Cleveland, Des Moines, Louisville, and Pittsburgh have received grants to work with local employers to redesign jobs and support a more resilient workforce.
Washington, D.C. – (January 11, 2021) – Today, the National Fund for Workforce Solutions announced that four communities in its network will each receive $195,000 in grants to redesign frontline jobs and help workers achieve financial resiliency and economic mobility.
The coronavirus pandemic has put a spotlight on frontline workers, exposing the harsh reality that our economy is based on too many low-wage, low-quality jobs and that frontline workers are extremely vulnerable, with the loss of just one paycheck leading to catastrophe.
The four funded communities will first develop local recovery plans that respond to new economic conditions resulting from the pandemic, and long-standing conditions including racial inequities in workforce outcomes. Then, they will engage employers to redesign local jobs to support a more inclusive and sustainable economy.
“We cannot make the same mistakes we did in the Great Recession,” said Tom Strong, director of employer activation at the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. “We have an opportunity to redesign our economy on a foundation of economy-boosting jobs that benefit workers and employers alike, and these projects will do just that.”
Each local partner will engage employers to develop their recovery plans and implement job design changes.
The Fund for Our Economic Future, in Cleveland, will bring together healthcare employers, workers, and community leaders to create equitable career growth opportunities for state-trained nursing aides and help more of these workers advance.
Central Iowa Works, in Des Moines, will leverage industry partnerships in multiple sectors to get more employers improving the quality of their jobs as a way to close equity and skill gaps in the regional workforce.
Wired65, in Louisville, will work with sector-based advisory groups to develop job redesign and worker resiliency plans that generate more equitable workforce outcomes and address racial disparities in the public workforce system.
Pittsburgh Area Workforce Collaborative will engage their hospitality and retail industry partnership to redesign entry-level positions so that they are safer, more equitable and inclusive, and provide economic security for workers.
This work is supported by Prudential Financial and builds on efforts by the National Fund over the past five years to improve the quality of frontline jobs.
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About National Fund for Workforce Solutions
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions invests in a dynamic national network taking a demand-driven, evidence-based approach to workforce development. At the local level, the National Fund’s partner organizations contribute resources, test ideas, collect data, and improve public policies and business practices that help all workers succeed and employers have the talent they need to compete. Learn more at www.NationalFund.org.
