Policy Pulse – Summer 2024

Timely workforce thoughts and actions that advance Towards Employment’s Policy Action Plan – to promote economic mobility, especially for those most impacted by systemic racism, through education and advocacy for a more equitable workforce system where everyone has access to family sustaining wages and quality jobs.

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Help on the way: Towards Employment secures $4 million in grants to facilitate workforce equity

Both grants will help provide pre-release and post-release employment and educational resources for individuals transitioning out of incarceration Thursday, July 18, 2024 By Karin Connelly Rice Read the full article at FreshWater Summer is heating up for Cleveland workforce organization Towards Employment (TE), which just received more than $4 million from two national grant funders to help…

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Towards Employment brings National Attention and over $4M to CLE and NEO

Media Contact:  Adaora Schmiedl 216-401-6883 aschmiedl@towardsemployment.org   For Immediate Release   Towards Employment brings National Attention and over $4M to CLE and NEO   July 12, 2024 – CLEVELAND – Summer is starting with a bang for Cleveland workforce organization Towards Employment, with recent national awards that are bringing over $4 million in national funding to northeast…

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Department of Labor Awards Over $56M in Grants to Help Justice-Involved People Get Needed Job Training, Prepare Them for Return to Communities

Pathway Home funding provides people with skills valued by local employers View at the Department of Labor website. WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of more than $56 million in grants to help reduce recidivism and assist people in re-entering their communities after being incarcerated. The award of Pathway Home 5…

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Real-Time Takes: STARs – Success Stories Despite the Odds

Did you know that if you are at least 25, have a high-school diploma but not a four-year degree, and are currently active in the workforce, you are a STAR (Skilled Through Alternative Routes)?

Although over 50% of the workforce are STARs (more than 70 million people), the job market deliberately prioritizes and rewards those with degrees.1 Opportunity@Work, in partnership with the Ad Council, launched ‘Tear the Paper Ceiling’, a campaign dedicated to advancing opportunities for STARs. Their research finds that while 67% of job descriptions require a four-year degree, only 30% of positions truly need a degree.2 Despite the need for qualified workers, employers continue to prefer and demand candidates with four-year degrees over STARs with relevant experience and knowledge.

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Opportunity@Work Awards $2 Million to Organizations Accelerating Economic Mobility for Workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs)

NEWS PROVIDED BY Opportunity@Work  Jun 25, 2024, 09:00 ET Read the full article at PR Newswire   National nonprofit’s latest grant program recognizes eight training and talent development providers committed to helping STARs access career opportunities in high-growth fields WASHINGTON, June 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — National economic mobility nonprofit Opportunity@Work today announced eight recipients of its Powering…

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The most ‘in demand’ job skill isn’t what many think

Published June 24, 2024 See the full article on Stand Together It’s hard to overstate how much soft skills can affect the trajectory of a person’s career. With all the hype surrounding AI in recent years, it’d be easy to assume it to be the most coveted skill among employers. It’s not. The skill workers…

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