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CareerWorks: Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative Receives $400,000 Grant from JPMorgan Chase to Expand Industry PartnershipsCareerWorks: Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative announced today that JPMorgan Chase & Co. has awarded a two-year, $400,000 New Skills at Work grant to CareerWorks to expand industry partnerships to develop the skills of entry-level adults and advance them in career tracks in healthcare and transportation, logistics and distribution that lead to middle-skill jobs and wages. CareerWorks is New Jersey's only regional collaborative of the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, a national network of 36 innovative workforce funders collaboratives. "JPMorgan Chase is proud of our deepened partnership with CareerWorks over the years to bolster the Collaborative's work in training, placing and advancing unemployed and under-employed adults in industries that offer family sustaining wages and career paths - all of which is aligned with our $250 million New Skills at Work initiative," said Michael Haberman, Northeast Region Executive for Global Philanthropy, JPMorgan Chase. "With the JPMorgan Chase grant, CareerWorks is better positioned to train hundreds of entry-level adults over the next two years and place or advance them in jobs that are in key industries that drive New Jersey's economy," said Kathy M. Weaver, Vice President of Programs for the Newark Alliance. "These partnerships enable businesses to find talent and reduce turnover among entry-level workers as they lower recruitment and retraining costs." CareerWorks will expand its existing employer-led, employer-centric industry partnerships in which employers agree to hire job seekers and advance current workers who gain skills through the partnerships. The JPMorgan Chase grant will help to support CareerWorks' partnership with Jersey City Medical Center - Barnabas Health, which trains incumbent workers and job seekers for occupations that Hudson County's largest medical facility requires. The medical center trains its employees in food services, patient transport and housekeeping to become patient care techs and mdical billers and coders who see $8,000 - $10,000 increases in annual wages after placement. The JPMorgan Chase grant will also help CareerWorks to support skills training of additional incumbent workers and job seekers at other Barnabas Health hospitals, including Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. At New Community Corporation (NCC), CareerWorks supports a Ford (News - Alert) Motor Company Maintenance & Light Repair Certification that leads to internships and placement with employer partners such as Sansone Auto Mall, Ford, Toyota, Jiffy Lube, NJ Transit, and Goodyear. In 2013, CareerWorks-supported partnership with NCC trained 23 automotive maintenance technicians, 18 of whom have been placed in full-time jobs, a 78% placement rate. Due to that success, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development issued an Opportunity4Jersey grant that trained another 50. CareerWorks now supports the training of 200 job seekers over two years that will result in placements at area dealerships or service centers. The JPMorgan Chase grant will help to support participants in the current NCC partnership. In addition, CareerWorks will use the grant to engage more employers in its industry partnerships and link the partnerships more effectively to key industry associations. Over the past four years, CareerWorks has created four industry partnerships, a nationally recognized model for aligning skills development and training to employers' requirements. With this grant and pooled and aligned funding, CareerWorks seeks to create a pipeline of workers who can access viable career paths and family-sustaining wages, as well as support businesses in northern New Jersey's growth sectors. About CareerWorks: Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative The Newark Alliance-led CareerWorks: Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative is the only National Fund for Workforce Solutions regional collaborative in New Jersey. The award-winning National Fund for Workforce Solutions is a network of 36 regional workforce funder collaboratives across the country. CareerWorks links and leverages public and private dollars as it taps businesses, civic, and philanthropic stakeholders to develop a sustainable workforce pipeline that advances low-skilled workers in northern New Jersey's growth industries. CareerWorks' funders include: The Prudential Foundation; Newark Alliance; Garfield Foundation; Hudson County WIB; JP Morgan (News - Alert) Chase; Jobs for the Future/Walmart Foundation; National Fund for Workforce Solutions; Newark WIB/Newark Works; New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development; PNC (News - Alert) Bank; and Wells Fargo Foundation. About JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.6 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150722005981/en/ |
