Workforce Partnerships

A crucial part of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay’s vision is providing low-skilled individuals and low-income workers with the necessary skills and opportunities to earn a sustaining wage to support themselves and their families. UWMB collected best practices—including SkillWorks—as the starting point and foundation for this report.

In the past decade, workforce development practitioners, policymakers, and funders have increasingly favored the development of complex workforce development projects managed by intermediaries. These projects, usually focused on one industry or sector, provide a wide range of education, training, and support services for low-income adults.

The State of Working Pennsylvania 2003 focuses on two stand-out trends in current economic data bearing on quality of life for the state’s middle class: wages have stagnated again for Pennsylvania workers and the state is “growing apart” once more; and like the rest of the nation, Pennsylvania has experienced a “job loss” recovery. This report serves as a baseline against which the progress of any new initiatives designed to help Pennsylvania return to robust economic growth might be measured.

Partners in Career and Workforce Development, led by Partners HealthCare, addresses labor shortages in nursing and other technical health care occupations by creating a range of learning opportunities for entry-level and incumbent employees who are capable and motivated to advance in health care. It brings Partners’ diverse pre-employment and career development efforts under one umbrella, making them more accessible to entry-level workers and their supervisors.