Executive Summary

Nearly 3 million Texans have filed for unemployment since 2020, disproportionately from underrepresented backgrounds. Merit America is tackling this challenge by expanding fast, flexible and affordable career pathways in tech, advanced manufacturing, HR, and supply chain—scaling from Dallas to Houston, San Antonio to Austin, and rural communities to drive statewide (and national) impact at scale. Our programs empower underrepresented and underemployed Texans, including veterans and other marginalized populations, to upskill while balancing work and family. In partnership with America's Frontier Fund and Austin Community College, we’re launching a Semiconductor & Advanced Manufacturing pilot, proving hybrid (virtual and in-person technical training) models can scale nationally. Over five years, we’ll drive billions in wage gains, serving 50,000 cumulative learners, including 2,500+ Texans—all through a sustainable, revenue-diverse model.

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Accomplishments

Since our 2018 launch, we have served more than 7,000 learners, 86% with no four-year college degree and 70% people of color, with 83% earning industry-recognized credentials in 14-22 weeks, and over 60% job placement for learners. Professor Ben Castleman and the University of Virginia recently completed our second longitudinal study and validated that Merit America drove an average annual wage gain of $24,000 for graduates in new roles, not including the value of benefits and long-term advancement opportunities.

We continue to lead the charge to help other workforce development leaders benefit from our learnings. We’ve launched a Community of Practice with the CEOs of Year Up, Choose U, NPower, Per Scholas, and ClimbHire. We host regular sessions to share data and learnings on key areas, such as charging employers, recruitment strategies and admissions procedures.