$500,000 from Hummingbird Foundation Will Fuel WPSI University
We are very excited to begin 2024 by sharing the exciting news that the Hummingbird Foundation, the New Jersey-based charitable organization that helped us launch WPSI University in 2023, has continued its support of the Skills Initiative with a new gift of $500,000 over two years. The initial $150,000 investment from Hummingbird in January of […]
Phlebotomy program gives lift to lab, community
Originally published by Cap Today December 2023—The clinical laboratory at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is solving two problems at once: its phlebotomist staffing shortage and the need for some in its community to learn a new skill and obtain employment. In a program for which planning began in 2022, CHOP has partnered with West […]
Graduate Spotlight: Haley from Philly Shipyard, Inc.
Haley Arici graduated from Widener University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Haley had successfully completed a coveted internship with McKean Defense Group, was a member of the Society of Women Engineers, Vice President of the Physics and Astronomy Club, and even served as a youth mentor for Transportation You (TrYOU) through Women […]
WPSI + PIDC Workforce Partnership Celebrates 100th Placement
PHILADELPHIA (November 27, 2023) – University City District’s West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI) and PIDC are excited to announce the completion of the inaugural Industrial Trades Program! This cohort marks the 100th placement of the partnership. In 2020, PIDC and the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative teamed up to extend the successful cohort-based job training […]
This Is Philadelphia’s Big Life Sciences Moment
Orginally published by Technical.ly On the heels of EDA Tech Hubs designation, Philly has everything it needs to keep its life sciences ecosystem strong, leaders say. Here’s how stakeholders across the region are working together to build up real estate and workforce programs to support the growing industry. Words by: Sarah Huffman, @sarahghuffman Edited by: Julie Zeglen • Nov […]
Graduate Spotlight: Daymond from Penn Medicine
Daymond Garner has always known that his purpose in life is to help people. Early in his career, he nourished this innate ability through working in roles like Quality Assurance and Customer Care, and eventually was tapped to train teams to excel in that work like he did. In 2021, the West Philadelphia Skills […]
Filling the gap: Some of Philadelphia’s influential leaders discuss how to create more equitable workforce opportunities
Originally published by the Philadelphia Business Journal Ask not what workforce development can do for you, but how your company can be a part of creating more equitable opportunities in the workforce. This advice was dispensed at Filling the Gap: Workforce Development, a panel discussion hosted by Citizens on Sept. 21 that brought together some […]
Graduate Spotlight: Shaniya from Drexel University College of Medicine
“This program would open many doors and opportunities for me to move up on the train of success,” wrote Shaniya Matthews on her application to the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative’s Medical Assistant Pipeline Program in partnership with Drexel University College of Medicine. It was 2011, and Shaniya had completed Medical Assistant school and certification but […]
Partnership Announced to Connect Philadelphians with Career Training in the Skilled Trades Starting at $25/Hour
The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative and PIDC’s Navy Yard Skills Initiative Launch Professional Development Program with the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division for Union Careers PHILADELPHIA (September 18, 2023) – University City District’s West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI) and PIDC’s Navy Yard Skills Initiative (NYSI) launched a program to train Philadelphia residents for permanent, […]
Graduate Spotlight: Shaniyah from SEPTA
It was in 2019 that Shaniyah’s great-grandmother shared WPSI’s pilot SEPTA Bus Operator program with her, which seemed like the natural next step after driving for CCT Connect Paratransit. “I was just trying out stuff. I didn’t know what I wanted. My great-grandmom was always sending me WPSI stuff and this time, the timing and […]
Philly Money Moves: West Philadelphia Skills Initiative won a big workforce development grant
Originally Published by Technical.ly West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI), a workforce development program through the University City District, won a $339,000 grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation to support workforce development for justice-involved individuals. During FY22, 17% of WPSI’s participants were justice-involved individuals and only half of them graduated, according to the org. These […]
Graduate Spotlight: Iyana from Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc.
Iyana Pearson saves lives. Before she joined the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative in 2022, she had worked as a dialysis technician for eight years. Like so many other Americans, however, she found herself looking for work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As Iyana explored getting back into the medical field, she discovered the pilot […]
