America’s missing workers: matching jobs to the jobless
Daily Mail by AFP A few years ago, Derek Hobbs could not find a job. He had three strikes against him: his age, 55, a criminal record, and a drug addiction that kept him out of the formal workforce for more than 25 years. When he decided to turn his life around, most employers dismissed […]
Poverty and Connecting to Opportunity in Philadelphia
The Pew Charitable Trusts By Matt Bergheiser and Larry Eichel In this episode Poverty is one of Philadelphia’s most enduring problems. The city’s poverty rate is 25.7 percent—the highest among the United States’ 10 largest cities. That means that about 400,000 city residents, including more than a third of the city’s children, live in a […]
UCD Receives Funding From Lincoln Financial Foundation
We are pleased to share that we recently received a $20,000 grant from the Lincoln Financial Foundation to support the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative, our job training program that connects employers seeking talent with West Philadelphians seeking opportunity. Lincoln Financial Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Lincoln Financial Group, believes in empowering people to live greater […]
University City: The not-so-secret sauce for business-community partnerships
Philadelphia Business Journal By Matt Bergheiser University City is driven by a powerful idea: the notion that density, diversity, proximity, vibrancy and knowledge combine to shape a neighborhood with magical possibilities for growth and innovation. Read Full Article
As President Fry Looks Back on University City’s Advances, the Future Beckons
Drexel NOW By Ben Seal As he reflected on the path taken in the past two decades to turn University City into a booming neighborhood with all the markers of a 21st century success story, Drexel University President John Fry couldn’t help but look to the future. Speaking Thursday at World Café Live as part […]
University City District Spotlight on Local Talent
University City District (UCD) supports the community through services like its Clean and Safe program, local events, public space enhancements, small business assistance, and workforce development. In this short film, meet two local women–Shanise Hicks, graduate of UCD’s West Philadelphia Skills Initiative and Rosemary Certo, owner of Dock Street Brewery–who have been helped directly by […]
University City District’s Community Porch Revitalization Program
University City District (UCD) married the work of its West Philadelphia Skills Initiative job training program with its free, community-based initiative home restoration program Project Rehab to create the Community Porch Revitalization pilot. A cohort of unemployed West Philadelphians learned construction skills, earned OSHA certification, and worked together to reconstruct the front porch of a […]
20 Years, 20 Stories: The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative
There are no typical days at the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative, University City District’s workforce development program that’s been connecting unemployed West Philadelphians to jobs with major local employers since 2011. Throw a dart at a calendar and a given day may feature on-the-job training with a future employer, a presentation on financial literacy, or […]
WPSI: Changing Places, Changing Lives with Justin Bradley
Justin Bradley went from a West Philadelphia Skills Initiative carpentry cohort to earning full time employment as a member of University City District’s Green City Works landscape crew. Here he talks about how WPSI impacted his life.
West Philadelphia Skills Initiative graduations
6ABC By Staff UNIVERSITY CITY (WPVI) — Philadelphia’s University City just gained another 40 to 50 skilled workers. They graduated Friday from the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative. The year long job training program gives people who live in, or near University City, skills to work for employers such as CHOP and Drexel. Many of the […]
Brookings report calls for more local investment to unleash ‘innovation district’ potential
WHYY By Jim Saksa Before a room packed with Philadelphia’s business elites Thursday morning, Brookings Institution researchers described the city as standing on the precipice of greatness. All it will take is a little leap of faith among the region’s moneyed class and the city will take off in an economic ascendency, carried on angel […]
Mayor Jim Kenney Visits the Skills Initiative
On Wednesday, March 29th, UCD was honored to welcome Mayor Jim Kenney to the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative. The Mayor joined our current Allied Universal participants – as well as WPSI graduates and staff – to learn about our unique approach to helping local residents find meaningful employment with our employer partners. After meeting current participants […]
