About SkillWorks › History
In 2001, a group of local funders and government officials began gathering to discuss two important questions: what could the philanthropy community do to support dwindling public investment in workforce development initiatives and how could the workforce system better meet employer need for workers to maintain their competitive edge? With initial investments from The Boston Foundation, the City of Boston, and several other foundations around the region, SkillWorks was launched in 2003 as a multi-year, dual-customer initiative with three main components: partnerships of employers and community-based organizations designed to address the needs of low income workers and businesses; public policy advocacy; and capacity building for workforce development service providers.
In the initiative’s first phase, SkillWorks’ Workforce Partnerships helped over 3,000 people start on a career path toward jobs with family-sustaining wages. Over 500 community residents found new employment; over 250 people were promoted. In addition, 42 employers were engaged in this work, with many of them increasing their own investments in workforce training for entry-level staff.
In the public policy arena, SkillWorks helped make the case that investing in workforce development is important not only for human service reasons but for reasons of business growth and competitiveness. SkillWorks’ efforts led to major increases in funding for workforce development in the Commonwealth, particularly with the creation of the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund (WCTF); through the end of 2008, the WCTF has made over $18 million available to support sector partnerships across the entire state of Massachusetts.
Capacity Building is the third major component of the SkillWorks initiative. Through technical assistance, workshops, reports, peer-learning networks and other resources, SkillWorks has helped workforce development providers build their capacity to assist workers toward career advancement.
