The Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC) is launching guidance aimed at equipping the regional business community to take action to improve educational outcomes and invest in metro Atlanta's Black workforce. The two playbooks – Education and Workforce Development, respectively – represent the third and fourth focus areas for the ATL Action for Racial Equity initiative announced in February, a multi-year, multi-step program designed to help address the ongoing effects of systemic racism impacting the Black community.

"In every phase of our children's education journey, it's critical that we offer opportunities for Black students to see the multitude of paths and careers available to them," said Katie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. "By applying ATL Action for Racial Equity's step-by-step approach to our work with education institutions and workforce partners, we're laying the groundwork for a stronger, more diverse workforce in the coming years."

Access to high-quality, engaging classroom experiences is critical for Black students to become eager learners. According to Learn4Life, the region's education partnership, 32% of Black third graders are at reading proficiency compared to 71% for white third graders. This gap continues to post-secondary completion, where 65% of Black students are completing their college degrees compared to 82% of white students. If these educational opportunities aren't open to all students from the start and don't provide support to Black students to pursue their passions in post-secondary education, the result is a less diverse talent pipeline and continued disparities between Black and white unemployment rates and household income.

"We can take immediate action to increase diversity within the workforce through smart funding and business partnerships, but the key to long-term success is in the classroom where our partnerships can thrive and shine a light on our students' potential," said DeKalb County School District Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris. "We're proud to partner with the Metro Atlanta Chamber to ensure all of our students have the same access to enriching and engaging learning experiences that set them up for long-term success."

Workforce development serves as the initiative's cornerstone, with corporate policies, inclusive economic development and education – the initiative's other three focus areas – serving to build and support the Black workforce of the future. The education playbook offers an outline to drive collective impact, from increasing the number of Black students aged 0-5 in high-quality early learning programs, to offering more work-based learning opportunities such as internships and apprenticeships for historically under-resourced schools and communities, to increasing the number of Black students achieving bachelor's degrees.

"At Mailchimp, we strive to be good corporate citizens and have a unique opportunity to draw from Georgia universities and help students put the skills they're learning on campus to work in real-world situations," said Lain Shakespeare, senior director of corporate citizenship at Mailchimp. "We're more than proud to support ATL Action for Racial Equity and do our part to develop a more diverse talent pipeline."

The workforce development playbook ties the initiative's first three playbooks together, offering guidelines to support the Black workforce in metro Atlanta by decreasing the unemployment gap between Black and white populations in the next three years.

"Metro Atlanta is the proud home to a diverse and workforce, and it is the responsibility of our business community to nurture this next generation of diverse talent," said INROADS President and CEO Forest T. Harper, Jr.  "Connecting underrepresented students with high quality work-based learning and wealth growing career opportunities is crucial to our region's future as we seek to close the racial wealth gap in our communities."