Public/Private Collaboration Announces Over $5 Million in Grants; Local, National Funders Join Efforts to Advance Workers to Better Jobs

11/17/2003

From: Carmon Cunningham, 617-728-4446, ccunningham@jff.org; or Ann Kurkjian Crane, 617-338-3890, alk@tbf.org; both for the Boston Workforce Development Initiative

BOSTON, Nov. 17 -- The Boston Workforce Development Initiative, the single largest public/private investment in workforce development in Boston's history, today announced the recipients of grants totaling more than $5 million over the next three to five years. Through these investments, the Initiative seeks to change the way employers hire and promote entry-level workers from Boston's neighborhoods.

Two of the Initiative's grants focus on the health care industry, and a third on the hospitality industry. Employing tens of thousands of workers in Boston, these industries have the potential to raise the income levels of immigrants and other low-income residents enough to significantly raise their standards of living.

In addition, the Initiative will provide up to $1.5 million over five years for a public policy advocacy effort to develop more effective links between the Commonwealth's workers and good jobs. In no other city or state has a single foundation, let alone the Initiative's unique coalition of funders, made such a large and coordinated commitment to advocating for systemic change in workforce development, practice, and policy.

"In the current economic climate, Boston cannot afford to pass by motivated people who want to contribute to the common wealth. So I am proud to join this unprecedented gathering of the public and private sector as we pioneer a new way of investing in Boston's most important asset-our workforce," said Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. "Reinvesting city linkage funds in our citizens gives me great satisfaction. Not only will more Bostonians have the tools to climb the career ladder, but Boston will have one of the best-trained workforces in the nation."

Grants totaling approximately $1 million over three years each will go to Partners HealthCare, a network that includes Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and other medical institutions; the International Institute of Boston in partnership with Hilton Hotels; and the Boston Health Care and Research Training Institute, a collaborative led by the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation. These "Workforce Partnership" grants will support approaches that build long-lasting relationships among employers, workers, and providers of education, training, and support services in the health care and hospitality industries.

Even in a tight economy, employers in these industries need help to reduce turnover and improve workers' skills. Through this unprecedented, multiyear effort, employers will gain a trained and capable workforce and enable thousands of disadvantaged workers to advance in jobs that offer higher wages, educational opportunities, and benefits.

"The health care industry will continue to experience both chronic and acute labor shortages," according to Gary Gottlieb, CEO of Brigham and Women's Hospital. "These grants will help the city's hospitals, health clinics, and health research institutes to build connections with neighborhood agencies to recruit and train new workers."

The same is true of the hospitality industry. "Turnover rates in our industry are 100 percent and can reach 150 percent," says Roger Swadish, area vice president for Hilton Corporation. "Through this program, we will help our entry-level team members prepare for and succeed in higher paying jobs. This will keep our turnover rate well below the industry standard and improve the quality of service to our guests." Since 1997, over 5,000 hotel rooms have been built in Boston, bringing a corresponding demand for hotel employees.

Overall, the Initiative represents an investment of $14.3 million over five years. It is the product of major new investments from a coalition of funders that includes the Boston Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation, the Fleet Charitable Fund and the Frank W. and Carl. S. Adams Memorial managed by Fleet's Charitable Assets Division, the Hyams Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the State Street Foundation, and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, as well as the Mayor's Office of Jobs and Community Services and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

According to Paul Grogan, president of the Boston Foundation, "It is exciting and unprecedented for private foundations to combine their investments into a common vision and partner with the public sector to change the way we train and advance our workforce. This partnership approach is a blueprint for how cities can address the tough economic and social challenges."

Gordon Conway, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, observed, "Our work has taught us that community organizations play an invaluable role in connecting people to jobs and employers to good workers. We know that these resources will be used to help many Bostonians gain the skills and support they need to step onto the ladder of opportunity."

The initiative will use three strategies to improve connections between workers and good jobs. In addition to creating workforce partnerships, the Initiative will advocate for policy change and to increase the effectiveness of participating organizations. Several Boston-area non-profits will manage these components. Jobs for the Future plans and manages the overall initiative and the Public Policy Advocacy component. The Boston Private Industry Council manages the Workforce Partnership Component and planning grants. Management Consulting Services manages the Strengthening Capacity component. Abt Associates and Mt. Auburn Associates will evaluate the Initiative.

"At a time when the national economy is still suffering from its worst slowdown in decades, placing Boston back on sound economic footing will require more than creating modest numbers of new jobs," says Marlene Seltzer, president of Jobs for the Future, which is managing the initiative for the funding collaborative. "We need to develop effective job training and job promotion opportunities that help companies in key sectors develop the workforce they need to grow and thrive."

The Initiative is also investing $100,000 in planning grants to seed the development of new workforce partnerships that build career advancement opportunities in two other critical industries: auto repair service and building maintenance.

A planning grant to the Asian American Civic Association, in partnership with La Alianza Hispana, and the Urban League, will support collaboration with the Massachusetts State Auto Dealers Association and Sullivan Tire. This effort will increase access to training and better-paying jobs in the automotive repair industry.

The second planning grant goes to the Voice and Future Fund, the training arm of Service Employees International Union 615. The Fund has built a partnership with Harvard University, MIT, and several janitorial services companies to develop career development opportunities and increase access to specialized training in a wide range of building maintenance skills.

The Public Policy Advocacy grant supports a partnership led by the Women's Union, the Organizing and Training Leadership Center, and the Massachusetts Workforce Board Association. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, the National Network of Sector Partnerships, and the Strategy Group are also part of this partnership.

"This Initiative allows extraordinarily diverse stakeholders to act on a shared goal of building the Commonwealth's competitive advantage by strengthening our skilled workforce," according to Mary Lassen, president of the Women's Union.

This year's awards are the second for the Initiative. Previously, six community-based organizations received Strengthening Capacity grants totaling over $700,000. These grants, together with the Workforce Partnerships and Public Policy Advocacy grants, total $5.3 million. Four of the previously funded groups have been selected to implement or plan Workforce Partnerships: the Asian American Civic Association, the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, La Alianza Hispana, and the Vietnamese American Civic Association. The early investments strengthened the grantees' ability to build strong partnerships with employers and other service providers in order to better meet the needs of their communities.