or really validate be thevalidation for identifying or
supplying the talent thatthey're looking to recruit.
But we are all talking about AIand as AI and technology
evolves, skill requirements areshifting faster, I think,
(08:18):
perhaps, than traditional degreeprograms can adapt, and that
has created a growing disconnectbetween educational outputs a
very technical term and what theworkforce needs, and I like to
approach it as a yes and or anor, or maybe both.
I have some folks in my familywho went through, graduated from
(08:40):
high school.
College was not in the cardsbecause it wasn't something they
were necessarily committed todoing and furthering their
education just based on wherethey were in their mind and
their life space at the time anda way to finance.
It wasn't in the cards either.
And I've got folks in my familywho got a four-year degree and
pursued a job and a careerafterwards that was not
(09:01):
necessarily directly linked tothat four-year degree.
I like to think that the familywho got themselves through high
school and then were kind ofwondering what was next if they
had the ability and or theawareness, because this was 15,
20 years ago to tap into thingslike apprenticeship, or if there
were career and technicaleducational programs they could
(09:21):
pursue post-high school, I thinkthat would have accelerated
their securing jobs and careers,especially in the industries
that they ended up going intoanyway.
I think it could haveaccelerated their pathways in a
much faster way than they couldhave or would have 15 to 20
years ago.
So again, the employercommunity is leaning in saying,
(09:41):
yes, degrees are important.
It's one method or methodologyof validating an individual's
skill sets or what they'rebringing to the table.
But there are other options.
Just as people are diverse andcomplex, the route to how people
come prepared to go to work andthen, once they're in jobs, how
they kind of navigate thatlattice as they move up or over
or out can look really differentdepending on the person.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
I noticed when the other day, that show announced
that Joe Biden is going to bespeaking yeah, annual this year
which makes me even sadder thatI'm not going to be there in
attendance this year.
I'll be back next year.
What are the?
What are the sessions that youlook forward to seeing at the
annual conference next week?
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Well, I'm looking forward to seeing all the main
stage sessions, and you knowSHRM has had former presidential
folks on stage previously, soI'm really, really excited to
see that they're adding Bidenthis year.
The other sessions we'rebringing a lot of the skills
first stuff to life.
Right, it's one thing to talkabout it We've got a booth, but
we're actually having workshopswith HR professionals, and all
(10:46):
of the things the foundation isdoing linked to skills in
particular is reflected in theapps that you can download for
SHRM 25 and in the program books.
I'm also excited to see some ofthe smart stages where the
foundation is kind of givingquick snippets or overviews of
what the foundation is doing,what the foundation is doing in
terms of programmatic work andhow we're, I think, leveraging
(11:10):
the investments made by donors,and that includes members of our
chapter and council networks.
They're very generous when itcomes to donating to the
foundation.
It looks a lot different thanit did 10 years ago and, like I
said, we're investing in helpingHR professionals because we
know they can lead to changethat improves society through
(11:31):
the lens of the workplace, andso there's programming linked to
untapped pools of talent.
We have programming that'ssupporting creating cultures of
care.
When it comes to workplacemental health and wellness,
caregiving is becomingincreasingly a thing.
I'm a caregiver myself and Idon't have children, so that
wasn't necessarily a conceptthat I had in my mind.
I have two parents who luckilyboth turned 80 years old, but
(11:55):
they are a five-hour flight awayfrom me in Washington, and this
notion of how you balance workand life, or integrate that, is
going to become increasinglyimportant, especially as the
country ages and gets grayer, asthey say, and caregiving looks
very different.
The impact that it's going tohave on our workplaces is going
to get increasingly complex aslife is getting increasingly
(12:16):
complex.
And then we've got theunderpinning of everything.
We've got our strengthening HRsessions.
It's really all designed to helpimprove the mental health and
wellness of those listening whoare HR professionals and really
promote the fact that we've gotundergraduate scholarships,
we've got graduate scholarships,we offer professional
development grants for emergingprofessionals.
(12:38):
I love that particular body ofwork and I say often, if we can
help contribute to thedevelopment of tomorrow's next
generation of HR professional,everything else that we're doing
at the foundation is going tobe table stakes and I'll be out
of a job.
I hate to say that but inreality if we're effective and
we're having the impact that wereally want to have.
(12:58):
That's what I really love tovision.
