P&P February 2016

from the field

By Mary Brogdon

Leading Change in Workforce Engagement The Seattle Jobs Initiative

I n the December 2015 issue of Policy & Practice , we introduced readers to APHSA’s new initiative, the Center for Workforce Engagement (CWE). The center’s purpose is to advance a system of human services, workforce devel- opment, economic development, and education and training that effectively supports greater capacity and indepen- dence, employment, self-sufficiency, and well-being for low-income indi- viduals and families. In consideration of this purpose, one of the goals of the CWE is to share existing innovations and highlight leaders in the field of workforce engagement. The Seattle Jobs Initiative (SJI) is one such leader driving innovation and transformation. Seattle Jobs Initiative The Seattle Jobs Initiative began in 1997 through a partnership between the city’s Office of Economic Development and the Annie E. Casey Foundation to combine job-skills training, wrap-around services, and local employer involvement to connect low-income and low-skilled adults with employers offering good paying jobs. By 2003, SJI had established itself as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Today, SJI acts as a workforce development intermediary dedicated to improving local workforce systems to benefit low-income people. The Seattle Jobs Initiative is cur- rently focused on increasing the number of low-income adults who obtain one- and two-year college cre- dentials. Through its Career Pathways program, SJI works with community colleges and community-based orga- nizations to increase access to and perseverance in community college

Thomas Turner, left, and Ellen Martinez, above, are among the many success stories coming out of the Seattle Jobs Inititative. Thomas works as a welder while Ellen participated in the office occupations program.

In addition to its direct services program, SJI also conducts innovation, research, and policy work. This work is aimed at identifying and sharing solutions to address the barriers that low-income individuals face in building their education and skills and accessing employment opportunities that lead to upward mobility. To meet this objec- tive, SJI conducts focused labor market research to help ensure that education and training programs are connected to middle-wage employment opportu- nities and meet the workforce needs of local employers. SJI also develops and shares tools, research, and best

among low-income adults. Career Pathways is centered on providing innovative “career navigation” services to the hundreds of individuals they serve each year. Career navigators work with SJI participants to help them negotiate the often complex commu- nity college system, into careers in key sectors of the local labor market, while also connecting themwith needed sup- portive services (e.g., transportation, child care, housing, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP], counseling). SJI has also developed and integrates into Career Pathways unique training in “soft”—or “performance”— skills that employers find critical for successful employees.

See Jobs on page 31

Photographs courtesy of Seattle Jobs Initiative

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February 2016   Policy&Practice