UNTAPPED: Workday-Developed Documentary Explores Skills as the Modern Currency of Work

This article was updated on October 16, 2024.

Workday is proud to announce that our feature-length documentary, UNTAPPED: Closing America’s Opportunity Gap, is now available for streaming on Netflix in the U.S. 

Developed and executive produced by Workday, in partnership with The SpringHill Company, founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, and directed by Josh Kahn, the film features some of the biggest names in business. 

You’ll see interviews with Workday’s CEO Carl Eschenbach and Co-Founder and Executive Chair Aneel Bhusri, as well as investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban, GM CEO Mary Barra, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon, and more. 

We sat down with our Chief Philanthropy Officer Carrie Varoquiers—who developed the concept and served as an executive producer of the film—to learn more about Workday’s role in the making of the documentary, how companies benefit from a shift to skills-based hiring and talent strategies, and her hopes for how this documentary will help change lives.

Carrie, what’s UNTAPPED about?

UNTAPPED is a documentary we created in partnership with The SpringHill Company to accelerate the skills-first talent movement. We wanted to shine a light on the fact that although talent is everywhere, opportunity is not, especially for those without a four-year bachelor's degree. 

The film follows six young adults as they go through the trials and triumphs of a rigorous non-profit job training program and compete for some amazing internships, in search of a better life for themselves and their families. 

The challenge these interns—and the more than 60% of American adults without a college degree— have traditionally faced is that the opportunity to build a family-sustaining wage career is nearly impossible without a bachelor’s degree. For decades now, companies have used degrees as a proxy for skills, and have added degree requirements to job postings that make it impossible for people skilled through alternative routes—such as short-term training programs, certifications, and previous work experience—from even applying. 

The good news is it’s starting to turn around. I’m so happy to say that at Workday, we’re helping many of our customers move to a skills-based talent strategy—a recruitment and talent development method that considers a person’s full range of skills and capabilities, rather than screening based on very specific and limited past credentials. Many companies are now removing degree barriers and opening up roles based on skills, not pedigrees. 

How did the idea for this documentary first come about, and how did our partners get involved?

The Workday Foundation has been investing in workforce development organizations for more than a decade. In 2020, we made additional social justice investments and renewed our focus on closing the opportunity divide across America. Skills-based hiring is not only good for business; it creates more equitable opportunities for job seekers and workers. By requiring a four-year degree to do a job, you automatically screen out more than 70% of Black adult Americans and 80% of Hispanic adult Americans. 

The SpringHill Company was a natural production partner for us, as was the film’s director, Josh Kahn, because of their commitments to tell stories that help advance social justice issues, such as the racial wealth divide. 

The business leaders featured in the film lent their voices because they believe deeply in the skills-based talent movement. They get that it’s good for business to have access to a much larger talent pool and to focus on hiring for the specific skills needed to thrive in a role. They’re making investments, both through their philanthropy and their businesses, to work towards becoming skills-based organizations. 

To be clear—no one who embraces skills-based talent management is anti-college. As Byron Auguste from Opportunity@Work says so perfectly in the film, college is a bridge to a great career… it just shouldn’t be used as a drawbridge that shuts people out who haven’t earned a degree.

Workday has partnered with the job training program featured in the film, Year Up United, since 2014, starting with our internship program Opportunity Onramps. Year Up United has deep expertise in skills-based training for in-demand roles, and together, we wanted to showcase the journey their interns go through, and help change hearts and minds to redefine who a “qualified” job candidate may be.

Who benefits the most from a skills-first approach?

A skills-first talent strategy helps the 60% of Americans who haven’t been privileged enough to secure a four-year degree. It also helps those who have degrees or training in one field, but want to pivot to another career, or those who have upskilled on their own. Many people have gained skills through alternative routes, and if they just had the chance to demonstrate those skills, a hiring manager might see that they’re very well prepared for a job they’ve applied for. 

But it also greatly benefits companies by allowing them greater access to more talent, and allowing them to actually screen for the skills needed to be successful in a role. There’s so much untapped talent that surrounds us, and we need to give people a chance to reach their full human potential. This isn’t a divisive issue—we all want people contributing fully to society and the greater economy.

Many large companies have already begun shifting to becoming a skills-based organization because it's good for their business. In fact, research shows that hiring for skills is five times more predictive of positive job performance than hiring for education, and two and a half times more predictive than hiring for past work experience. 

I’m so proud that the Workday platform, leveraging Workday Illuminate, is helping so many organizations make the shift to skills-first talent management.

Tell us about your personal passion for skills-based talent strategies. 

My parents were able to make it into the “middle class” without completing four-year college degrees in their 20s, although my mom did go on to get her bachelor’s and master’s degrees as an older adult. They were hired for their job-related skills and an aptitude for learning, and they flourished in their long careers. But as parents, they realized the opportunities they had been given early in their careers were hardly possible anymore without a bachelor’s degree, so college was the only option discussed with me and my brother. 

As I grew into adulthood, I often wondered what had happened in America that had essentially cut people like my parents —bright, hardworking, curious—out of a shot at so many quality jobs because they lacked degrees.

Here at Workday, I’ve met hundreds of people through our Opportunity Onramps program, and I see a common theme: they have grit, resilience, and determination. They’re deeply committed to continuous learning, and want something more for themselves and their families. I’ve watched them evolve and maximize their potential, and have seen lives change. 

I’ve seen people who once had to go to food banks to supplement their pantries, now join the boards of those food banks as leaders. I’ve seen people who were formerly homeless now purchase their own homes. I can’t overstate the impact that the skills-based hiring and mobility movement can have. I would love to see us get back to a time where we’re actually appreciating people for their skills, aptitude, ability to learn, capabilities, and capacity, versus a certificate that may not even guarantee skills.

What’s your favorite thing about this documentary?

I’m very proud that we’ve been able to tell these stories in such an empathetic way. One of the featured students, Megan, is a single mother, and we see her have the determination it takes to juggle parenthood as a young adult and complete this rigorous training program. Her story is so powerful, and I know there are a lot of “Megans” out there. Watching her journey has me completely fired up and motivated to make this movement snowball. 

What are some steps hiring managers can take right now to help bridge the opportunity gap?

There are simple steps every company can take to quickly open up opportunities for the untapped talent that surrounds us. 

First, review internal job descriptions and open role postings and remove degree requirements from jobs where demonstrable and transferable skills and experience will satisfy the job requirements. 

Second, put skills-based job interview protocols in place. A great resource for getting started here is a skills-based interview guide from Indeed. 

Lastly, people managers can identify and codify the top 10-12 skills needed for each role on their team to make skills-based hiring, internal mobility, and the upskilling of current staff easier and faster to perform in the future.

What’s the one takeaway you hope audiences leave with after watching this film?

Our goal is to ultimately change hearts and minds, so watch it now on Netflix in the U.S.! We want to provide people with a compelling picture of the untapped talent that surrounds them, and show them a reason to embrace the skills-first talent movement.