This resource is an orientation to the employer community for OPSOs and professionals or practitioners—that is, those serving people who experience barriers to employment. It is part of a set of resources that, when combined with the Introduction, make up the TPM (Talent Pipeline Management®) Resource Guide: Connecting Opportunity Populations to Better Career Pathways. Building strategic and successful relationships to support opportunity populations requires employers and OPSOs to develop a mutual understanding of each other’s worlds and the roles that different professionals and organizations play in making partnerships work.
The objective of this orientation is for OPSOs and their practitioners to better connect their value proposition to employer needs, resulting in more effective partnerships. By working directly—and differently—with the employer community, opportunity population practitioners and those for whom they provide services will benefit by accessing enhanced work-based learning opportunities and jobs. In addition, with clearer communication and a better understanding of one another’s needs, challenges related to training, hiring, retaining, and upskilling opportunity population talent can be addressed in ways that result in shared value for all partners.
