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Building Empowered Careers Through Durable Skills and Agilities
A Partnership with Skillsline Learning and The DeBruce Foundation
By Kathy Pease, Program Partnerships at Skillsline
At Skillsline, our mission is clear: we break down barriers to employment by equipping learners with the essential human skills they need to succeed—skills such as self-awareness, communication, accountability, and teamwork. We believe that careers are not built solely on technical knowledge, but on the confidence and ability to connect, collaborate, and adapt in the face of change. This belief guides our work with partner organizations and informs how we design and deliver our learning experience; this belief drew us to The DeBruce Foundation and the Agilities© framework.
Micro-lessons for big growth
Our platform offers over 110 micro-lessons, each grounded in research and providing practical strategies that can be applied immediately in daily life. These short, impactful lessons are designed for flexibility, allowing learners to access and engage in a way that suits their lives. When paired with peer group discussions and guided facilitation, these lessons become a powerful tool for individual and organizational growth. The result? Learners report a deeper awareness and understanding of durable skills and consistently say they’d recommend the program to their peers. They’re not just learning; they are growing.
Combining durable skills and Agilities
Developing durable human skills alone doesn’t always help someone find a job they love—or keep it. That’s why we integrated the Agile Work Profiler © (AWP) and Agilities framework into our partner programs. The Agilities help individuals identify what work activities they enjoy and do well. By combining the AWP with our skills curriculum, we empower job seekers to make informed career decisions while developing the core skills necessary to secure employment, develop other Agilities, and thrive in the workplace.
Our decision to incorporate the Agilities was driven by the recognition that skill development and career exploration are deeply intertwined. Many people know they want a job, but they are not sure what kind of work fits their interests and strengths. By starting with the AWP, learners gain insight into their top Agilities. Then, using our micro-lessons and activities, they build the durable skills to support those Agilities—creating a strong, aligned foundation for lifelong career growth.
Training and support from The DeBruce Foundation
Becoming an Agilities Coach while our team is implementing the Agilities framework has been advantageous. The two-day training session to become a certified Agilities Coach was not only well-designed and informative but deeply engaging. The materials and tools provided are flexible, practical, and accessible, offering facilitators a range of options for working with diverse populations. The DeBruce Foundation team invested in ensuring the resources would meet learners where they are—whether they’re in high school, reentering the workforce, or overcoming life challenges. The time spent with The DeBruce Foundation’s team and the participants in the training energized me to explore ways to create programs that break down barriers to finding meaningful and satisfying work.
Building personal empowerment in a women’s shelter
One of our current pilot projects highlights the significant impact of this approach. We’ve partnered with the staff of a women’s shelter in the Pacific Northwest, supporting women who may have never worked outside the home or have been told they have no skills of value. In our initial session with the shelter’s staff, we led them through an exercise to explore their own AWP results. What began as a simple activity soon sparked deep reflection and meaningful conversations—not just about their own Agilities, but about their colleagues’ Agilities too. The shared vocabulary helped them understand each other and describe what they saw and appreciated about one another. As we introduced how Skillsline could help develop those Agilities through guided discussions and peer learning, the energy in the room increased. Staff began to see not just the potential in the women in their care, but also in themselves. Naming the skills and seeing that they can be taught was encouraging. That’s the power of combining Agilities with Skillsline—it’s not just career development; it’s personal empowerment.
Partnering for lasting impact
In this work, partnerships matter. The alignment between Skillsline, the Agilities framework, and our partner organizations, such as shelters, reentry programs, and high school student leaders, will create a system where job seekers don’t just find work—they build careers, confidence, and community.
Interested in partnering with The DeBruce Foundation to advance your mission? Learn more about partnerships.
