While many retailers have existing content libraries and training programs, they’re often set up as a passive benefit. Outcomes are rarely measured, and the content doesn’t build applicable, real skills.

Guild flips the script to align with and directly support your organization’s talent development strategy. Guild isn’t just another education benefit, nor are we a content library. We help you go beyond mere content to equip employees with real skills — such as leadership, supply chain & logistics, merchandising, AI, or beyond — and move them into new roles your company needs.

• Align skilling with business goals. Access a curated marketplace of 2,000+ programs built for working adults and vetted for business relevance. Unlike a single point solution, Guild’s learning partners offer skills and credentials ranging from cybersecurity and data analytics to language learning, project management, leadership, and beyond.

• Remove cost as a barrier. Traditional reimbursement models require employees to front the bill. That excludes the very people companies need to retain. With Guild, employers pay upfront — unlocking access and accelerating equity.

• Make the journey visible, with support every step of the way. 1:1 coaching, career guidance, and personal portals keep learners on track — and moving toward real mobility. No one’s left guessing what’s next.

• Make every learning dollar count. Real-time data shows exactly how programs perform, how employees progress, and how learning investments drive business outcomes.

Yes. Guild partners with each employer to build a program that fits your business needs and your budget. Many of our retail partners start small — for example, by offering leadership and management training to a select group of employees, or launching a pilot program focused on short-form or high-impact learning.

These early efforts often become the foundation for something bigger. Once ROI is proven, employers frequently scale their investment.

On average, Guild partners see $3 in savings for every $1 invested. In retail, a large portion of that return is driven by improved retention — still one of the industry’s most persistent challenges. In fact, many partners find that retention gains alone can cover the cost of the program. That’s why more employers expand their education benefit over time: it works for their people and their bottom line.

Frontline turnover is one of retail’s toughest challenges — and Guild was built to help solve it.

Guild creates clear, accessible career pathways that help frontline employees stay and grow. From tuition-free education to leadership cohorts, short-form upskilling, and support for internal mobility, we help employers build a stronger value proposition for the workers they depend on most.

The results speak for themselves. Employees who engage with Guild — even just by creating an account — are less likely to leave. In fact, learners are 2x more likely to stay with their employer over a 12-month period compared to those not engaged with the benefit. The retention impact is even stronger for new hires.

Guild’s approach helps employers turn a high-churn workforce into a high-potential one — starting from day one.

Adaptability is essential in retail — and Guild was built for that pace of change.

Our skilling strategy evolves with your business. Guild’s Learning Marketplace includes 2,000+ vetted programs — and it’s not static. We constantly expand and update offerings to reflect emerging trends, technologies, and business priorities.

Take AI as an example of this dynamic approach to skilling. In just one year, we saw a 900% increase in AI program enrollment. That growth was driven by the launch of our AI skilling bundle, which includes options for every part of your workforce:

• AI Fundamentals: For all employees, including frontline teams, to build a baseline understanding of AI

• AI in Practice: For professionals looking to apply AI in day-to-day work

• AI Expertise: For technical teams working to build and scale solutions

• AI for Leaders: For managers shaping AI strategy and leading through change

We’ve doubled our AI offerings and scaled access by 400% — and we’ll keep adapting to what your workforce needs next.

We also tailor solutions to your business. For example, one national retailer partner needed to grow its frontline manager pipeline, so we worked with the University of Denver to create a custom program. Thousands have graduated — and 100% of surveyed students would recommend it.

With Guild, you don’t have to predict what’s next — we help you prepare for it.

Guild was built with the frontline — and often deskless — workforce in mind.

We partner with learning providers who know how to support working adults, especially those managing unpredictable schedules and limited screen time. Here’s how we make learning accessible and impactful for deskless teams:

• Short-form and stackable programs: Workers can earn microcredentials and job-ready skills quickly — with many programs designed to build toward a degree over time.

• Flexible, on-demand learning: Courses are asynchronous, mobile-friendly, and built to fit around shifts and life demands — not the other way around.

• Targeted pathways: We offer learning tracks tailored to frontline roles in retail, like merchandising, operations, and leadership — helping workers grow into the next job, not just train for the current one.

