University Talent Alliance: Career Development through Community Engagement

The Vision: Cultivating Homegrown Talent Carlow University, Chatham University and the University of Pittsburgh in collaboration with the Community College of Allegheny County, Partner4Work, and PCHE - Pittsburgh Council of Higher Education will launch a workforce development pilot program aimed at serving economically disadvantaged populations in neighborhoods proximate to the Forbes/Fifth corridor. Target neighborhoods: Homewood, Hill District Pittsburgh Admissions Collaboration Career Building Expo Opportunities for long-term unemployed - job training - upskilling “Doing Business at Pitt” Construction Management Building Blocks Place-based research – impact of Everyday Café in Homewood Urban entrepreneurship program

The Opportunity: Oakland accounts for 3% of city’s land mass, 10% of residents, and constitutes over one third of PA’s research output. Brookings Institution Report “Capturing the next economy: Pittsburgh's rise as a global innovation city” findings - Recommendation: Build and support Pittsburgh’s innovation clusters in advanced manufacturing, life sciences, and autonomous systems Recommendation: Define, grow, and connect the Oakland innovation district Recommendation: Improve the pipeline of high-growth entrepreneurs Recommendation: Create a talent alliance coalition within the Oakland innovation district Pittsburgh Admissions Collaboration Career Building Expo Opportunities for long-term unemployed - job training - upskilling “Doing Business at Pitt” Construction Management Building Blocks Place-based research – impact of Everyday Café in Homewood Urban entrepreneurship program

The Current State: 32,000 Long-term unemployed in the Pittsburgh region Homewood North’s poverty rate is 56% Bedford Dwellings (Hill District neighborhood) poverty rate is 49% Poverty rate for city is 22% 68% of job seekers in Homewood have a high school diploma or less 75% of job seekers in Uptown/Hill have a high school diploma or less City average for job seekers with high school diploma or less is 47% . 25% unemployment rate for Homewood 18% unemployment rate for Uptown/Hill District 9% unemployment rate for city Poverty rates are for some of the deepest pockets of poverty in the city. Sources: 2015 Pittsburgh Neighborhood Distress Study by the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, Partner4Work March 2017 Job Seeker Trends Report

The Method: This pilot focused on one job category: Administrative Assistants By providing access to training, mentoring, and wraparound services, program participants will gain the technical, functional, and interpersonal skills required for professional success.  Individuals who are admitted to the 4-week program and graduate will be eligible to secure a job full-time position at one of the three participating institutions. We are targeting 35 positions to be filled over 18 months. Goals for 10-20 years out.

The Planning & Implementation Community leadership buy-in and partnering Pulling all job category data Standardized job description Pre-screening and participant prepping Four week curriculum course – content, job shadowing, testing and benchmarking, mock interview panels Recruiting internal hiring managers Case management Pittsburgh Admissions Collaboration Career Building Expo Opportunities for long-term unemployed - job training - upskilling “Doing Business at Pitt” Construction Management Building Blocks Place-based research – impact of Everyday Café in Homewood Urban entrepreneurship program

Onboarding & Case Management Building relationships with participants Strong case management along with financial literacy structured programing Transferable skills and soft skills

Partnering & Placement: What we need from current employers Connecting participants to companies that having open employment opportunities Employers are willing to look at the diverse talent without degrees but professional skill sets Creating long lasting relationships with employers

Goals Create transformative career opportunities for unemployed city residents Establish robust, community engagement focused partnerships Develop a neighborhood-focused recruitment and screening model that is successful and replicable Ensure the case management model offers wrap-around services geared for employee success Achieve higher than average retention rates Reflect local community via employee makeup Diversify employers and job categories upon completion of pilot