Workforce Development Forum Brainstorms at Meyer
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
By Danielle M. Reyes
Recent reports indicated that the Washington area’s unemployment fell slightly in April—a sign of slow, but positive, growth among area industries. Unfortunately, the impact of this growth has not been felt in all neighborhoods throughout the region. The community of Ward 8, for instance, which had the lowest median income, the highest number of single-parent households, and the highest unemployment rate in the city prior to the economic recession, is now contending with having one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, at 28 percent. For communities living in poverty, the weight of the economic downturn has been great, with low income workers bearing the brunt of a declining job market. It is estimated that half of those who have become newly unemployed in Wards 5, 7, and 8 represent low wage workers who have a high school degree or less. Adding to this challenge is that many of the jobs held by these low wage workers are typically the slowest to return during a weak economy. This environment creates intense competition for a limited number of jobs and high demand for job skills training to meet the needs of the current labor market.
Seeking to address the disparity between skills and available jobs is a coalition of funders who make up the Greater Washington Workforce Development Collaborative (GWWDC). On May 25th, the GWWDC, presented a Funders Forum on Workforce Development at the Meyer Foundation, which convened funders and regional experts to discuss the current state of workforce issues in the region and explore opportunities for investment.
The GWWDC, which began in 2007, is a part of the National Fund for Workforce Solutions and one of 21 sites across the country. Locally, it is an initiative at the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region supported by the Meyer Foundation and a coalition of fourteen grantmakers that seek to help low-income adults throughout the Greater Washington region obtain and retain jobs that provide good wages, benefits, and opportunities for advancement. The GWWDC seeks to address the critical need for workforce preparedness in our region by co-investing with local funders and public and private sectors in strategies to help low-income adults gain the skills they need to advance into sustainable employment.
The GWWDC makes investments in three major areas: workforce partnerships that focus on employers as well as employees and jobseekers; policy and advocacy efforts to reform local workforce development systems; and capacity building to support these efforts. To date it has awarded $500,000 in grants for construction pre-apprenticeship programs targeting District residents and health care career pathways initiatives in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.
In addition to supporting the GWWDC, the Meyer Foundation has awarded 36 grants and invested nearly $800,000 for employment and skills training programs and services in the greater Washington region.
Danielle M. Reyes is a program officer for workforce development, law and justice, and immigrant programs at the Meyer Foundation.
