what we're up to
New! Post-Election Analysis for Philanthropy from Economic Opportunity Funders
Workforce Matters is pleased to partner with our colleagues at Economic Opportunity Funders to connect workforce grantmakers with an opportunity to participate in EOF’s post-election virtual funder learning series. Register today to participate in one of their upcoming discussions:
Part 1 — A Conversation with Public Opinion and Political Strategists
December 2, 2020 | 2:00-3:00 PM ET
Featuring Jean Ross, The Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust (Moderator); Kevin Akins, Anzalone Liszt Grove Research; Matt Barreto, Latino Decisions; and Terrance Woodbury, HIT Strategies.
Part 2 — A Conversation with National and State Organizers
December 3, 2020 | 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET
Featuring Hahrie Han, SNF Agora Institute and P3 Lab, Johns Hopkins University (Moderator); Dorian Warren, Community Change; Jennifer Epps-Addison, Center for Popular Democracy; Tram Nguyen, New Virginia Majority; and Alejandra Gomez, Living United for Change in Arizona.
Please note that this program is reserved for funders and philanthropic advisors.
In Case You Missed It...
The documentary film The Road Up follows four participants in Cara, a Chicago job-training program, as they seek to make the long journey to stable employment in good jobs. Workforce Matters provided a private screening of the film for our members in October 2020 then hosted two live panel discussions that explored clips from the film and related issues. View recordings of both discussions on our website and explore the intersections of housing and homelessness and criminal justice with employment.
Learning Lab Participants Announced
Please join us in congratulating the 35 individuals selected to participate in our three upcoming Peer-to-Peer Learning Labs! We were thrilled to have so many applicants for our first cohort and look forward to extending similar learning opportunities to more grantmakers in the near future. Stay tuned for key take-aways for the field from all three conversations.
Get involved!
Workforce Matters is currently accepting nominations for our 2021-2022 Steering Committee. The Steering Committee provides oversight for our network and helps to establish the strategic direction of our work. All qualified grantmakers are invited to apply, but we are particularly interested in hearing from funders who identify as male, Latinx, American Indian, and/or represent philanthropies based in the Mountain/Southwest region in order to further grow the diversity of our leadership body. Learn more...
on our calendars
National Apprenticeship Week: Youth Apprenticeship Twitter Chat
November 10, 2020 1:00 pm eastern | Twitter Chat | New America, JFF, the Cybersecurity Youth Apprenticeship Initiative, net.America, Urban Institute
Follow along and join the conversation using the hashtag #YAchat
Connecting Communities: Mobilizing Public-Private Partnerships to Rebuild Regional Economies
November 12, 2020 3:00 pm eastern | Online | Federal Reserve System
Learn More and Register
Intermediary Functions and Features: Leading with and Designing for Equity
November 12, 2020 2:00 pm eastern | Online | Jobs for the Future
Learn More and Register
Breaking Down the Election: Prospects for Skills and Inclusive Recovery
November 12, 2020 2:00 pm eastern | Online | National Skills Coalition
Learn More and Register
State Solutions & Opportunities for a More Transparent Credential Landscape
November 18, 2020 1:30pm eastern | Online | Credential Engine
new information + resources
Transfer and Applicability of Credit: Call to Action
October 2020 | Scaling Partners Action Network
In a new statement released by the Scaling Partners Network, a group convened by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the signatories call on policymakers and higher education leaders to improve transfer policies, highlighting the racial justice implications at stake. Analysis by the Georgetown Center for Education and the Workforce found that 53 percent of transfer students who attained a bachelor’s degree were unable to use all of their transfer credits toward their degree requirements. Read more…
Skill Training for Adults
October 2020 | Paul Osterman | MIT Sloan School of Management
The first research brief from a nationally representative survey of U.S. workers about how they obtain training finds that over half of workers received employer-provided training in the last year, but access to that training is unequal: Workers who are Hispanic, African American, or Asian American are significantly less likely to receive employer-provided training, while being a member of a union or college-educated increases a worker's odds of receiving employer-paid training. Read More…
After a Historic Gift, Will More Donors Finally Give Community Colleges a Second Look?
November 2, 2020 | Mike Scutari | Inside Philanthropy ($)
Only 1.5% of the $43.6 billion raised by colleges and universities in 2017 flowed to two-year institutions, which serve almost half of the country’s college students. The Jay Pritzker Foundation, named after the founder of Hyatt Hotels, pledged $100 million for scholarships and emergency financial aid to the Foundation for California Community Colleges. It’s the largest gift ever made to a community college system. Read more…
Investing in Workers To Drive a Stronger Economic Recovery for All
November 2020 | The Markle Foundation
A new set of policy recommendations from the Markle Foundation aims to position workers impacted by the current economic crisis for success by providing the support they need to secure good jobs. Read more…
Stepping Up: Interim Findings on JVS Boston’s English for Advancement Show Large Earnings Gains
November 2020 | Anne Roder and Mark Elliott | Economic Mobility Corporation
In an interim report on the nation’s first Pay for Success project focused exclusively on workforce development (with support from Social Finance and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts), Economic Mobility Coporation finds that participants in JVS Boston’s English for Advancement (EfA) program earned an average of $2,621 more than control group members in the second year after enrollment and $3,505 more over the two years. EfA is the first adult education program for English-language learners to show significant earnings impacts in a rigorous evaluation. Read more…
announcements
New Profit, MIT Solve, XPRIZE, and other partners of the Annie E. Casey Foundation recently announced an initiative that will identify and support efforts to reshape workforce training. Teams selected to participate in the XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling competition will work with local workforce development boards and employers to test solutions they’ve developed to quickly retrain unemployed workers for high-demand jobs that pay family-sustaining wages (Deadline: 11/20). The Reimagining Pathways to Employment in the U.S. Challenge aims to identify and support promising ideas to help workers assess their skills and find work in high-growth industries — with up to $625,000 in prize funding available (Deadline: 11/09). Learn more...
