Introducing Catalyst: Helping Companies Find Talent While Unlocking Opportunity for Justice-Impacted Individuals
In the US alone, 1 in 3 adults has a criminal record and faces unemployment rates up to 10x higher than the national average. Overlooking these numbers and the untapped talent they represent isn’t merely a social issue, it’s bad for business. In fact, collectively we lose up to $87 billion of GDP every year by keeping justice-impacted individuals out of the workforce.
Over the last several years at Checkr, we’ve seen firsthand how fair chance hiring—the practice of considering and hiring people with records—leads to a stronger business, economy, and community. And in the last year, we piloted a 12-month paid apprenticeship program that provided on-the-job training to nine justice-impacted individuals across multiple business disciplines. Based on our experience and what we’ve learned, we’re ready to expand this program to additional employers.
Today we’re launching Catalyst, an apprenticeship program to bring justice-impacted individuals into the workforce with support for hiring and training this overlooked talent pool. To support this, we are committing $1 million (USD) to fund two cohorts of apprenticeships outside of Checkr over the next two years.
We are inviting employers to join us in hosting apprentices at their companies starting in the spring of 2025. Employers will host apprentices for 12 months, providing on-the-job training and mentorship that will allow them to gain skills and experiences and kickstart their careers. In collaboration with Checkr.org and our non-profit partners, we aim to expand fair chance hiring by bringing employers more proximate to talent with records and to provide apprentices with pathways to meaningful employment.
Benefits of participating in our 2025 cohort include:
- Fair Chance hiring: Implement or enhance your fair chance hiring by providing career opportunities for individuals with records.
- Talent pipeline: Tap into a pool of motivated individuals eager to learn and grow within your company, helping you build a more diverse and loyal workforce.
- Financial assistance and program support: To help offset the costs associated with hosting an apprentice, we are offering financial support to participating employers. Checkr and our nonprofit partners will work closely with employers to identify and support talent for the entirety of the program.
Catalyst presents a fantastic opportunity to make a real impact while benefiting from the unique perspectives and skills that fair chance talent brings to the workforce. Join us in expanding fair employment practices and fostering a more inclusive and fair workplace by participating in our next cohort.
We know we can’t do this alone and are humbled and thankful to the many partners who have already taught us so much. Our partnership model will draw from the expertise and collaboration of the following organizations:
- San Francisco Office of Economic & Workforce Development's TechSF prepares individuals for a career in tech with no-cost career pathing and skills-based training. TechSF is one of California's leading intermediaries for tech apprenticeship programs and helps businesses with all associated administrative elements of apprenticeships.
- The Last Mile has created a model incarceration-to-employment program that provides advanced educational and technical training to unlock the human and economic potential of justice-impacted people, reduce recidivism, and develop highly skilled professionals.
If you’re interested in building a program like this at your company or to learn more about Catalyst, email us at apprenticeship@checkr.com.
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TechSF, an initiative of the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, is nationally recognized for creating pathways to tech careers through registered apprenticeships. Through partnerships with industry leaders like Checkr, TechSF empowers a more diverse workforce by providing free, certified training for sought-after tech skills. This not only opens doors for individuals to pursue tech careers, but also ensures businesses have access to new pipelines of skilled talent to meet their evolving needs. Learn more about TechSF at sf.gov/techsf.