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Career Pathways Program

Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not.

At Great Wolf, we’re passionate about people and opening doors to new opportunities. We’re in a unique position to be part of the solution because hospitality is an industry where people can truly rise out of entry-level roles and build meaningful, life-long careers.

Travel and tourism provides 1 out of 10 jobs globally. Yet people in underserved communities often don’t have a path to employment opportunities in this industry. Source: WTTC.org

2 out of 5 young people in today’s workforce are unemployed or are working but living in poverty. Source: ILO.org

Young people under the age of 25 are less likely to find work than adults. The global youth unemployment rate stands at 13%, which is three times higher than the figure for adults, which is 4.3%. Source: ILO ‘World Social and Employment Outlook – Trends 2018’ Report ‘World Social and Employment Outlook – Trends 2018’ prepared by the ILO

How Are We Getting Involved

A key focus in our search for great talent is our Career Pathways program. In partnership with Blackstone, our goal is to work to increase employment opportunities and career mobility for those from underserved communities, overlooked groups, veterans, and opportunity youth.

We partner with community-based organizations (CBO’s) to identify, upskill, develop, and support those same people throughout the course of their Great Wolf journey. We understand that sometimes there are those with limited skills, no skills, or skills from a completely different industry. Great Wolf does not view that as a barrier, but rather an opportunity to start something new. Career Pathways is our mission to close the opportunity gap and get talented people into stepping-stone roles to position them to take on middle-skill and management roles.

"The opportunity gap is one of the largest barriers to a successful career. Career Pathways is not only our mission but our plan to ensure that those from historically overlooked groups are provided life-changing opportunities."

Julian Johnson
Inclusion & Diversity Program Manager
Great Wolf Lodge

"Our goal is to work from the ground up to increase employment opportunities and career mobility for people from traditionally untapped communities. Based on what I’ve seen, providing these types of opportunities can change people’s lives. There’s a shared impact. If people can build meaningful careers, they are empowered to support and reinvest in their own communities. The outcome can be really powerful."

Marcus Felder
VP, Portfolio Operations/Career Pathways Lead
Blackstone

We are growing our global network of community-based organizations to make these opportunities a reality in each community. With the help of organizations like Grads of Life, Great Wolf Lodge will provide on-the-job training programs as well as full-time employment.

We rely on partnerships with community-based organizations to bring Career Pathways to life. We partner with CBOs around the country identifying and working with Opportunity Talent to help them gain the education and skills they need to grow and thrive.

By working directly with both community-based organizations and public-private partners, we are building better training vocational training programs and career placements for Opportunity Talent to help ensure their long-term employment.

Career Pathway Resources

Below are free resources for our lodges, community-based organizations and other companies to use to help Opportunity Talent be ready for the workforce and thrive.

Playbook 1: Working With Community Based Organizations (for Lodges)

Playbook 2: Working With Great Wolf Lodge (for CBOs)

How Can You Get Involved

If you’re interested in learning more or partnering with Great Wolf's Career Pathways program, please contact [email protected]. Interested partners, please complete the contact form about your organization and we would love to reach out to initiate a conversation.

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