LOS ANGELES, CA — July 14, 2021 — InStride, the premier global provider of strategic enterprise education™ programs, has joined OneTen to provide education opportunities and career advancement for Black talent. As an endorsed talent developer, InStride will work in partnership with OneTen to broadly develop, retain and advance diverse and underrepresented talent with an explicit commitment to hire or promote Black individuals without four-year degrees.

Recognizing that the current system is not inclusive enough, OneTen has set out to change the way companies provide more equitable environments to drive better business outcomes and benefit all employees. OneTen works with employers such as American Express, Target and AT&T and education partners such as InStride to design educational and employment solutions.

“Workforce education programs play an important part in providing education opportunities to individuals who have faced barriers to higher education. It’s our mission at InStride to drive businesses forward by expanding access to high-quality education for their employees,” said Vivek Sharma, InStride CEO. “We are honored to join OneTen in this very important work and look forward to partnering with member corporations to provide credentials, degrees and skills training to employees across America.”

OneTen is a coalition of business leaders committed to upskilling, hiring and promoting one million Black individuals into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement over the next 10 years. The network of OneTen talent developers represents leading local, regional and national education and skill-building organizations that support diverse talent without four-year degrees to identify, develop and build high-value skills.

“We look forward to having InStride join us as an endorsed talent developer to support us in our mission to hire and advance one million Black individuals in the next ten years,” said Maurice Jones, Chief Executive Officer of OneTen. “This effort will require a high functioning, multi-disciplinary coalition from corporate America, talent developers, Black talent, talent supports and others, and it is crucial we have high quality partners like InStride on that team. We are grateful for the work they have already done and are excited to partner with them going forward.”

InStride helps employers like Aramark, adidas, Banfield Pet Hospital, Carvana, Labcorp and Magna to create a more adaptable, innovative workforce by providing their employees with access to career-boosting degrees and credentials from leading academic institutions. InStride has agreements with a curated network of universities including Arizona State University, City University of New York (CUNY), the University of Virginia, the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Memphis.