Professional development is crucial to diversify leadership in the workplace, but caregiving duties can cause some to miss out on opportunities. Yet, a new partnership wants to change this for Black talent.

Bright Horizons, a US-based child-care provider, has joined with the OneTen initiative to provide Black Americans with “flexible family care services”, allowing them to continue with the initiative’s education programmes and advance their careers.

Their free services will enable OneTen participants to book last-minute child and elder care, thereby removing a key barrier to Black talent pursuing education programmes and career development opportunities.

Launched in 2020, OneTen is a group of business and education firms committed to upskilling, hiring and promoting one million Black Americans over the next decade. The new partnership could help a diverse group of Black workers, including working mothers and older adults who want to pivot into new sectors or simply upskill but have elderly dependents, advance their careers through education.

The OneTen initiative has already seen success in furthering the career progression of Black talent in the workplace. In its first year, member companies experienced an 89% retention rate and more than 20,000 hires and promotions for this group, making it likely that Bright Horizons’ family care services could encourage even more Black professionals to upskill themselves, enter the workforce, and remain.

A 2021 Bright Horizons’ “Workforce Education and Equity in the Workplace” report highlights not only the desire among Black workers to upskill for future success but the impact that all workers’ duties have on their ability to pursue career-related education.

It found that 87% of working Americans said learning new skills is important for future success, this rose to 90% among Black workers, yet less than half of all employees were able to pursue an education programme in the last five years, due to money, time, and their personal lives.

Bright Horizons Chief Executive Officer Stephen Kramer said: “Everyone at every age deserves a great education. And inequitable access to education for Black Americans has led to inequities that have persisted for generations. By helping to remove barriers for adults trying to advance their education and their careers, we can make a very real impact on their lives and the lives of their children.”

Maurice Jones, Chief Executive Officer of OneTen, said: “Securing a family-sustaining job is often half the battle for talent balancing many of life’s challenges. We understand the diversity of family needs Black talent may experience and are proud to invest in wraparound services that can enable them to thrive in all aspects of their lives and careers.”

To find out more about OneTen, click here.

In this article, you learned that:

• Bright Horizons will provide Black Americans involved in the OneTen initiative with “flexible family care services”
  
• A Bright Horizons report found that 87% of working Americans said learning new skills is important for future success, this rose to 90% among Black workers
  
• The OneTen initiative has seen member companies experience a 89% retention rate and more than 20,000 hires and promotions for Black talent