Allegheny
County's Promise, a local, grassroots
coalition of public and private organizations
concerned about youth, is one of nine "Communities
of Promise" in the state to receive funding
from the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency
and the Governor's Community Partnership for
Safe Children. One of its five goals is to
help young people develop marketable skills
through internships, apprenticeships, and
training.
Catalyst
Connection, formerly SPIRC, attempts
to boost the region's competitive standing
by helping smaller manufacturers upgrade their
skills and workplace practices.
The Center ON AGING & WORK at Boston College works in partnership with decision-makers at the workplace to design and implement rigorous investigations that will help American workplaces prepare for the opportunities and challenges associated with the aging workforce. The Center’s State Initiatives Institute focuses attention on those issues related to aging and work that are most relevant to state leaders, including the role of state agencies as employers as well as state leaders as policy-makers. TRWIB is pleased to have worked with The Center in conjunction with the 2005 – 2006 Managing the Changing Workforce in SW PA study.
Health
Careers Futures, a supporting organization
of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, was created
in 2002 in order to identify, develop and
share best practices in health workforce recruitment,
development and retention.
The
Hispanic Center, Inc. was foudned
to address the workforce needs of Southwestern
Pennsylvania. Its mission is the recruitment,
placement and retention of workers to the
area, focusing primarily, but not exclusively,
on the Hispanic population.
The Human
Capital Policy Initiative (HCPI),
a special project of the University of Pittsburgh's
Institute of Politics, has created a forum
for open discussion on workforce development
for policy-makers at all levels. HCPI was
founded on recognition of the importance of
investing in human capital and the implications
of public policy decision-making in this area.
HCPI was developed in cooperation with the
Heinz Endowments and Workforce Connections.
Labor unions recruit and train workers
through their respective apprenticeship programs.
The Allegheny
County Labor Council (AFL-CIO) has an
extensive listing of labor unions, their affiliated
training programs, and other resources. The
Three Rivers Free Net also has a labor
organizations section with links to regional,
state and national labor organizations.
New
Century Careers (NCC) was incorporated
as a 501(C)(3) in late 1999 to house and expand
upon the activities previously carried out
as Manufacturing 2000. Manufacturing 2000
was launched in 1998 as a pilot program through
a partnership among Duquesne University's
Institute for Economic Transformation, Steel
Center Area Vocational-Technical School and
a group of seventeen metal industry manufacturers
in Western Pennsylvania to to identify, target,
recruit, screen, test, train, place and develop
individuals in skill-based manufacturing careers.
The Pennsylvania
Economy League - Western Division is a nonprofit, civic organization whose mission
is to provide the research and analysis for
the business, civic, and governmental leadership
of western Pennsylvania in efforts to effectuate
change to make our region a better place to
live, work, and do business. Workforce
Connections is a program of the PEL.
The Pennsylvania
Professional Employment Network (PAPEN) is a Pittsburgh-based networking organization
that helps members advance their careers.
The group consists of 1,700 professionals,
managers and executives committed to: fostering
networks of personal contacts and relationships;
providing an environment where members can
develop and perfect their networking skills;
sharing career-related experiences, strategies
and knowledge; and uncovering career opportunities
that may be of interest to other members.
The "People
Do Matter" Awards recognize innovative
human resource practices among regional employers.
The initiative is a partnership between the
Pittsburgh Human Resources Association; American
Society of Training and Development, Pittsburgh
Chapter; Pittsburgh Technology Council; SMC
Business Councils; Community College of Allegheny
County; Workforce Connections; Allegheny Conference
on Community Development; Pennsylvania Economy
League, Western Division; Greater Pittsburgh
Chamber of Commerce; Pittsburgh Regional Alliance;
the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board
and the Pittsburgh Business Times.
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The Pittsburgh
Job Corps Center offers academic remediation
and vocational training for low-income young
adults in a residential setting. The facility,
operated by ResCare Inc. in conjunction with
the AFL-CIO Appalachian Council and the International
Union of Operating Engineers, currently serves
approximately 800 young men and women, ages
16-24.
The Pittsburgh
Partnership, a division of the City
of Pittsburgh's Department of Personnel and
Civil Service Commission, offers a variety
of educational, training, and employment services
to help individuals find meaningful jobs and
employers find qualified workers. A WIA Title
I and welfare program operator, the Pittsburgh
Partnership is a major investor in the Pittsburgh/
Allegheny County PA CareerLink network.
The Pittsburgh
Partnership for Neighborhood Development fosters commercial and residential growth
throughout the city and supports a number
of employment-related programs through grants
and technical assistance.
