RiseKit on track to help 1,000 job seekers with grant from GitLab Foundation

During the height of The Great Resignation, the power dynamic seemed to tip in favor of employees. Although major companies in the tech sector have been cutting thousands of positions in 2023, this doesn’t mean all industries are in the same position. 

From healthcare and professional services, manufacturing and construction, to trucking and telecommunications, many industries across the US are still facing a historic labor shortage that makes it a constant challenge to recruit and retain staff. Equally, the reality for employees is also complicated, with many millions lacking the skills and experience needed for the modern labor market. 

The GitLab Foundation is on a mission to help people grow their lifetime earnings through education, training, access to opportunities, and systems change on a global scale. This mission is achieved in part through supporting relative initiatives with funding. 

Recruitment tech startup RiseKit is one of the latest to receive a grant from the foundation to address challenges for both employers and employees across the labor market. 

Widening the candidate pool

Throughout the US, millions of individuals face unnecessary barriers to employment created by anything from lack of credentials to bias against their zip code that may unfairly put them at a disadvantage. Modern candidate screening tools are making the problem worse, automatically rejecting applicants who don’t meet the exact criteria. Indeed, a recent survey from the American Staffing Association Workforce Monitor reported that 49% of employed job seekers believe AI tools used in recruitment are more biased than humans.  

As a result, millions of low-wage workers and unemployed individuals are being supported by community-based nonprofits and workforce development organizations to improve their job prospects and earning potential. 

With support from the GitLab Foundation, RiseKit aims to place 1,000 job seekers into training programs or higher-earning jobs, while helping corporations streamline local hiring initiatives by underwriting the cost of employer licenses to its successfully piloted software platform that provides access to overlooked talent. 

RiseKit’s software connects employers’ applicant tracking systems (ATS’s) with the client management systems of these community-based organizations, creating linkages between these overlooked candidates and unfilled jobs. In this way, companies access a diverse pool of talent that may not have been easily reached through conventional recruiting methods.

“One-click” access to community talent 

RiseKit’s ATS integration allows employers to significantly increase their candidate pool, easy “one-click” selection of relevant community organization networks, an automated applicant-facing interface and feedback loop, and other tools that encourage retention of employees once hired.  

This current labor market dynamic provides an opportunity for all parties if employers are able to access undiscovered talent and help nonprofits and the workers they support find and apply for positions relevant to their skills.  

The grant from the GitLab foundation will help corporations and large-scale regional or national nonprofits and workforce organizations to pilot RiseKit’s innovative approach and technology with less cost and risk. 

This article includes a client of an Espacio portfolio company