THE JOB OPPORTUNITY INVESTMENT NETWORK:
INVESTING IN A PROSPEROUS AND INCLUSIVE GREATER PHILADELPHIA

In 1950, three in every ten jobs required a postsecondary credential; today, seven in every ten jobs require such a credential. This need for skilled workers has outstripped the capacity of our higher education and training system, leaving communities with a tragic mismatch between the skills of their workers and the talent needs of their businesses.

Greater Philadelphia is a case study in this mismatch. Even during the recession and recovery, the region’s fastest growing industries—health care, university services, and clean energy—require post-secondary training and education. At the same time, 73% of residents have only a high school degree or less and most residents are functionally “low literate.” Indeed, Philadelphia ranks in the bottom ten percent of U.S. cities in residents with post-secondary education. As a result, businesses struggle to find skilled workers even as half the working-age population is unemployed. Greater Philadelphia thus confronts a “tale of two cities”: the region’s businesses are creating more skilled jobs than they can fill, while residents live in poverty because economic, social, and educational barriers make skilled careers unobtainable.

To address these dual challenges, a group of regional funders formed the Job Opportunity Investment Network (JOIN). JOIN believes the skill needs of workers and talent needs of businesses have a common solution: workforce partnerships. These partnerships bring together numerous employers in the same industry to identify mid-level talent gaps and connect these employers to social service agencies and job training organizations that can prepare low-skilled adults to fill these positions. JOIN’s strategy has three parts:

• Investment: JOIN increases the number of Greater Philadelphia adults earning family-sustaining wages by investing in innovative, effective, industry-led workforce partnerships that bring together businesses, social service organizations, and job training providers to create pathways into long-term careers for lower-skilled adults.
• Evaluation: JOIN works with an external evaluation team to assess the impact of its investments, identifying best practices and illuminating opportunities for improvement.
• Policy & Communications: JOIN advocates for the incorporation of these best practices into the public workforce system.

JOIN Investors include: The Knight Foundation, The United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, The William Penn Foundation, The Thomas Scattergood Foundation, Philadelphia LISC, the Delaware Valley Regional Economic Development Fund, Bank of America, Sunoco, Western Association, The National Fund for Workforce Solutions, Jobs for the Future, US Department of Labor and Corporation for National and Community Service.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM JOIN’S FIRST THREE YEARS

Investment Highlights

• Recruited 11 pooled and aligned funders to invest in JOIN, forming a $1 million collaborative
• Recruited 7 additional aligned funders to invest in JOIN-sponsored projects, such as the Social Innovation Fund, leveraging more than $1.8 million in additional local funds
• Attracted $4.2 million in new federal resources to the region from the Department of Labor, Corporation for National and Community Service and the White House, including Pathways out of Poverty, Social Innovation Fund, and Green Jobs Innovation grants

Workforce Partnership Highlights

• Invested in nine innovative workforce partnerships, in a range of growth industries
• Trained and educated more than 800 lower-skilled adults
• Helped over 600 lower-skilled adults gain industry-recognized credentials or degrees
• Connected over 400 lower-skilled adults to new job placements in a high-demand sector or wage increases in their current job
• Met the needs of more than 100 employers who directly benefitted from hiring JOIN-trained job-seekers, up-skilling their current workforce and connecting with peers through partnerships
• Improved access to career pipelines for low-skilled workers through career coaching, on the job training, apprenticeship opportunities and “earn and learn” training models

System Change Highlights

• Involved more than 1,000 community leaders and stakeholders in discussions about the workforce system, and touched more than 1,000,000 residents through earned media
• Recruited Governor Corbett’s endorsement of workforce partnerships
• Championed state legislation to institutionalize the workforce partnership model that is now law
• Educated key policymakers on the workforce partnership model by organizing Philadelphia site visits for senior Obama administration officials and leaders from the U.S. Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services
• Shaped federal legislation by presenting on the workforce partnership model to senior U.S. House and Senate staff, including the development of a Workforce Innovation Fund, which is now a reality

Emerging Opportunities

• JOIN is the regional test lab and thought leader in a national conversation focused on jobs and economic opportunity
• JOIN is an influential partner in the reorganization of Philadelphia’s workforce system
• JOIN’s engagement in economic development activity links economic development with human capital planning in new ways, e.g. serving in an advisory role at the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster at the Navy Yard.

Through our efforts, we ensure:

• Low-skilled workers have career pathways to quality jobs
• Employers have a robust talent pipeline

Learn more about us.

Roots to Re-entry Partnership on CBS

JOIN Former Director on Fox News

West Philadelphia Skills Initiative on Fox

Welcome by Jill Michal of UWSEPA

JOIN Former Director, Seth Green

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter

Bernard Brown of CNCS

Debra Kahn of Delaware Valley Grantmakers

Matt Bergheiser of University City District

Ken Kolodziej of KJK Associates

Rasheed McCrea of Roots to Re-Entry Partnership

Susan Thomas of PA Partnership

Florence and Selma of PA Partnership

Barbara Allen of Manufacturing Partnership

Jim Clark of Manufacturing Partnership

Closing by Eric Nelson of PWIB