In an increasingly digital world, people without access to technology and the skills to use it are often locked out of economic opportunity. The Future of Work Accelerator is a joint program of HP Inc. and the HP Foundation designed to scale the impact of organizations that are working to change this. 
 
Building on four years of global impact and with a sharpened focus on future workers, the 2026 Accelerator is back in the U.S. where the program began, and where 92% of jobs now require digital skills.
 

Introducing the 2026 Future of Work Accelerator participants

 
HP is announcing five U.S.-based organizations for 2026, selected for the strength and potential of their programs, products, and services to reach disconnected communities:

  • Extern provides infrastructure that powers externships: real learning-based work projects with students on behalf of companies like Amazon, TikTok, Canva, Pfizer, PwC, and Home Depot, enrolling 70,000+ learners to date.
  • Millennium Campus Network’s flagship program, the Millennium Fellowship, trains the next generation of civic innovators to address urgent community challenges and launch into social impact careers.
  • PHIND Work is a mobile workforce platform that uses geo-matching technology to connect people to jobs, training, and resources in construction, trades, and clean energy industries.
  • Skillionaire Games by skillsgapp connects youth, especially in underserved communities, to life-changing careers through engaging, career exploration video games.
  • SkillUp is a nonprofit coalition of 150 partners supporting workers from under-resourced communities to build new skills suited to in-demand jobs, ensuring every worker has access to high-opportunity employment.

 
For the first time, the Accelerator is open to both nonprofit and mission-driven for-profit organizations—reflecting the urgent need for solutions at scale. A pool of 570 applicants from across the U.S. represented a wide range of initiatives, from AI-powered hiring platforms to gamified career planning and upskilling for students.
 
“At HP, we believe opportunity starts with access to the best tools for work, to skills, and to economic opportunities,” said Antonio Lucio, Chief Marketing and Corporate Affairs Officer at HP Inc. “Through our Future of Work Accelerator, we’re scaling bold, practical solutions that help today’s and tomorrow’s workers thrive. The 2026 organizations bring a holistic approach to removing barriers, and I’m excited to see the impact they make.”
 
With AI and other digital skills reshaping the future of work, this year’s Accelerator sought out organizations with demonstrated impact in disconnected communities, targeting those most vulnerable to economic shocks—young people, on-demand workers, and small businesses.
 
In addition to receiving US$100,000 in funding and US$100,000 in HP technology and solutions, each organization will take part in a virtual program led by HP and its social impact partners, MIT Solve and Global Impact Advisors. Featuring workshops, executive coaching, consultations with HP volunteers, and more, the six-month program will empower organizations to scale the impact of their initiatives.
 

Building on our global impact

 
Since its launch in 2022, the Accelerator has supported 35 nonprofit organizations across 13 countries, delivering skills and learning to 11.3 million people. Past participants have been large and small, rural and urban, and have scaled both longstanding and early-stage initiatives, tackling the digital divide in education, healthcare, and economic opportunity.
 
Last year’s Accelerator featured eight organizations across four countries—Greece, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Spain—whose expanded initiatives are helping disconnected communities participate and thrive in the future of work. Past Accelerator participants include Digify Africa in South Africa, which aims to boost youth employment, Nova Escola Association in Brazil, which provides educators with free resources, and Access to Success in Canada, which is scaling assistive technology for people with disabilities.
 
For more information, please visit hp.com/accelerator.
 

Accelerating the future of work

 
In 2021, HP set a goal to reach 150 million people by 2030 through its social impact programs and partnerships. HP has reached 65 million people through 2024 through programs including the Future of Work Accelerator and HP LIFE—the HP Foundation’s free business and digital skills training program—and partnerships with organizations such as YMCA, Goodwall, Real Madrid Foundation, Mission 44, Girl Rising, and others.
 
More information on today’s news at HP Imagine can be found here.

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