Skills-first talent strategies are transforming how organizations hire and develop talent.
Nearly two-thirds of working-age adults do not hold a four-year degree, yet many organizations still rely on degree-based hiring that unnecessarily narrow talent pools and excludes capable candidates. Forward-looking employers are shifting towards skills-first approaches as an accelerator to expand access to qualified talent and better align hiring decisions with performance outcomes. At the same time, nonprofits are being asked to do more with less, and many lack the HR capacity to redesign hiring practices — putting them at risk of being left behind as skills-first approaches become the norm.
As this shift accelerates, HR leaders play a critical role in advancing skills-first hiring within their own organizations and in ensuring these practices extend to sectors that lack internal capacity.
Join Taproot, in partnership with the SHRM Foundation, for a live session on March 30, 2026 at 1 pm ET / 10 am PT designed for HR professionals ready to move from theory to application.
Register Now!
Led by SHRM subject matter experts, participants gain insight from SHRM’s credential-backed Skills-First Hiring framework and will hear from Taproot on how these principles can strengthen nonprofit capacity.
If you are interested in going further, this session also serves as the gateway to a structured, cohort-based pro bono service program. This is an opportunity to apply what you learn — strengthening your HR expertise and helping nonprofits implement skills-first hiring practices.
In this interactive session, you will:
- Gain insight drawn directly from SHRM’s Skills-First Hiring credential module.
- See how skills-first hiring principles translate into job design, candidate evaluation, and hiring decisions.
- Understand how the cohort-based pro bono model works and what participation involves.
- Build your skills-first hiring expertise while generating social impact
You’ll leave with the ability to:
- Understand the skills-first growth model and how hiring supports organizational adoption
- Apply skills-first principles to job descriptions using practical templates
- Design structured, skills-aligned interviews and apply scorecards to evaluate candidates objectively
- Anticipate common implementation challenges and apply trouble shooting.
- Navigate SHRM’s Skills First Future resources and tools
- Determine whether the nonprofit-focused, cohort-based pro bono program is the right next step
Reserve your spot for the March 30 session and take the next step from skills-first learning to real-world impact.
About Taproot Foundation
Taproot Foundation is a nonprofit organization that connects social change organizations with passionate, skilled volunteers who share their expertise pro bono and designs possibilities to expand the reach of skilled service. Taproot’s programs help organizations overcome their most pressing challenges and create lasting impact in their communities.
About SHRM
SHRM Foundation mobilizes HR and employers in their essential role to take action around complex societal issues that impact the workplace. As the nonprofit arm of SHRM, the world’s largest HR association, SHRM Foundation empowers HR to build more expansive talent pipelines, address upstream social driver challenges to ensure cultures of care and create thriving workplaces, and strengthen the HR field. With a unique capacity to bring employers to the table, SHRM Foundation partners with companies, foundations, nonprofits, and government to drive measurable change through research-informed programs, leadership coalitions, and peer support. Together with SHRM’s nearly 340,000 employer members, SHRM Foundation is building a world of work that works for all, where all talent and workplaces can prosper and thrive. Discover more at SHRMFoundation.org.
