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Generation

Creating opportunities for meaningful employment

McKinsey believes in the power of work to transform people’s lives and their communities.

Inspired by McKinsey’s research into the journey from education to employment, we founded Generation, an independent, not-for-profit organization, in 2014. Generation represents one of the ways we have committed to helping achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 8, which focuses on promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work for all.

For us, work should equal livelihood—a means to achieve economic security for people and their families. Generation was created to tackle a global and seemingly intractable problem: Why are so many young people unemployed, even as many businesses struggled to fill job vacancies?

Career-launching jobs

Generation provides opportunities for people who are unemployed or underemployed to prepare for and launch sustainable careers that would otherwise be inaccessible to them, by bridging the gap between employee and employer, and transforming how those in the education-to-employment equation approach the goal of employment success.

In partnership with around 4,000 not-for-profits, governments, and employers, Generation has graduated more than 45,000 people in 28 professions in 16 countries, making it the largest global organization by annual volume that trains and places learners in jobs.

Learn more about how Generation worksLearn more about graduates’ success stories

McKinsey’s support for Generation

McKinsey occupies a unique role in Generation’s founding and design, which was premised on the vision of Generation as an independent not-for-profit, able to grow with a wide array of partners and funders. To date, McKinsey has invested $100 million in general operating and in-kind support to Generation, and stands proudly today as one of Generation’s 80+ funders.

McKinsey has committed to continuing financial support for Generation as well as lending our most valuable resource of all: our people. Since 2014, over 400 McKinsey colleagues have played a meaningful role in Generation’s success and growth through fellowships and pro bono support.

14

countries

supported in launching new Generation programs

$100M

in cash and in-kind support

provided to Generation by McKinsey to date

400+

McKinsey colleagues

have supported Generation

The need for organizations like Generation has never been greater. To catalyze Generation’s continued growth and innovation, McKinsey is committing more than $30M in cash and in-kind support over the next two years, alongside other like-minded global companies, including BlackRock, Microsoft, and Verizon. We will also pursue opportunities to deepen Generation’s impact on racial and social equity within and beyond our firm, by expanding our own talent sources, and through a $2M partnership with Generation US to develop a technology internship program for Black learners.

RISING TO NEW CHALLENGES

The people most affected by the current economic and health crisis are those with the fewest resources, and they are at risk of being left behind. Generation is working toward an inclusive recovery by reimagining the systems that support them. In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Generation worked with healthcare systems to develop online healthcare programs to prepare nearly 300,000 nurses, doctors, nursing assistants, and other frontline health workers to treat and care for COVID-19 patients. Generation also continues to focus on serving people whose employment opportunities have been most significantly impacted by the COVID economy, including young adults and mid-career workers.

McKinsey will continue to support Generation as they adapt to the impact of COVID on the workforce, and the ever-changing needs of job seekers and employers.

From our blog

Making a $30 million commitment to address global unemployment
– McKinsey is joining forces with BlackRock, Microsoft, Verizon, and others to commit to new funding and in-kind support to the independent non-profit we founded in 2014.

For its bold COVID-19 response, Generation earns a 2020 Roddenberry Prize
– The independent nonprofit founded by McKinsey has re-skilled hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers and committed to creating an inclusive economic recovery.

In Italy and beyond, Generation upskills thousands of healthcare workers in the fight against COVID-19
– As the pandemic bore down on Italy, the independent non-profit founded by McKinsey devised a skills program that has prepped 12... percent of the country’s nurses for work in the ICU.

In just five years, Generation has helped tens of thousands around the world find jobs
– The McKinsey-founded, independent nonprofit dedicated to fighting unemployment has graduated over 30,000 people and now operates... in 13 countries.

Generation receives 2018 WISE Award for innovation in youth employment
– Generation wins 2018 WISE award for its innovative youth employment program. What makes it noteworthy—and how does it work?