$1.4M Grant Earmarked For City's Career Pathways Initiative: Mayor

From the City fo NewHaven, Office of the Mayor:

NEW HAVEN, CT – Today, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker joined city, civic, education, and business leaders at Wilbur Cross High School to announce the second round of grants for the City of New Haven’s Career Pathways Initiative, a career readiness and workforce development program designed to help connect New Haven high school students and young adults with meaningful career exploration opportunities and the education, skills, and training needed to obtain specialty certifications and good paying jobs in key professions and growing industries.

This second round of grant funding will provide approximately $1.4 million in grants to 13 New Haven programs, with each organization receiving one-year grants of up to $100,000 and multiple grants awarded to New Haven Public Schools programs and initiatives. These grants will fund training and instruction opportunities for over 800 young people in the coming year and will also fund systemwide initiatives for several organizations that collectively serve over 7,700 young people.

“In New Haven, we are committing to inclusive economic growth and building a city where every resident has the opportunity to thrive. The only way we’re going to make that happen is if our young people are educated, equipped, and connected to workforce opportunities that align with their interests and that align with the jobs of our growing and emerging economy. Our Career Pathways Initiative aims to do just that,” said Mayor Elicker. “This investment from the city supports a next generation workforce that will be more confident, better resourced, and better positioned to obtain good-paying jobs and enter fulfilling careers. I can’t wait to see what our young people will to do.”

The Career Pathways Initiative provides funding to entities and organizations that are offering, expanding, or developing their programming, capacity, and wraparound supports needed to connect New Haven youth to meaningful career exploration opportunities and to the hands-on education, skills, and training they need to obtain specialty certifications and good paying jobs in key professions and growing industries.

Grant recipients were chosen based on how closely their missions and proposals align with the City’s goals to advance cultural equity, reduce the racial wealth gap, and promote economic opportunity for New Haven youth and young adults.

To qualify for the funding, organizations also had to focus on one of the following key sectors: automotive; bioscience; computer science and coding; construction; creative economy; green energy; healthcare; manufacturing; public safety; and transportation and logistics.

The recipients represent a wide range of organizations providing a diverse offering of programs and services to youth and young adults.

These awards build on the first round of grants that were announced a year ago in March 2023 that allocated $1 million across 10 partners organizations in service of over 1,000 New Haven high school students and young adults. The Career Pathways Initiative grants are funded through the City’s allocation of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) dollars included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

The announcement took place in the atrium at Wilbur Cross High School, where two of the four grant programs for New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) grants to receive funding are based. A proposed program to create a business career pathway at the high school was awarded $70,093, and a pathway program to careers in healthcare at Wilbur Cross received $100,000. A third R & D pathway program for middle school students and a new position for an internship coordinator each received $100,000 in funding. The coordinator will assist students in secure employment and provide employability skills training and internship opportunities throughout the district.

Superintendent Negron said, “For the past 10 years, Wilbur Cross students have been able to engage in electives that best match their career interests. We have found that having this career focus has been an important motivator for them. Now, thanks to this grant, we can go even further in healthcare and in business. In addition to elective high school courses, we can offer college-level coursework, industry certifications, job training, and work-based learning experiences. I want to thank the mayor, the alders, and the economic development team for investing in our students and our future.”

Five of the 13 organizations are receiving grants for a second year based on the success of their programs.

District Arts & Education (DAE) was among the organizations receiving a grant for a second year, this time for a six-week pilot program exploring climate tech career exploration as well as coding and software engineering in partnership with ClimateHaven. The program culminates in the development of a finished product that allows each participant to demonstrate the application of learned knowledge and skills towards a climate-related opportunity or problem.

“A central commitment for DAE is not only providing current and critical digital skills to New Haven Public School students, but also being ahead of the curve and providing access to skills for emerging and future career opportunities, said A.M. Bhatt, founder and CEO of DAE. “This new funding from the City of New Haven will allow us to pilot a program in one of the most exciting, and most rapidly emerging, career fields: Climate Technology.”

Havenly, offering a small business development and entrepreneurship program for 10 young migrant women, was among the organizations to receive funding for the first time. In addition to training, the $50,000 awarded to that group will help provide wraparound services such as childcare and transportation for participants.

“According to Data Haven, New Haven is home to an estimated 15,000 undocumented immigrants, totaling over 11% of the population,” said Caterina Passoni, Co-Founder and Director of Growth at Havenly. “Barred from obtaining most employment opportunities and excluded from almost all forms of government support, thousands of undocumented immigrants in our city are forced to labor in exploitative working conditions, and are systematically kept in poverty. These conditions pose unique risks and challenges to immigrant women specifically. Through the Career Pathways Initiative, Havenly will build out a career pathway and ecosystem for immigrant women in our city to connect to the skills and resources they need to launch businesses, as a step towards creating dignified jobs for the undocumented community in New Haven.”

