SALT LAKE CITY, June 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WGU Labs, the research, development, and investment arm of Western Governors University, today announced an investment in Daivergent, the first fully remote, Medicaid-approved job coaching platform for individuals living with physical or cognitive disabilities. By highlighting the gap between education and meaningful employment for these individuals, this investment aims to support a more inclusive and diverse workforce.
WGU Labs and Daivergent will partner to analyze the current state of educational and workforce opportunities for populations covered by vocational rehabilitation and Medicaid waivers. Their joint work will explore critical areas such as market size, employment readiness infrastructure, access to benefits, program outcomes, and economic impact.
"We are thrilled to partner with WGU Labs and put a spotlight on the enormous opportunity in disability workforce development," said Byran Dai, co-founder and CEO of Daivergent. "This partnership is a pivotal step toward ensuring that every individual, regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities, can achieve meaningful employment. Together, we are not just highlighting barriers to self-sufficiency for the one in five Americans with a neurodivergent condition; we are illuminating how the current vocational rehabilitation and Medicaid systems can fund innovative solutions that equip the disability community for the 21st-century economy."
Daivergent is poised to significantly impact the 27% of the adult population with disabilities by providing a more direct path to upskilling and higher-quality employment. By tapping into the $7 billion budgeted to Medicaid and vocational rehabilitation agencies for employment readiness, Daivergent enables more individuals with disabilities to access these opportunities regardless of their financial circumstances. This partnership underscores the importance of inclusive education and employment and highlights the economic benefits of fully utilizing the skills and talents of all Americans.
"Through our investment in Daivergent, WGU Labs seeks to address the pressing need for better educational and employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities," said Jason Levin, Executive Director at WGU Labs. "By combining our research capabilities with Daivergent’s expertise in the disability community’s workforce development, we aim to create actionable insights that drive positive change and foster greater inclusion in the workplace."
The findings from WGU Labs and Daivergent’s research are set to be released in the fall of 2024.
About Daivergent
Daivergent is a virtual platform that provides job coaching to the 70 million Americans with disabilities and neurodivergent conditions. As the first platform covered by vocational rehabilitation and Medicaid insurance, Daivergent delivers its high-quality workforce development programs to job seekers with disabilities across the U.S., supported by Daivergent’s nationwide bench of vetted job coaches. For more information, visit https://www.daivergent.com
About WGU Labs
WGU Labs is the nonprofit EdTech consulting, incubation, research, and design arm of Western Governors University, where our mission is to identify and support scalable solutions that address the biggest challenges in education today.
The Accelerator at WGU Labs provides research, market development, and product enhancement services to early-stage education businesses. Through these services, as well as financial investments, the Accelerator advances the scale and impact of education companies that share its mission to increase student access, lower student costs, and improve student outcomes. Learn more at wgulabs.org or follow us on LinkedIn.
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Natalie Berkey WGU Labs 385-428-9425 natalie.berkey@wgu.edu
