Climb Hire is Taking an Innovative Approach to Upskilling Overlooked and Hidden Talent

In Episode 170 of the Disruptors for Good podcast, I speak with Nitzan Pelman, Founder of Climb Hire, a nonprofit organization taking an innovative approach to up-skilling overlooked and hidden talent.

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About Nitzan

Nitzan Pelman is a three time social impact entrepreneur whose life mission is to create economic opportunity for hidden and overlooked talent. She founded Climb Hire in 2019 as a way to generate upward mobility for people earning below livable wage.

Climb Hire’s program model is based on Nitzan’s first-hand research as an Entrepreneur in Residence at LinkedIn, where she studied the powerful role that social networks can play in securing living wage jobs.

Nitzan was the founding CEO of an Entangled Ventures company called ReUp Education that focuses on re-enrolling students who have dropped out of college (acquired in 2022 by Avethon). She also founded the New York region of Citizen Schools, a middle school initiative for low income students.

Early in her career she worked at the Department of Education in New York City, KIPP, and Teach for America. Nitzan holds a Masters in Public Administration from New York University and a BA from Stern College for Women, and is an Ascend Fellow with the Aspen Institute, as well as an official “LinkedIn Influencer.”

About Climb Hire

Climb Hire is an innovative upskilling nonprofit organization that helps overlooked and hidden talent develop the soft and in-demand skills, as well as the professional network needed to break into new careers with livable wages.

Climb Hire places a strong emphasis on social capital, as LinkedIn data suggests that jobseekers are 9x more likely to be hired when referred by someone else.

Once climbers finish a designated learning track, they pay it forward by returning to the program and teaching others, ultimately helping one another grow their networks and increase job opportunities, similar to an Ivy League-type university network for people who lack traditional means of gaining skills or social capital.

Climb Hire mantaints 50+ employer partnerships with companies in industries ranging from tech, to healthcare, to financial services, effectively providing businesses with a pipeline of motivated, vetted talent.

Climb Hire Learning Tracks

The organization understands that breaking into a new career is hard. People get jobs through networks, relationships, and skills. At Climb Hire, their curriculum blends technical and soft-skills training with a community of peers.

Salesforce Administrator Certification

Length of program: 24 weeks
Next start date: March 2023
Locations: US-based applicants in the pacific, mountain and central time zones
Class schedule: Tuesday and Thursday; 5-8 pm PST, 7-10 pm CST

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Client Success and Sales Certification

Length of Program: 16 weeks
Next Start Date: TBA
Class Location: Virtually on Zoom
Class Schedule: Tuesday and Thursday, 5:30-8:30 pm PST

Qualifications: Must be located in California; Texas; Chicago; Seattle; Phoenix; Portland; Salt Lake City; St. Louis; Kansas City; Minneapolis-St. Paul; New Orleans; Tucson; Nashville

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Google Project Management Certification

Length of program: 24 weeks
Next start date: TBA
Locations: Must be located in PST, CST, or MST time zones.
Class schedule: Monday and Wednesday evenings

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Emphasis on Social Capital

What makes Climb Hire unique is that they place a strong emphasis on social capital—the idea that you are more likely to be hired if you have connections in an industry or field.

According to LinkedIn data, jobseekers are nine times more likely to be hired when referred by someone else.

That’s why Climb Hire puts so much focus on networking—they want their job seekers to have access to the right people in order to increase their chances of being hired.

Climb Hire also hosts virtual sessions where their members can connect with each other and learn from guest speakers about topics such as personal branding, public speaking, career management strategies, and more.

These sessions are designed for members of any experience level—from those just starting out in a new career path all the way up through experienced professionals looking for an extra edge in their current positions.