SkillWorks

As a funding partner, United Way is proud to support SkillWorks. Launched in September 2003, SkillWorks (formerly the Boston Workforce Development Initiative) is a $15 million, five-year, public/private partnership of philanthropy, government, community organizations, unions, and employers to create a workforce development system that:

• Helps low-skill, low-income residents move to family-sustaining jobs; and
• Helps employers find and retain skilled employees.

SkillWorks engages in three strategies to change the workforce training system in Boston:

1. Workforce Partnerships: Industry-sector or occupationally based workforce intermediaries are the operational approach to achieving the SkillWorks goal.
2. Public Policy Advocacy: SkillWorks seeks to institutionalize better ways for low-income individuals to enter and succeed in the workforce.
3. Capacity Building: Skillworks provides capacity building assistance to help workforce partnerships become more effective at providing workforce training and education services.