Building career pathways through Solutions Enterprise
A first job pays this month’s rent. It doesn’t always pay next year’s. For a parent who has fought their way out of homelessness, getting hired is a real win. But it’s only the beginning. Lasting independence requires the chance to build skills, earn more, advance professionally and build financial resilience. Without a path forward, families can slide back into The Churn, the cycle of poverty and dependency Solutions for Change exists to break. That’s why we’re expanding Solutions Enterprise. It’s a shift from job placement to career development and long-term economic mobility.
A Job Is a Start, Not the Destination
Parents in Solutions Academy spend 700 days, about two years, doing the hard work of addressing trauma, overcoming barriers, and building the skills every employer requires: reliability, communication, and accountability.
But employment alone doesn’t guarantee long-term stability. Solutions Enterprise asks the bigger question: What happens next? What happens when a first job no longer provides enough income? When an industry changes or new technology reshapes a career?
The answer is a career ladder. We help parents and program graduates, who we call Overcomers, map a path in their chosen field, earn new skills and credentials, and move into roles with more responsibility and better pay. The goal isn’t just to get hired. It’s to reach the first rung and keep climbing.
Employers Build the Career Ladder. Our Overcomers Do the Climbing.
Employer Partners make sure there’s a next rung to reach. We’re not asking employers to lower their standards. We’re asking them to tell us what the standards are, to help us prepare candidates to meet those standards, and to give qualified candidates a fair chance. Through our new Employer Partner Program, businesses work directly with Solutions Enterprise to open real career pathways.
Partners:
• Identify entry-level roles that lead to growth
• Share which skills matter most in their industry
• Offer paid training, internships, apprenticeships, mentorship, or job-shadowing
Each partner designates one or two liaisons as direct points of contact. That lets our team make warm hand-offs of prepared candidates to the right hiring managers. For employers, it means a direct connection to prepared, motivated candidates. For Overcomers, it creates relationships that can turn their next job into a meaningful career. Economic mobility doesn’t happen in isolation. Employer Partners join a growing network of educators, training organizations, and community partners that helps people get started, keep moving, and advance over time.
When Parents Climb, Their Kids Climb Too
Our CEO, Aaron Byzak, recently wrote about moving further upstream in his article, Complex Problems Don't Have One-Size-Fits-All Solutions. That means helping parents rebuild while making sure their children don’t inherit the same struggles. When a parent gains stable employment and advances, their children see new possibilities. They see a parent leave for work with purpose, and they start to picture a future of their own.
Solutions Enterprise also opens internships and paid training to older teens and adult children in our families. One promotion can change two generations. That’s how a career becomes generational change.
Be a Part of What Comes Next
Overcoming homelessness doesn’t end with a job offer. The next chapter is a career, a stable home, and a future the kids can count on. There are two ways to help:
If your company hires, become an Employer Partner. Hire, host an intern or apprentice, offer a job-shadow, or share what your industry needs.
If you know a business owner or HR leader who should hear about this, send them this article. One introduction can put a parent on the first rung.
Questions? Contact Leslie Schneider, Director of Workforce Development at lschneider@solutionsforchange.org.
When businesses open the door to careers, they aren’t just filling positions. They’re joining the fight against The Churn. One family, one rung, one community at a time.