OneTen CEO Maurice Jones Discusses Closing the Opportunity Gap for Black Talent in America
Rotarian Josh Carpenter and President Chuck Redden with Maurice Jones.
This week the Rotary Club of Birmingham welcomed OneTen CEO Maurice Jones as its guest speaker. OneTen is a coalition of leading chief executives and their companies who are coming together to upskill, hire and promote one million Black Americans over the next 10 years who do not yet have a four-year degree into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement.
Jones explained that the racial wealth gap in the U.S., where white families have ten times more wealth than black families, is largely due to the fact that 76% of black talent over age 25 lack a four-year college degree.
“We right now have a systemic barrier to people earning their way into the middle class in the form of a credential.”
Jones discussed OneTen’s approach to partner with companies to shift the corporate sector toward prioritizing skills above degrees with respect to assessment, promotion and training of employees. He identified the need for companies with jobs to partner with organizations that help upskill and reskill workers as well as those that provide wrap-around services such as transportation and childcare to help individuals succeed in their careers.
“If you hire based on skills, the predictive quality or the chances of success of that talent, are much higher than if you hire based on a credential. Retention is also higher if you are hiring based on skills because you have a better match between the talent and the actual job. It is also a wiser choice from a cost perspective if you’re a company. You’re not paying a premium for a credential that isn’t related to the job. From a business case, the skills-based approach is by far the better approach to how we hire and promote talent.”
Jones shared the success of OneTen since its founding in 2020, with 44,000 hires and promotions with 75 partner companies. Partnering companies commit for ten years to make living wage jobs available, to remove four-year degree requirements when not required by the position, to collaborate with CEOs and CROs of other participating companies to share best practices, and to make a financial investment in the coalition.
Jones shared that OneTen is currently operating in 25 large metropolitan markets around the country and aims to add Birmingham to the list. He explained that the shift to prioritizing skills over degrees will ultimately benefit individuals in all racial and ethnic groups and help alleviate the shortage of workers in the country.
“We cannot sustain greatness as a country if we leave 76% of black talent on the sideline, or 66% of white talent on the sideline, or 83% of Hispanic talent on the sideline. This is one of America’s greatest risks. Fortunately you have some companies and CEOs who have come together to say ‘We can do something about this and we don’t need an act of the state legislature to do it, or the city council, or congress. We control our credentialism.’ That’s ultimately what this journey is about. My hope is that Birmingham will be the beacon for this work, given the assets that we have here.”
About Maurice Jones
Maurice A. Jones was appointed CEO of OneTen in March of 2021. OneTen is a coalition of leading chief executives and their companies who are coming together to upskill, hire and promote one million Black Americans over the next 10 years who do not yet have a four-year degree into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement. Prior to joining OneTen, Jones was the President and CEO of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), one of the country's largest organizations supporting projects to revitalize communities and catalyze economic opportunity for residents.
During his time at LISC, Jones led the company’s effort to expand its footprint into the southern part of the country. He grew the company’s annual investment from a billion dollars to over two billion dollars. He also increased the economic development investments of LISC throughout the country, including launching a subsidiary company dedicated to small business lending. During his tenure, LISC diversified its partnerships with multiple industries, including healthcare, technology, sports, retail and advanced manufacturing.
He previously served as Secretary of Commerce and Trade for the Commonwealth of Virginia where his primary job was to leverage Virginia’s assets to solidify its position as the preeminent place to live, work and conduct business.
Jones also served as Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from April 2012 through January 2014. As the second most senior official at HUD, Maurice managed the Department's day-to-day operations, the annual operating budget of $40 billion and the agency's 8,900 employees.
Before his appointment at HUD, Maurice was President of Pilot Media, the largest print and digital organization in Hampton Roads, Virginia. He joined Landmark Media Enterprises, owner of Pilot Media, in 2005, serving as Vice President of the Landmark Publishing Group. In 2006, he became the Vice President and General Manager of Pilot Media, and in 2008 he became President and Publisher of The Virginian-Pilot.
Jones was also the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Social Services and Deputy Chief of Staff to then-Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner. Other positions include: Special Assistant to the General Counsel at the U.S. Treasury Department, Legal Counsel to the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund and Director of the Fund during v.1.4.20 the Clinton Administration, Associate Attorney at Hunton & Williams in Richmond, Virginia, and Partner at Venture Philanthropy Partners.
Jones received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Hampden-Sydney College and attended Oxford University in England on a Rhodes Scholarship, where he received a Master of Philosophy in International Relations. He later received a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia.