New & Noteworthy
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving submitted testimony to the legislature’s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee in support of House Bill 7094
On Wednesday, March 4, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving submitted testimony to the legislature’s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee in support of House Bill 7094, An Act Requiring The Office Of Workforce Strategy To Convene A Working Group To Expand Paid Work-based Learning Opportunities.
As part of our strategic efforts to dismantle structural racism and advance equitable economic and social mobility for Black and Latine residents of Greater Hartford, the Hartford Foundation continues to work with government, nonprofit and other public-private partners to increase stable employment and career opportunities for youth and adults in our region facing multiple barriers.
Our work recognizes that all residents of our region need access to training and quality employment options that provide a sustaining wage, opportunity for advancement, and other benefits. The Foundation’s efforts focus on increasing opportunities for post-secondary education and industry training as well as support in securing jobs and supporting residents with significant barriers to employment, including returning citizens and opportunity youth disconnected from school and work. In November 2024 unemployment was three percent, yet labor participation was 64 percent. The low participation rate reflects the need to ensure we are engaging residents who have challenges in accessing and persisting in workforce training and job opportunities.
House Bill 7094 provides the opportunity to help to reverse this trend by developing a program to increase the availability of and student participation in paid internships and work-based learning opportunities to prepare them for future careers. Providing youth with paid work-based learning opportunities is something the Hartford Foundation has invested in for a number of years. The foundation partnered with the City of Hartford, Dalio Education, nonprofit partners, and other stakeholders to support opportunity youth. One key partner in this effort is Our Piece of the Pie which recruits opportunity youth to participate in the Hartford Youth Service Corps. Program participants engage in paid community service learning projects and receive educational supports, job readiness training, and personal development workshops.
Recently, the Hartford Foundation also awarded a grant to ReadyCT whose work is focused on integrating career pathways and work-based learning opportunities within K-12 education, and partnering with schools and industries in Greater Hartford and across Connecticut. The organization has established business partnerships in Greater Hartford within the sectors where there are career opportunities. These partnerships are critical to better aligning K-12 education and workforce systems. By connecting with high-demand fields like healthcare, manufacturing, and information technology, ReadyCT helps students build essential skills and earn industry-recognized credentials, promoting economic mobility and meeting local workforce needs.
The foundation has been a long-time partner with Capital Workforce Partners (CWP), the City of Hartford, the State of Connecticut, and other public-private investors to collaborate in increasing access for the future talent pipeline to career opportunities, summer employment and support services for Hartford youth. CWP’s Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program is a work-based learning program structured to teach young people the responsibilities, essential skills, and commitment that come with being a successful employee.
In 2024, the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program connected many youth to their first substantive work experience further building the future talent pipeline. Approximately 1,100 people between the ages of 14 and 24 gained career readiness experience across various industries including retail, education, and healthcare.
In 2023, the Foundation also awarded a grant to the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut to support a Workforce Solutions Collaborative of Metro Hartfordinitiative that directly works with employers and partners including the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology. This effort involves working with employers to promote job quality and ensure that they are hiring opportunity youth, providing competitive wages, and opportunities for career advancement. Developing strong relationships with employers to inform job training and willing to hire and retain graduates of workforce development programs is crucial to their success.
The foundation offers its support for this legislation directing the Office of Workforce Strategy to convene a working group focused on developing a comprehensive plan to expand paid internships and work-based learning opportunities for postsecondary students. We appreciate the thought put into the makeup of the working group including employers, chambers of commerce, state colleges and universities and other relevant entities. The foundation would encourage legislators to prioritize the inclusion of representatives of nonprofit organizations and regional workforce development boards to serve as members of the working group based on their extensive experience in this work. We also recommend tapping the direct experience of youth who have participated in internship and work-based learning programs to hear approaches that engaged them, supports needed, and challenges.
The foundation supports the goals of legislation to develop a comprehensive plan that includes a thorough examination of existing work-based learning programs, an assessment of regional and industry-specific needs, development of a model defining employer and student responsibilities, strategies to support new and improved learning opportunities, and recommendations for a grant program. A number of private funders across the state support workforce development programs that integrate paid internship and paid opportunities. We recommend the new work group consult with the CT Council for Philanthropy’s Workforce Affinity Group to hear about the work they are doing and gather their perspectives on gaps in programming.
We appreciate working in partnership with all of you to ensure that our youth can thrive and contribute to Connecticut’s growth.