About

Our Mission

SidexSide exists to build a bridge between overlooked talent and local employers.

Participants in the SidexSide program (referred by local nonprofit agencies and paid for their full-time participation to remove the barrier of access) spend nine weeks receiving intensive power skills training from ten plus local and national curriculum partners; during this time, each participant is embedded in one of our local employer partners for a curated “earn & learn” dynamic, allowing them to put elevated skills to real world practice while the employer can assess these skills and the possibility of a long-term fit.

On the other side of the program, career pathways are opened up for participants and a new labor force is trained and ready for employer partners. This is mutuality in action!

SideXSide History

In late 2022, before formally launching SidexSide, a small founding team conducted a series of 1:1 interviews and listening sessions with over 80 individuals representing employers, service providers, educators, government agencies, funders, and community members in Oklahoma City. The feedback was clear: one-to-one coaching, community-informed design, and employer-connected pathways were essential. The vision for SidexSide emerged from this collaborative process and the critical gap was cemented: many highly capable individuals, particularly those with histories of justice involvement, addiction, generational poverty, or housing instability, wanted to work but faced barriers to accessing and retaining quality employment. Simultaneously, Oklahoma City employers across industries were struggling to find and keep reliable workers. SidexSide was created to solve both problems at once.