Guest Commentator: Shirley Moy, Executive Director, Lenfest North Philadelphia Workforce Initiative at Temple University @TempleUniv
How can we employ, educate and prepare our citizens for high-quality and high-wage 21st-century jobs?
Improving employment outcomes for low-income Philadelphians is a big job, and it couldn’t be more important. That’s why we’re working hard to get it right.
In July 2018, I had the honor of becoming executive director of the Lenfest North Philadelphia Workforce Initiative at Temple University. Our mission is simple: foster the connections necessary for more North Philadelphians to have clear pathways to careers that pay family-sustaining wages. Although our goal is simple, we recognize that the issues are complex.
One of the first major steps we have taken is to conduct an in-depth study of the economic opportunity and workforce-related challenges affecting the residents of North Philadelphia, in collaboration with Philadelphia Works, Inc., and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, Inc. This study revealed two major challenges that need to be carefully addressed: many people of working age in North Philadelphia’s neighborhoods are out of work and face obstacles to getting a job and staying employed, and many of the area’s residents who are employed work in unsustainable jobs that pay low wages and provide very limited opportunities to advance or increase earnings.
To that end, we have been engaging community members, workforce development stakeholders and employers to ensure that we are approaching this issue in the best way possible. Based on what we learned from this study, and to address these issues, we have identified four priority areas on which we will be focusing.
These priority areas are:
- fostering connections and collaboration in the vast ecosystem of workforce development organizations and employers;
- supporting and elevating human resources practices that directly benefit North Philadelphia residents;
- supporting data-informed workforce development programming and training that will provide practical skill-building and educational opportunities; and
- expanding access to supportive services, so that people who are able to work do not continue to be limited by their circumstances.
These are important places to start if we are to break the cycle of unemployment and underemployment in North Philadelphia and put people on strong footing for jobs of the 21st century. To learn more about our work, you can email me or visit templelnpwi.org.
Temple University is a member of the Chamber’s Roadmap for Growth Action Team, a group 110+ Chamber members and partners united to engage with a broad range of civic and neighborhood organizations in the development and execution of policies and initiatives, known as the PHL Neighborhood Growth Project, that enhance the economy, encourage civic engagement, and support an efficient and impactful government in order to lift and improve Philadelphia’s economic and civic life.