• Cohort-based options: Some programs encourage peer learning and connection, which can boost confidence, retention, and real-world application.

• 1:1 coaching: Every learner gets access to dedicated coaches who help them set goals, navigate programs, and plan for what’s next.

These aren’t one-size-fits-all solutions. They’re tailored to meet your workforce where they are — and help them grow from there.

Absolutely. Guild helps your employees grow skills and careers — with or without a degree.

Here’s how we support that:

• Foundational programs: From high school completion to English language learning and college prep, these programs build essential skills for workers to grow — personally and professionally.

• Short-form and stackable learning: Microcredentials and certificates help employees build job-ready skills fast. Many of these programs can stack toward a degree later, but they deliver career value from day one.

• Bootcamps and certificates: Guild offers intensive programs in areas like business, tech, and healthcare — designed to prepare learners for in-demand roles, fast.

For many retail workers, upward mobility doesn’t require a degree — it requires skills, support, and access. Guild delivers all three.

Guild helps frontline workers grow into the roles your business needs — starting with the skills that matter most in retail. 

We focus on foundational and career-building capabilities, and we’re always evolving and innovating within our Learning Marketplace to stay aligned with your business needs. Here are just a few of the career paths and skill areas we support:

• Language learning and high school completion 

• Foundational professional skills like teamwork and communication

• Frontline management and leadership

• Customer service leadership

• Merchandising and operations

• HR and project management

• Technology and analytics

If you want to go deeper into how we can build talent pipelines at your organization, connect with one of our experts.

We don’t do one-size-fits-all. Every partnership is co-designed to reflect your workforce, your goals, and your company’s unique culture. Our team works alongside yours to build skilling solutions that create measurable business impact.

Here’s how that looks in action:

• Start with your strategy. Begin with a deep dive into your talent goals, culture, and business needs. Whether the focus is training new managers or preparing the frontline workforce for AI, the plan is built for your priorities — not pulled from a template.

• Design learning that fits. Use a curated marketplace of programs built for working adults. Every offering is vetted for job relevance, so employees gain the skills your organization actually needs. (And if we don’t have what you need, we can find or build it with our innovative learning partners.)

• Move talent into priority roles. Create structured career pathways that guide employees toward high-demand roles. Layer in coaching to increase participation, internal mobility, and retention — and reduce your need to hire from outside.

• Track what matters. Tap into live dashboards to measure progress in real time — from program usage to roles filled to ROI.

Future-proof your workforce. Get targeted skilling for today’s needs and tomorrow’s opportunities.

Guild’s direct integration with our vetted learning partners means real-time access to the data that matters — engagement, pipelines, ROI, and more. With standardized dashboards and expert support, you’ll get the insights to prove impact to executives and plan what’s next.

Here’s what that looks like:

• Access real-time dashboards. Track enrollment, academic progress, engagement, and turnover — all in one place, tailored to your business.

• Review executive-ready digests. Get quarterly summaries that highlight trends, visualize impact, and offer curated insights — customizable by your segmentation needs.

• Request deep-dive analyses. Go further with custom reports on ROI, DEI impact, program performance, and other strategic goals.

• Tap into secure, actionable data. Use secure employer data feeds to integrate learner-level insights — like spend, variance forecasts, and budget utilization — directly into your internal systems.

• Ensure privacy by design. Protect individual identities with careful data sharing guidelines. Only aggregated or securely linked, de-identified data is shared.

Leverage expert analyst support. Work with dedicated analysts to interpret results, segment employee groups, and design reporting that supports smart decisions.

Guild coaching means 1:1 support that transforms career and academic aspiration into action. Our goal is to help your employees meet theirs.

Throughout their journey with Guild, learners receive comprehensive support designed to help them explore programs, apply and enroll, persist, and mobilize their careers. Here’s what that support looks like:

• Set goals with Growth Coaches: Learners work with a dedicated coach to set clear goals, manage their time, and build habits that help them turn academic aspirations to tangible career moves.

• Advance with Career Coaches: Near the end of their program, learners often work with a coach on resume-building and interviewing to move confidently into a new internal role.

Stay on track with ongoing support: Continuous coaching and dedicated member support helps learners stay motivated, navigate challenges, and achieve their goals.