New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Pathways grants to fund training for 1,000 jobs
“The Career Pathways Initiative is about much more than creating jobs. It’s about eliminating the systemic economic barriers that have undermined the earning power of communities of color in New Haven for far too long.” Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers
NEW HAVEN — More than 1,000 New Haven students will get access to career development and training, industry certifications and well-paying jobs under the first round of grants from the city’s new Career Pathways Initiative, Mayor Justin Elicker and officials from several partner agencies announced Monday.
The city will provide about $1 million in grant funding fueled by the federal American Recovery Plan Act, with 10 partner organizations that will provide the training and the jobs receiving up to $100,000 to help develop or expand career pathways programming, Elicker said.
“This is awesome!” Elicker said at the Science Park headquarters of the Connecticut Center for Arts & Technology, one of the recipients, after being introduced by Erik Clemons, founding and interim CEO and president of ConnCAT. One of the main things Elicker hears when speaking to people in New Haven is that “we’ve got to do more for our young people,” he said.
“Today’s work is just about ensuring that it’s not just a four-year college education” that young people have the option to pursue once they get out of high school, Elicker said. The city wants to help them “maximize their own potential,” he said. The city hired a consultant to do research into “what kinds of program are out there,” and a second round of grants will follow in the summer, he said.
Other speakers included Alder Troy Streater, D-21, LEAP Executive Director Henry Fernandez, Urban Community Alliance Executive Director Shirley Ellis-West, Youth Entrepreneurs founder Laquita Joyner-McGraw, Greater Hartford NAACP President Cory Betts, EMERGE CT Executive Director Alden Woodcock and Lindy Gold, and board Chairwoman Marsha LaFemina of Manufacturing and Technical Community Hub, or MATCH.
In a statement, Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers said. “The Career Pathways Initiative is about much more than creating jobs. It’s about eliminating the systemic economic barriers that have undermined the earning power of communities of color in New Haven for far too long. This funding provides the support needed to start addressing that imbalance in meaningful, impactful ways by creating a pathway to prosperity for everyone in our community.”
The partners, types of assistance they’ll provide and (how many people they will serve) under the grant, include: ConnCAT, medical assistant vocational training (35); CT Violence Intervention Program, music/arts education program (25); District Arts Education, software engineering, coding and computer technical training (10); EMERGE, construction and landscaping apprenticeship (10); and Junior Achievement, career readiness program (5001,000).
Also, LEAP, professional, soft skill and leadership development workshops (250); MATCH Inc., manufacturing public traning facility (TBD); NAACP CT, career navigation services (60); Urban Community Alliance, Veterans Empowering Teens Through Support program (20); Youth Entrepreneurs, teaching career preparation and entrepreneurship program (60).
“This is an opportunity to work with people ... to provide some real mentorship,” said Woodcock. EMERGE is a construction company that works with formerly incarcerated individuals. Woodcock later explained that “most of the people we work with have been in” the criminal justice system “and want to be out of that system.”
EMERGE also works with younger people but “we haven’t had the capacity to help them.” The grant will help EMERGE build that capacity, he said.
While none of the young people the grants ultimately would benefit attended, Ellis-West said one of things she’s learned is to provide “person-centered engagement,” which essentially means, “don’t do anything without first going to the people and asking, ‘What do you need?’ ”
She said she plans to do that to help determine how best to provide assistance under the grant.