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Community Impact

One job changes a life, stabilizes a family and spreads ripples of positive change throughout a community. At Towards Employment, we help spur economic development in Greater Cleveland – one job at a time. 

New policies in Ohio recognize workforce development as the driver of economic development. High-quality workforce intermediaries like Towards Employment are considered a critical element for success.

How many we serve:

• 100,000+ low-income and disadvantaged adults served since 1976
• 1,000+ ex-offenders placed in full-time permanent jobs since 2004
• 2,000+ former welfare recipients placed in full-time permanent jobs since 1998
• 6,789 support services provided to over 1,699 clients in 2011 alone
• 32,000 retention and advancement services provided to 4,000 entry-level employees at 30 employer sites since 2001

Who they are: 

Towards Employment serves disadvantaged adults living near or below poverty who have barriers to employment. They may be transitioning off welfare, with limited work history, unstable housing, without a high school diploma or have a criminal background. 

We work with low-wage entry-level employees who need help to retain their jobs and position themselves for advancement through innovative programs liek Achieve.

And we serve employers by providing them with dependable, trained new hires and help reduce turnover.

Retention success:

• 75 – 80% of our graduates retain their jobs for at least 90 days – the period of greatest instability among most entry-level positions.
• Specific to those with a previous felony: more than 65% of our graduates remain employed for 6 months, compared to only 1/3 of graduates of Ready 4 Work, which is a national demonstration program funded by the Department of Labor, Annie E. Casey and Ford Foundations to evaluate reentry employment service strategies at 17 sites around the country.
• We have the most impact when we partner with employers to meet their hiring needs. At one local hotel, turnover was reduced from 56% to 13% after working with Towards Employment.