Philadelphia Works

This episode features an interview with Diane Inverso, Executive Director of the Office of Adult Education and Peter Gonzales, President and CEO, Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians, as they discuss the work they are doing to help English Language Learners find meaningful employment. Discover some of the biggest barriers to employment, and the innovative programming and solutions that are being implemented. 

This episode features an interview with Sue Hoffman, Senior Associate of Innovation, Philadelphia Works, and Jonathan Todd, Director of Talent Development, Philadelphia Commerce Department as they discuss the work that is being done to help returning citizens to find meaningful employment. To learn more, visit the below resources:  Guidelines and other resources for employers considering Fair Chance Hiring: http://www.philaworks.org/business/fair-chance-hiring/   For employers ready to hire, contact PA CareerLink Philadelphia or the Mayor’s Office of ReIntegration Services (RISE): business@pacareerlinkphl.org  or www.phila.gov/rise/employer   “Ban the Box” Fair Chance Hiring Law -- contact the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations: www.phila.gov/humanrelations   Work Opportunity Tax Credit, Federal Bonding and other federal incentives to hire returning citizens: www.pacareerlink.pa.gov   FCHI Link: https://business.phila.gov/fairchance/   Business Incentives: https://business.phila.gov/   Office of Workf

Nicole Pumphrey, Deputy Director, Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians joins the program to discuss the International Professionals Program (IPP), a partnership between WC and PWI.  The program is first of its kind in the nation to be supported by federal workforce funding through Philadelphia Works Inc. and target foreign-trained immigrant professionals. 

This episode features an interview with Patricia Blumenauer, Manager of Integrated Systems at Philadelphia Works, as she discusses the benefits of the CareerLink System, and shares information about vocational skills training and financial literacy counseling for job seekers. 

Edison Freire, Director of Gateway Initiatives for JEVS Human Services and Beth St. Clair, Apprenticeship Director, Urban Technology Project, Office of Educational Technology, discuss the work that they are doing with IT apprenticeships, including the opportunities that are available, what those apprenticeships look like, and the benefits and opportunities in the IT sector. 

Mark Genua, Apprenticeship Program Director at Philadelphia Works, and Eric Ramsey, PA Director of Apprenticeships at the Dept. of Labor & Industry join the program to discuss the importance of apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships both for job seekers and employers. 

Kimberly McCaffrey, Manager of Youth System at Philadelphia Works joins the program to discuss youth demographics, year round and summer youth activities and work-based learning and career pathways development strategies for youth.  

Farrah Parkes, Director of Education, Technology, and Job Readiness at Lutheran Settlement House joins the program to discuss the ways in which they are partnering with Philadelphia Works to help serve job seekers and businesses. 

This episode features an interview with Hugh Bailey, COO of Philadelphia Works and Heloise Jettison, Senior Director, Talent Development for Department of Commerce for the City of Philadelphia as they discuss the new strategy for workforce development. 

Evan Evans, General Manager at Aloft Philadelphia Hotel, discusses his partnership with Philadelphia Works and what he finds most valuable about that the services that Philadelphia Works provides. Evan discusses recent trends in the hospitality industry and the traits that he looks for in potential employees, and shares advice for other employers in the Philadelphia region who are looking to recruit talent to their organization.   

Karla Trotman, Executive Vice President of Electro Soft, Incorporated  discusses her partnership with Philadelphia Works and the benefit she receives from that connection. Karla also shares the story of the company that her father founded and the challenges and opportunities of running a family business.