Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Through Job Training and Financial Literacy

What does it mean to be economically self-sufficient? To be financially stable? Many of us hear those terms, or something similar, and learn of their importance starting from an early age and may even get some exposure to tools and tips from family, teachers or mentors, but studies show that nearly 70% of Americans are not financially literate. So we’re talking about a LOT of people who aren’t getting the financial literacy knowledge they need to understand or manage their finances.

Major Investment in Boston’s Talent Pipeline Announced at TechHire Boston’s 3rd IT/Tech Forum!

Co-conveners of the TechHire Boston employer consortium, SkillWorks and the Boston Private Industry Council (Boston PIC), hosted the third and final IT/Tech forum on Monday, June 19th, 2017. The Greater Boston education and workforce development community gathered with IT/tech industry leaders in a packed space at District Hall to discuss strategies to engage and prepare local talent to meet the growing demand for IT/tech professionals. Mayor Walsh and the Boston Foundation’s Paul Grogan also joined us to announce unprecedented new investments in workforce development to grow the pool of talent and raise the level of candidate preparation from high school through college and into career. Check out the press release below for more information!

Participant Highlight: Rizel Bobb-Semple

At just 21 years old, Rizel Bobb-Semple has already attained various postsecondary credentials, worked in healthcare and IT, is currently working toward an Associate’s degree in Computer Information Systems at Bunker Hill Community College, and is starting an exciting internship at HubSpot this spring!

She attributes many of her accomplishments to the training and postsecondary programs she participated in, like Hack.Diversity, of which SkillWorks is a proud supporter. And her connection with SkillWorks doesn’t stop there, having also participated in other funded programs in healthcare and IT – showing that she’s in the driver’s seat of her education, purposefully taking advantage of opportunities to learn about, explore, and enter into the career pathway that’s right for her.

What’s Next for IT/Tech Talent Strategies in Boston? We’ll be Putting Our Money Where our Mouth Is

Ever since the launch of the Greater Boston IT/Tech Consortium in September 2016, there has been a flurry of excitement around the opportunities and challenges the Consortium has set out to address, and the possibilities for building an accessible and sustainable talent pipeline that meets the needs of Greater Boston residents and employers.

Don’t just take our word for it, after hosting two forums, we’ve been getting some awesome feedback and shout-outs via Twitter:

Participant Highlight: Luis Garcia

Guest Written by: Barbara Hindley, Senior Director of Publications and Marketing, The Boston Foundation

Photo credit: Richard Howard Photography

Luis Garcia came to the United States from Guatemala in 1990 and found good work in the Boston area, mostly with moving companies.  He met and married his wife, who gave birth to their daughter.  Life was good—until everything started to fall apart.  Garcia was laid off and, as a result, lost his apartment.  He, his wife and their daughter were forced to live apart.  “I always worked,” he says, “and to be out of work and away from my family was very, very hard.”

But Garcia’s life began to turn around when he learned about the Building Energy Efficient Maintenance Skills (BEEMS) program run by the Asian American Civic Association (AACA), and supported by SkillWorks, a public/private partnership between the Boston Foundation and the City of Boston.