“The Career Pathways Initiative is just one example of the programs that have distinguished New Haven as a state leader in overall economic performance – and our economic growth is made possible by the talent and diversity of the entire community,” added Michael Piscitelli, Economic Development Administrator for the City of New Haven. “Together, with our partners, we are creating opportunities and opening access to meaningful careers for high school students and young adults that will afford them financial stability in the future and an opportunity to fully participate in New Haven’s present and future economy.”

The news briefing above, and the full list of the Career Pathways Initiative Round 2 grant recipients are below:

CAREER PATHWAYS INITIATIVE – CITY OF NEW HAVEN

Round 2 – Grant Recipients

Total Allocation of $1.4 million

Organization

Program Description

Cohort-Specific

Initiatives

# of People Receiving Training & Instruction (Estimate)

Systemwide Initiatives

# of People Served by Organization or Project (Estimate)

BioPath –

Summer Bootcamps

A summer bootcamp to help prepare students who will join the 2024 fall cohort as part of the BioLabs 101 College Street classroom with a boosted science and math curriculum; power skills instruction including critical thinking and technical communication; and familiarizing students with the program, building, and equipment.

20 - 40

CfAL for Digital Inclusion

Enrollment in the “Foundation to a Career in Computers” program, which teaches tech skills including coding, disassembly and reassembly, understanding hardware and software applications, and troubleshooting. Upon completion, students receive a refurbished computer to bring home with Microsoft Office suite.

150

Collaboration of Minority Women Professionals (CMWP)

Two six-week training tracks offer individuals guidance on career readiness (resume writing, interviewing, business etiquette, etc.) and entrepreneurship (customer service, credit and banking, marketing and social media, etc.)

650

District Arts & Education (DAE)

A six-week pilot program in climate tech career exploration partnering with ClimateHaven, whereby students will create a series of portfolio projects leading to a single finished product that demonstrates the application of learned knowledge and skills towards a climate-related opportunity or problem. [Round 1 grantee in coding & software engineering]

15

EMERGE

Continuing highly successful pilot program that provides an intensive 10-week version of EMERGE’s flagship “Transitional Employment” paid apprenticeship and mentorship program in construction and landscaping. [Round 1 grantee in construction]

10

Havenly

Training 10 young migrant women in small business development and entrepreneurship, including wraparound services for childcare and transportation.

10

LEAP

Professional, soft skill, & leadership development workshops for LEAP leaders, including employment, technical school, and college preparation and placement assistance. In addition, supporting career pathway opportunities for young people interested in the cosmetology field. [Round 1 grantee in cosmetology]

330

MATCH (Manufacturing and Technical Community Hub)

Training program in manufacturing operations, engineering, and sales/administration. Participants receive minimum wage while enrolled in program. [Round 1 grantee in manufacturing]

31

New England Teaching Institute

Dentist Assistant training and certification over eight weekends of instruction along with other wraparound supports. Done in partnership with New Haven Work and New Haven Rising.

24

New Haven Promise

Bolstering New Haven Promise’s "Back” program – the third component of their successful to college, through college, and now back from college program – and supporting NHPS alumni returning from college in becoming employed and contributing New Haven residents.

1,000

NHPS –

Business Pathway

Creating a business career pathway at Wilbur Cross High School.

50

NHPS –

Health Pathway

Creating a healthcare career pathway at Wilbur Cross High School.

50

NHPS – R&D for Career Pathways

Funding to build out middle school exposure to career pathways programs and the reimbursement for staff members to complete 104 Career and Technical Education (CTE) certification to supervise work-based learning.

TBD

TBD

NHPS – Internship Coordinator

Hiring an internship coordinator to assist students with securing employment, provide training on employability skills, and create district-wide opportunities for more internships.

5,885

Workforce Alliance

A capital improvement project to design and convert a designated space at Workforce Alliance’s new headquarters for a studio and creative space that can be used as a sound-proof studio, creative collaboration room, and a professional space for career-launching activities like pitches and business development.

250

Youth Entrepreneurs

Support for the Generation Genius program, which includes academic year attendees (15 weeks) and summer attendees (6 weeks) for instruction in STEM, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship skills, which ends with a Shark-Tank style pitch competition where participants showcase their STEM-related businesses to local business owners and media. Done in partnership with University of New Haven and Southern Connecticut State University, who teach the coursework. [Round 1 grantee in entrepreneurship]

120

TOTAL

13 organizations, providing 16 career pathways programs or initiatives

800+

7,700+