Commonwealth and group of 10 foundations and United Ways to receive $500,000 for efforts on behalf of employers and workers HARRISBURG, Pa., June 20
HARRISBURG, Pa., June 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Fund
for Workforce Solutions (PFWS), a partnership between the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania and 10 Pennsylvania philanthropic organizations has been awarded
grants totaling $500,000 from the National Fund for Workforce Solutions
(NFWS), a new initiative devoted to creating opportunities for lower-skilled
workers while simultaneously increasing economic competitiveness.
A $450,000 grant will be used to assist four regions -- Erie, South
Central Pennsylvania, Southwest Pennsylvania, and Southeast Pennsylvania --
implement and expand strategic workforce initiatives that help low-skilled
workers achieve family sustaining careers in critical shortage occupations
within targeted industries. The PFWS was awarded an additional $50,000 to
explore ways for the state of Pennsylvania to finance and sustain workforce
initiatives for the long term on a scale large enough to make a real
difference in opportunities for workers and profitability for employers.
Philanthropic partners include the Erie Community Foundation, The
Foundation for Enhancing Communities, the Capital Region United Way, the
United Way of Southeast Pennsylvania, the Knight Foundation, the Pittsburgh
Foundation, the Heinz Endowments, R.K. Mellon, and the American Eagle
Foundation. The purpose of each regional collaborative is to meet the needs of
employers having trouble finding qualified workers and to prepare low-skilled
workers to move into jobs that pay a family-supporting wage. Because of the
success of the commonwealth's Industry Partnerships created with funds from
the state's comprehensive workforce reform (Job Ready PA), Pennsylvania is the
only NFWS grantee in the nation to receive funds to build workforce funding
collaborative across different regions within a state. "We are pleased to be
the only large state selected to partner with the National Fund for Workforce
Solutions," said Sandi Vito, Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of Labor. "We have
been hard at work in Pennsylvania creating systems that best prepare people
for the workplace. This grant from leading national foundations validates that
we are on the right track and will allow us to expand our reach
significantly."
To qualify for support from the NFWS, Pennsylvania had to pool substantial
state and local financial resources and craft industry-specific workforce
efforts that meet the needs of both workers and employers in job sectors with
skill shortages. By customizing training and other services that meet
employers' needs for entry-level workers, all NFWS-supported projects seek to
create opportunities for workers to move into jobs and careers that provide
family-supporting wages and benefits.
These workforce partnerships are critically needed because the nation
faces a shortage of well-prepared workers. In particular, the number of
workers with two-year degrees and skill certificates will fall far short of
the economy's needs. Such a shortage of skilled workers will constrain the
nation's economic growth. NFWS efforts address the roots of poverty among
low-income workers -- the lack of pathways to the middle class in today's
economy -- and also create industry-linked learning systems that allow
businesses to thrive.
"Employers in our community are struggling to find well-trained workers to
take some jobs, while many low-wage workers lack the skills or training they
need to become financially secure," said Michael Batchelor of the Erie
Community Foundation. "We have developed a great partnership to address both
of these pressing needs in Erie."
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions was created by the Annie E.
Casey, Ford and Hitachi Foundations, the U.S. Labor Department and other key
supporters. It has made it a goal to raise $50 million to strengthen and
expand effective workforce initiatives around the country.
"Pennsylvania is THE national leader in workforce development," said Bob
Giloth of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a key funder of the NFWS. "What this
grant does is begin a systematic effort to link projects that benefit
low-income workers with partnerships of local employers in key industries that
the state has invested in across the Commonwealth. If Pennsylvania can make
this approach work statewide in ways that deliver for business, low-income
families, and communities, it will become a model for the nation."
The Keystone Research Center (KRC) is an independent, non-profit,
nonpartisan research institute that conducts research to promote a more
prosperous and equitable Pennsylvania. KRC is the non-profit technical
assistance partner of the Commonwealth and Pennsylvania philanthropic
organizations on the PFWS project. A KRC report commissioned by former
Governor Schweiker and passed onto incoming Governor Rendell helped shape the
state's JobReady PA workforce reform, including its investment in Industry
Partnerships rooted in leading regional industries.
SOURCE Keystone Research Center
