BENTON, Ark.— Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders today announced Arkansas LAUNCH, a skills-based platform designed to connect jobseekers with opportunities and help employers find the skilled workers they need – quickly, easily, and for free.
“Arkansas LAUNCH will connect employers and job seekers, helping grow our workforce and empower Arkansans to get off the sidelines and into the job market,” said Governor Sanders. “This free platform will not only help connect people to existing jobs they qualify for but also show them pathways to up-skill so they can keep moving up the ladder.”
“LAUNCH unlocks visibility of employment for job seekers. Its design is based off of skills matching to career. Anyone looking for the right sized occupation and training to increase capability, can find it on LAUNCH. Employers are able to invite qualified candidates to apply. Arkansas knows that skills competency is the currency that employers value,” said Arkansas’ Chief Workforce Officer Mike Rogers.
“Arkansas is Walmart’s home. We employ over 57,000 people here and we’re proud to play a role in helping all workers across the state access opportunities to be successful and realize their American dream. For the past decade, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have been investing in a skills-first approach that creates more opportunities for workers, helps businesses fill talent needs and improves the economy. We think LAUNCH is one of the most comprehensive approaches we’ve seen and we are excited about the impact it will make for Arkansans,” said Julie Gehrki, President, Walmart Foundation, and Senior Vice President, Walmart.
“LAUNCH will help employers find the talent they need and employees find the opportunities they want. This will enable more Arkansans to realize their economic potential while pursuing their own American Dream,” said Randy Zook, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Industries of Arkansas.
LAUNCH allows users to explore career paths based on their in-demand skills and connects them with training to boost their qualifications. Users can search for jobs based on their skills and watch career exploration videos featuring Arkansas employers.
Since its deployment, 11,257 unique users have used the site and clicked on 34,646 job postings. LAUNCH has 5,777 jobs available from 634 different employers to choose from.
Through the LAUNCH platform, users may also use CiviForm, an open-source tool that makes it easier to access and quickly apply for multiple government services at once from any device. CiviForm will enable job seekers on the LAUNCH platform to sign-up for services, such as training and workforce development. The CiviForm tool was developed with pro bono support from Google.orgFellows, a team that includes Google researchers, designers, product managers and software engineers.
“Technology can be a powerful equalizer in connecting people with opportunity,” said Dan Peterson, Director of Product Management, Google.org. “We’re proud to support Arkansas LAUNCH by enabling users to sign-up for services through CiviForm, demonstrating how private companies can support the public sector to deliver impactful, innovative solutions that benefit everyone.”
LAUNCH was created through the support of Walmart. Walmart helped fund RIPL (Research Improving People’s Lives), the development team behind LAUNCH for the State of Arkansas. RIPL is a nonprofit dedicated to using data and technology to improve public services, helping governments build innovative, evidence-based solutions for the people they serve.
For more information, visit launch.arkansas.gov.
