Promoting the Next-Generation Workforce Strategies
Overview
The goal of this work is to improve training and employment opportunities for marginalized workers.
The Challenge
Access to good jobs and training is critical to America's economy and stands at the center of our vision of opportunity. As the job market in the United States has shifted dramatically over the past three decades, growing numbers of Americans suffer from chronic unemployment or are trapped in low-wage jobs with limited resources to support a family and move up the economic ladder.
Members of racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants, and other marginalized populations are among the most vulnerable.
Expanding the employment opportunities of low-wage workers requires effective workforce development strategies that are responsive to their needs, provide access to quality training and connect them to jobs and career paths that increase their mobility and earning potential.
What We're Doing
We support four main strategies to improve opportunities for low-wage workers:
- Working with stakeholders in the workforce development system—including government entities, community colleges, training providers, community-based organizations, funders, and organized labor—to make it more effective and responsive to the needs of disadvantaged populations
- Supporting innovations that increase the effectiveness and ability of training programs to better deliver workforce development services to low-wage workers
- Helping to increase the capacity of worker centers to develop training initiatives and connect their members to established training providers like community colleges
- Supporting research and policy analysis on workers, employers, low-wage jobs, labor markets, best practices, replication and scaling up of activities that improve the lives and working conditions of low-wage workers
Learn more about how our strategies and approaches shape our grant making.
From the Newsroom
- 2011: Furthering Our Commitment The foundation looks back on a year of social change
- Making Quality a Priority in Job Creation Op-Ed advocates for creating sustainable jobs with long-term prospects
- Strengthening the U.S. Workforce by Supporting Latino Workers New report focuses on safety and compensation issues
- Luis Ubiñas Remarks on How Budget Cuts May Impact the Poor Ford Foundation president gives introductory address at Brookings Institution convening
Regions
Team
What We're Following
- Behind the Kitchen Door Restaurant Opportunities Centers United reviews local studies on the health of the restaurant industry
- Working Without Laws National Employment Law Project reports on violations of the rights of low-wage workers in New York City 993 KB
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