The Pennsylvania Fund for Workforce Solutions

Statewide

, Pennsylvania

Too many workers in Pennsylvania cannot find good jobs while many businesses—even in a slow economy—cannot find workers with critical skills. To address this dual challenge, the Commonwealth invests in Industry Partnerships, in which businesses identify common skill needs and refocus training efforts to meet those needs. Industry Partnerships make businesses more productive and competitive, while helping workers to advance and earn better pay.

For some Pennsylvanians, there is a wide gulf between existing skill sets and those needed to obtain family-supporting jobs. In an era where post-secondary credentials are critical, over half of Pennsylvanian adults possess only a high school degree -- or less. Low educational levels trap many workers in dead-end, low-wage jobs. To build a bridge to a better future, lower-skilled workers need additional supports such as job readiness skills, mentoring, and assistance accessing transportation and child care.

The Pennsylvania Fund for Workforce Solutions (PFWS) is a statewide funding collaborative that supports Industry Partnership projects which enable lower-skilled adults to access and advance in good-paying jobs, while meeting employers’ needs for retention and high performance. By creating a critical mass of partnerships skilled in finding the sweet spot of activities that benefit both employers and low-income workers, PFWS aims to take a vital step toward a prosperous economy with opportunity for all.

The Funding Collaborative

Private and public funders from across the state joined forces to create The Pennsylvania Fund for Workforce Solutions, which blends investments (over $3 million to date) from private and public funders to support the goal of increasing opportunities for lower-skilled workers through grantmaking, capacity building, and advocacy efforts.

Funders include the Pittsburgh Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, H.J. Heinz Company Foundation, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, American Eagle Outfitters, The Erie Community Foundation, The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, The United Way of the Capital Region, the Job Opportunity Investment Network (John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, William Penn Foundation, Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board), and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry.

Key Strategies and Interventions

Promote public policy changes to ensure that state Industry Partnerships are made permanent by creating a fund to finance Industry Partnerships (for more information, see here).
Expand existing Industry Partnership opportunities for lower-skilled workers by providing grants to focus their activities on entry-level workers in critical industries, including health care, energy, construction, manufacturing, building services, and hospitality. Strategies include redesigning the regional workforce system to help more low-income workers access good jobs, developing career-ladders, creating industry credentials, and providing support services.
Identify and disseminate Industry Partnership best practices on low-income worker advancement.
Strengthen the capacity of IP coordinators to foster skill, career, and income advancement for lower-skilled workers through peer learning sessions and supportive grants.
Capitalize on the unique opportunities created by the green economy, so that Pennsylvania can develop a learning network of green pathways out of poverty projects.
Expand participation in PFWS so that more regions of Pennsylvania can benefit from grant-making and capacity building, while boosting advocacy efforts.

To date, the Pennsylvania fund has provided training for nearly 500 new and incumbent workers. the Pennsylvania Fund is managed by foundation officers, the Department of Labor and Industry, and the State WIB. The Pennsylvania Fund for Workforce Solutions is staffed by the Keystone Research Center, which conducts research and promotes strategies to achieve a more profitable and equitable Pennsylvania. For PFWS, the Keystone Research Center leads advocacy efforts, oversees grantmaking, and provides technical assistance and capacity building for Industry Partnerships.

Labor Market Analysis

The following powerpoint provides an analysis of the state of Pennsylvania regional labor market. The analysis is intended to provide a picture into overall employment conditions and structural changes in this local economy, focusing on the period from 2001-2007. Though this data does not capture changes associated with the recent 2008 recession, it should still provide useful insights into medium-term demographic and employment changes.

The data analyzed here comes from two major sources: The American Community Survey 2007 (and 1990 & 2000 Decennial Census for some charts) from the U.S. Census Bureau; and the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For a full guide to the data content, structure, and how it might be used, please listen to the June 16, 2009, recorded webinar available here.