The Pittsburgh
Regional Alliance focuses on attracting
and retaining businesses and enhancing the
region's image. Programs include the Pittsburgh
Regional Champions and the Business
Resource Center which provides information
about local incentives, commercial real estate
options, regional resources or data and demographics
to help companies make informed decisions
about doing business in the region.
The Pittsburgh
Technology Council administers the
Human Capital Initiative, a multi-faceted
program designed to attract and retain skilled
employees.
The goal of the Southwestern
PA Career Development Program Network (CDPNetwork) is to make nonprofit organizations a FORCE
in the region’s workforce market. The
Network is a vehicle for organizations to
join forces to address key issues in developing
the region's human resources.
The Southwestern PA Information Technology Regional
Skills Alliance has launched a website
to share information about regional efforts
to build human resource supply chains for
occupations that require IT skills at all
levels. Visit the site to hear multimedia
interviews and recordings from industry leaders
(e.g., COMPTia and the FCC Chairman); download
data reports from local efforts; post a question
in a forum; or visit the resource pages to
access links to IT training, certification,
and scholarships. Workforce Connections, in
partnership with the Three Rivers Workforce
Investment Board, the Pittsburgh Technology
Council, the Regional Learning Network, and
the Community Based Organization Career Development
Program Network of the Center for Workforce
Excellence are institutional partners in this
effort being managed and coordinated by FREEdLANCE
Group.
The United
Way of Allegheny County supports a
number of community-based employment and training
initiatives, and offers information and referrals
through its HelpLine (telephone: 412-255-1155).
The UWAC also operates HelpConnections, a
searchable database of local service providers
(including many that offer employment and
training assistance) and publishes the Handbook
of Help for the Unemployed.
The Urban
Redevelopment Authority (URA) provides
a wide array of economic development and housing
assistance throughout Pittsburgh and Allegheny
County.
The Western PA Community College Resource
Consortium provides information and support
to post secondary institutions.
The mission of Workforce Connections, a project of
the Pennsylvania
Economy League, is to ensure that the
quality of the region's workforce is a source
of competitive advantage by developing a demand-driven,
workforce development market. Special
attention is being paid to the development
of industry action groups, development of
networks to link economic and workforce development
professionals, and coordination of the four
Workforce Investment Boards and other groups
to promote a regional approach.
The Workforce
Development Professionals Network (WDPN),
sponsored by a partnership of Duquesne University,
the FREEdLANCE Group for Career & Workforce
Innovation, and Goodwill Industries of Pittsburgh,
offers: 1) a comprehensive series of training
programs that prepares career and workforce
development professionals to excel in a changing
workforce development environment; 2) a peer-to-peer
professional network who can obtain advice,
resources, and information from one another
and collaborate on new and improved service
designs; and 3) a web site of free member
resources and on-line learning possibilities
that career and workforce development professionals
can use to build their own competencies, as
well as provide better services to job seeker
and employer customers.
Local workforce investment boards (LWIBs)
of southwestern PA include: the Three
Rivers WIB (Allegheny County, including
Pittsburgh); the Westmoreland/Fayette WIB; the Southwest Corner WIB (Washington, Greene
and Beaver counties); and the Tri-County
WIB (Indiana, Butler and Armstrong counties).
For a map of all the LWIBs in Pennsylvania, click
here.
YouthWorks provides a coordinated approach to youth initiatives
in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
IssuesPA,
a project of the Pennsylvania Economy League,
is designed to make the issues affecting our
economic future -- including workforce development
-- the centerpiece of the 2002 election.
The mission of National Workforce Excellence Board is to promote continuous improvement and recognize
excellence throughout the nation's workforce
development system. The NWEB serves as the
focus of quality efforts sponsored by the
US Department of Labor. Ron Painter, chief
administrative officer of the TRWIB, has been
appointed to the NWEB.
Studentjobs.gov is a joint project between the United States
Office of Personnel Management and the US
Department of Education's Student Financial
Assistance office. This Web site is designed
to be your one stop for information you need
to find the job you want in the federal government.
Learn about co-ops, internships, summer employment,
the Outstanding Scholars Program, volunteer
opportunities, and plenty of temporary and
permanent part-time and full-time jobs.
The Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board (formerly the HRIC) is responsible for overseeing
the integration of Pennsylvania's job-training
programs administered by five state agencies.
It has been charged by Governor Ridge with
instituting performance standards for placing
people in jobs, cutting bureaucratic red tape
to make job training more user-friendly, and
integrating the state's job-training strategy
with the administration's economic development
strategy. Membership includes the secretaries
of Labor & Industry, Community and Economic
Development, Education, Public Welfare, and
Aging, as well as representatives of business,
education, community-based organizations,
and labor.
