SkillWorks
Partners for a Productive WorkforceSkillWorks is a nationally recognized workforce funder collaborative, launched by the Boston Foundation in 2003 to improve workforce development in Boston and across Massachusetts.
OUR VISION:
SkillWorks envisions a Greater Boston where everyone has access to and training for household-sustaining jobs and where race is not a predictor of wealth or income.
OUR MISSION:
SkillWorks strengthens the workforce development sector in Greater Boston in order to reduce poverty and narrow racial income and wealth gaps. We do this through targeted investments in workforce innovations, collaborating with stakeholders to build capacity and professional development in the sector, and partnering with employers and government to advance equitable practices, policies and systems that empower workers and provide sustainable pathways to quality, household-sustaining jobs.
OUR GOALS:
- To increase job quality in our region, empowering workers with household-sustaining careers;
- To expand equitable access and pathways to quality, empowered jobs;
- To ensure affordable, accessible support systems for all.
Latest Reports:
Fund Rapid Reemployment for a Just and Equitable Recovery
As part of the series "Seizing the Moment" by Boston Indicators, Kathie Mainzer of Workforce Solutions Group, Tonja Mettlach of the Massachusetts Workforce Association, and Anne Calef of Boston Indicators partnered on this paper, which lays out five recommendations to ensure that workers who lost jobs during the pandemic can quickly find new employment opportunities moving forward.
March 2021
Advancing Workforce Equity in Boston: A Blueprint for Action
Part of a series focusing on cities around the country, this report from the National Fund for Workforce Solutions examines the challenges and opportunities for Boston as we strive to create a more equity-based workforce development system in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
February 2021
Read the reportPast events:
Hiring Skilled Immigrants in Massachusetts: What Employers Need to Know
This forum reviewed a new report by UMass Donahue Institute, examining the ways employers can engage with skilled immigrants with a review of the African Bridge Network’s proposed verification process which seeks to mitigate the hiring of skilled immigrants in MA, with discussion of local initiatives that support the career advancement of skilled immigrants.
Wednesday, June 12, 2024, 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
SkillWorks Fellowship Showcase for Workforce Innovation
At WBUR's CitySpace on January 30, SkillWorks was proud to present the ongoing work of eight teams of SkillWorks Fellows - organizations that are working to rethink the way we train and prepare a new generation of workers for high-quality, family-sustaining careers.
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Care Work in Massachusetts: A Call For Racial and Economic Justice for a Neglected Sector
Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions of American workers. But those who provide support for people in infancy, illness, disability or old age are too often excluded from our conception of high-value labor. So, this Labor Day we released the latest Boston Indicators report on care work in Massachusetts, analyzing recent trends in this overlooked sector. A panel of experts joined us to discuss these trends through the release of Care Work in Massachusetts: A Call For Racial and Economic Justice for a Neglected Sector.
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
SkillWorks Fellowships: Solutions & Design Lab for Workforce Innovation
SkillWorks and the Boston Foundation launched the inaugural cohort of the SkillWorks Fellowship Solution & Design Lab for Workforce Innovation and introduced the first round of SkillWorks Fellows, followed by a discussion moderated by President & CEO, Dr. Lee Pelton, on the future of workforce and economic equity.