JOIN: The Job Opportunity Investment Network

For more on JOIN:

JOIN Press Release

JOIN is a new, $2.7 million funding collaborative established to increase the number of Greater Philadelphia workers earning family-sustaining wages. JOIN’s strategy for accomplishing this goal is to raise the skill levels of beginning and underemployed workers so that they qualify for available mid-skill level jobs. This approach tackles Greater Philadelphia’s parallel workforce crises: employers are struggling to fill vacancies, while an alarmingly high percentage of adults are in the labor force only marginally or not at all.

The Challenge

Today:

For more on Low-Skilled Workers in the Region

A majority of our working age adults lack the basic skills and competencies they need to succeed in the regional labor market. More than 60% of Philadelphia adults are classified as “low-literate.”
Forty percent of Philadelphians who have found work are earning poverty wages, while 36 percent work only part-time.
Employers in key industry sectors are reporting that openings for many critical mid-skill positions, such as machinist, medical technician and heating and air conditioning installer, are going unfilled.

JOIN in Action

JOIN will maximize its impact by building upon the infrastructure already in place in our region: a uniquely robust network of 18 "Industry Partnerships", groups of employers within the same industry sector that have come together to address common workforce needs -- and Greater Philadelphia's diverse community of workforce development providers.

Industry Partnerships (IPs) across the state have engaged training and education organizations in developing programs for currently employed (incumbent) workers that better meet the real needs of employers. JOIN’s strategy is for IPs and workforce development providers in our region to expand their efforts into preparing lower-skilled adults for specific, available mid-skill positions.

JOIN will:

Additional Links

Award program grants to fund the implementation of Industry Partnership (IP) initiatives designed to help beginning and underemployed workers build the skills they need to get jobs paying family-sustaining wages.
Issue capacity-building grants to improve the abilities of IPs to work with lower-skilled adults.
Promote effective practices that expand opportunities for low-skilled workers across the full regional network of IPs.
Pull in additional resources for workforce development by involving more foundations in this work.
Advocate to permanently establish the IP model as the Commonwealth’s principal vehicle for workforce development, and for expanding and strengthening of IP networks.

The Founding Partners in this public-private initiative are the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, The William Penn Foundation, the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry. JOIN is supported by contributions from the partner organizations, the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, and Living Cities.