Giving Compass' Take:

• State Street Corporation in Boston launched the Boston Workforce Investment Network (Boston WINs) in 2015 and partnered with various local nonprofits to create a pipeline for high school students to pursue career paths. 

• What are the benefits of creating this pipeline for high schoolers? Where else are there opportunities for partnerships that will help advance young people in the Boston area?

• Read about Year Up's commitment to getting college graduates into technology careers. 

According to the Boston Private Industry Council, early participation in the workforce has positive, long-term impacts on young people including “the development of hard and soft professional skills, networking opportunities, reduced risk of negative socioeconomic outcomes and criminal behavior, and improved lifelong earning potential.”

In Boston, the engagement of young people ages 16 to 24 has been declining in the labor force and there has been a lack of coordination among nonprofit service providers in the region. These two factors prompted one of Boston’s largest employers, State Street Corporation, to launch the Boston Workforce Investment Network (Boston WINs) in June 2015.

Boston WINs is a multi-year, $20-million venture philanthropy initiative founded and led by the State Street Foundation in partnership with five high-performing nonprofits focused on education and career development: Year Up, Bottom Line, College Advising Corps, Boston Private Industry Council, and uAspire. The initiative supports youth along the high school to career continuum by leveraging cross-sector partnerships, integrating employee engagement, matching youth with entry-level job opportunities, and enhancing workforce diversity efforts. Ultimately, State Street wants to create a model that can be replicated outside of Boston.

The cross-sector initiative aims to improve the scale and reach of each member organization, enabling them to do more together than they could do alone. The partners coordinate activities to provide high school juniors and seniors with three key advising services:

  • College knowledge and admissions advising
  • Affordability and financial aid
  • Work experience and career awareness

 

Read the full article about workforce partnerships by Dan Horgan at Forbes