The Skills Initiative has recently been awarded three grants that will power the regional growth of our industry partnerships. We are grateful to The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry for their recent support of this critical work that will create a broad, lasting impact in Southeast Pennsylvania.
Pew Awards $1.5 Million to Advance Economic Mobility in Philadelphia
First, we are expressing our sincere gratitude to The Pew Charitable Trusts for awarding The Skills Initiative a grant of $1.5 million over the next three years to advance our industry partnership work. The gift is part of two new grants totaling $2.5 million from Pew to strengthen economic advancement opportunities in North Philadelphia, through North10 Philadelphia, and throughout the Southeastern Pennsylvania region through our two established industry partnerships, the Keystone LifeSci Collaborative and the recently-launched Healthcare Workforce Collaborative.
With this gift, we will use an employer-driven, regional sector partnership model to drive regional economic growth and mobility. We will scale the impact of two industry partnerships (IPs), in health care and life sciences, using an approach designed to help employers throughout the region identify shared challenges and industry‑driven solutions while they expand residents’ access to careers with family-sustaining wages, benefits, and advancement potential.
The health care IP will focus on establishing a regional workforce hub that streamlines collaboration between approximately 11 employers and seven training providers, reduces administrative burden, and improves the availability of job‑ready talent. The life sciences IP will concentrate on attracting, developing, and retaining skilled workers across education levels while also helping industry leaders to identify and address shared workforce needs and structural barriers to growth.
“The Skills Initiative has long been at the forefront of new approaches to identifying, training, and retaining talent in the workplace,” said The Skills Initiative Executive Director Cait Garozzo. “With this generous gift from Pew, we are positioned to keep building crucial industry partnerships to transform how Southeastern Pennsylvania grows and retains talent in health care and life sciences, two critically important industries.”
“Promoting more opportunity for economic advancement is part of Pew’s commitment to supporting its hometown of Philadelphia,” added Elinor Haider, senior director of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia program. “With these investments, we hope to positively impact countless lives and create thriving communities in the city and region.”
Two State Grants Totaling $500,000 will Fuel Regional Workforce Growth
We are also excited to announce that we will be the recipients of two new PA Department of Labor & Industry grants that mark a significant leap forward in connecting people to meaningful careers across the region.
Through our partnership with Keystone LifeSci Collaborative and University City District, a $350,000 grant will launch a Regional Talent Hub mapping 400+ life sciences companies, a Speakers Bureau inspiring students toward sub-baccalaureate pathways, and a Job Seeker Series to retain displaced professionals within the local economy.
Through a new partnership with Chester County Economic Development Corporation, a $150,000 healthcare workforce mapping grant will tackle the “crowded front door” phenomenon and use anonymized data to build job crosswalks that identify advancement bottlenecks and unlock upward mobility for frontline healthcare workers.
Together, these grants reflect growing momentum and a shared regional commitment to building the workforce infrastructure our communities deserve.