Walmart Launches Skills-First Workforce Initiative to Expand Career Opportunities

Walmart is leading a national shift toward skills-first hiring by launching the Skills-First Workforce Initiative, aimed at opening career paths for the more than 80 million American workers without college degrees. The company, alongside major employers like Microsoft, Bank of America, and Verizon, is developing a standardized framework for evaluating and verifying skills over traditional educational credentials.

As part of this initiative, Walmart has funded the launch of Skills-First.org by the Burning Glass Institute. The site currently features skill profiles for nine common U.S. jobs and is set to expand to 30 roles, representing 40% of the workforce. These profiles include top skills, rising trends, and proficiency benchmarks using AI-driven labor market analysis.

Walmart is removing unnecessary degree requirements, investing $1 billion in training by 2026, and working with HR tech companies to integrate skills-based hiring tools into broader systems. Through these efforts, the company aims to support job mobility, reduce labor gaps, and promote economic growth across the country.