So, again, an opportunity tosee everything we do at the
foundation in the culmination ofthree, three and a half four
days in sunny san diego.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Is it going to be sunny, though, because I got
tricked into this?
Nobody told me about.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Was it uh, june?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
gloom gray may.
Yeah, I walked up there.
In fact I was earlier when Iwas wearing my san diego hat.
It's like british weather,wendy you know, so I hope it is
sunny I I.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
so what?
So I was born in seattle, right, and it's I think it's Wendy, I
hope it is sunny.
So I was born in Seattle, right, and I think it's a misnomer.
It doesn't rain as much as theysay in Seattle, but I'm okay
with a rainy day.
I have heard there's somethingcalled the marine layer.
I probably get it wrong and mycolleagues who are from Sandia
will get upset with me, butlisten, it's on the water.
We've got everybody got theshermiest of the sherm together,
as they say, and everybody'sreally excited and focused and
(13:50):
we are talking and I think morebroadly and bigger, if you will
about the work of the foundationthat I've ever seen in the
eight years I've been here andthat's really exciting to me.
So, whether or not it's sunnyor not, um, I know we're in for
a good time sherm leaves nothingto chance.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
I'm sure you guys have booked the weather.
Yes, you're all good, wendy.
Before we wrap up for today,how can our listeners connect
with you?
I've sent you a LinkedIn invite.
Please accept that.
Are you on Instagram?
Anything you want to do there?
And also, of course, how canthey learn more about all of the
amazing work happening over atthe SHRM Foundation?
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Yeah, no, instagram, not on Instagram the foundation
is.
Our handles are run under theSHRM handles, so you can access
all of the work of thefoundation.
Then again, shrm is anenterprise on those social
channels.
But LinkedIn I was just onLinkedIn this morning.
I was at a conference earlierthis week and I've connected
with a lot of people who havemessaged me individually and I
(14:41):
do follow up on those as quicklyas possible.
I think something else I wantedto highlight we have broadened
our scope under support forveterans who are making a
transition from military serviceto civilian work and life to
include that of members of themilitary community.
So those are members of familymembers who perhaps have a
(15:06):
veteran who served in theirfamily, a military spouse, and
we're going to have a great,terrific gathering conversations
about how to best supportmembers of the military
community as they transitionagain from service to civilian
work and life, because it's notjust the veteran that's making
that transition, it's all thosefolks or individuals in the
(15:27):
sphere of their individual careas well.
I know I've come from amilitary family.
My dad was in the army, my momwas a mill spouse.
There's an impact but tremendousopportunity again to tap into
that untapped pool of talent,and we're also taking on a new
project related to supportingopportunity youth Opportunity.
Youth are individuals anywherebetween 16, 18 to 24, and that's
(15:48):
a group of folks who are notenrolled or in education or
taking a career tech ed courseor pursuing any kind of
particular form of certificationor credentials, and they're not
working, but they're lookingfor opportunities to get a job
and that'll hopefully lead intoa really lucrative career, and
so we're embracing that groupand supporting them as we can,
(16:10):
as appropriate from the employercommunity's perspective, and
leaning in heavily.
We've got a convening that'sgoing on, that's going to be
talking about that reallyimportant topic that is today's
generation and, in fact, thefuture generation of our
workforce, and we've got to do abetter job of embracing those
individuals and bringing theminto our place of work I'm
delighted to hear that I'mactually on the board of uh, of
(16:30):
an organization that supportsneeds.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
I don't know if you use the term needs in the us.
In the uk it means not ineducation, training or
employment.
Uh, yeah, so it's uh in the uk.
Here it's nearly 1 millionneeds, which is a staggering
number when the population isaround 70 million.
So maybe that's one for sure tomention in the future.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Yeah, or do some kind of partnership with you right
across the pond someday.
I this is you know I grew upthinking I had a lot of
opportunities to be set up to goand do what I needed to do and
pursue what I wanted to pursuein terms of college, and that
just is not.
Everybody has that opportunity,those opportunities up to go
and do what I needed to do andpursue what I wanted to pursue
in terms of college, and thatjust is not.
Everybody has that opportunity,those opportunities, and I
think that we have anopportunity and obligation as
the employer community to leanand make that happen.
So I think you're doing great.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
I think you're doing great too, and that was a
wonderful interview today.
So, wendy, that just leaves meto say for today, thank you very
much for being my guest.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
Absolutely Pleasure to be here.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
And listeners as always, and visit HRGazettecom.
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