Access Your Potential
Equipping young people from disadvantaged communities who may otherwise be excluded from the workforce with the financial, technology and career-selection skills they need to succeed.
Equal talents, unequal opportunities
Income inequality in the US is greater than in any other major developed nation. As the gap continues to grow, the idea that a combination of talent and determination is enough for anyone to become successful in America is evaporating for more than 25 million kids1, putting the country’s overall economic growth at risk.
Students from underserved communities have limited resources with which to adapt to a rapidly changing world, where emerging technologies are transforming the workplace and the costs of education continue to rise. This inequality, generations in the making, can lead to underemployment and financial insecurity, resulting in unstable communities and perpetuating the cycle for another generation.
Inequality is not just a social issue, it is a business issue. Business cannot meet its potential where communities are failing.
Investing our skills and resources to help level the playing field for millions of youth
At PwC, we believe that all students have the potential to be tomorrow’s leaders and technology-driven workforce. That’s why we are investing $320 million to equip young people from underserved communities with the financial, technology skills and career-selection skills they need to change the trajectory of their lives.
Replacing barriers with opportunities
Building on Earn Your Future®, PwC’s Access Your Potential® focuses on strengthening young people’s financial capability and technology skills so they are prepared for the jobs of today and tomorrow. We do this by:
- Engaging our people—our greatest asset—to teach our financial literacy and our new technology skills curriculum to students in their community.
- Leveraging a virtual platform, CareerVillage.org, that connects PwC professionals with students so they can share career and college advice.
- Developing introductory courses for technology skills, like data analytics, and enhancing technology resources in underserved schools.
- Investing in startups that are disrupting the marketplace around technology skills, financial skills, career and college readiness and student debt.
- Investing in research that will help us better understand the job readiness landscape.
- Continuing to help support our people through our Student Loan Paydown program to reduce their student debt, while also working with other organizations to do the same.
Developing technology skills
Many Americans are underprepared for the growing role of technology in the workplace, lacking the skills that will help them succeed in today’s job market. This is especially true of underserved populations who may not have access to the same opportunities to build the skills they need.
More than 50% of today's jobs require some degree of technological skills, and experts believe that number will raise to 77% in the coming decade.
Americans have accumulated more than $1.4 trillion in student debt, with low-income and minority communities being disproportionately impacted.
Source: The Federal Reserve
Strengthening financial capability
From understanding how to finance a college education, to buying a car, to saving for retirement, many people struggle with their financial health. Scaling financial education is critical to building a more secure future.
Contact us
Shannon Schuyler
Principal, Responsible Business Leadership; Chief Purpose Officer, PwC; President, PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc., PwC US
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