Pa. Sen. Bob Casey announces $22.8 million in federal funding for Phila. workforce development

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) announced $22.8 million in federal funding for Philadelphia Works — the City of Philadelphia’s workforce development board — at an event on Aug. 2, marking a significant boost to workforce development in Southeastern Pennsylvania. 

The funding will support Philadelphia Works in creating the Coordinated Southeastern Pennsylvania Workforce Development System. This regional training program aims to connect residents to quality employment opportunities in the health care, energy, and infrastructure sectors.

The grant was secured through the Good Jobs Challenge, which was established by the Biden administration as part of the American Rescue Plan. This initiative supports regional workforce training systems to create sectoral partnerships that train and place workers in jobs, thereby accelerating local economic growth and enhancing economic resilience for American workers. The grant was awarded through a “very competitive” process, with only 32 out of 509 applicants receiving funding.

“Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, Philadelphia Works will receive more than $22 million for robust job training programs in critical industries,” Casey wrote in a press release. 

Casey also called the Plan the most “underestimated piece of legislation in recent American history.”

West Philadelphia Skills Initiative Executive Director Cait Garozzo — who holds a graduate certificate from Penn’s Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy and a master’s degree in Organizational Dynamics — emphasized the importance of the federal funding for local workforce development.

“Backbone organizations” of Philadelphia Works — like WPSI, which is among three coordinating agencies responsible for building a “coordinated regional workforce system to answer some of our biggest needs in the workforce” —  will benefit directly from the increase in funding, according to Garozzo. 

She noted that the money will allow WPSI to expand “internal capacity” and hire more staff, as well as support programming across the healthcare and life science sectors. 

Both Penn and Penn Medicine are WPSI employer partner organizations where trainees can be placed for employment opportunities. Following the event, Casey visited participants enrolled in a Penn Med cohort who had recently completed training for their roles as Access Services Associates.

“The University and the [University of Pennsylvania] Health System are anchors in the community for residents, for students from across the globe, and for everybody in between,” Garozzo said. “So the role that the University and the Health System play are not just providers of education and healthcare, they also are the largest area employers. They have really high quality jobs that pay good wages and allow Philadelphians — born and bred Philadelphians — to have access to roles where they can make a sustainable living.”

The recently announced funding, along with the partnership between Penn and WPSI, enables the University system to “access talent that they traditionally don't have access to,” according to Garozzo.

“We’re building really strong, sustainable, credible, relationship-based connections between the University and the Health System and the residents and their neighbors to create more access to these great jobs that are inside of the institution,” she added. 

Casey concluded his visit by reaffirming his commitment to supporting workforce development initiatives that drive economic growth and provide sustainable employment opportunities.

“No region of the country is better positioned to take advantage of these investments — to take advantage of this strategy of focusing on the workforce and the skill development of that workforce,” Casey said at the event. “There’s nothing that can stop us from developing the best workforce in the world, right here in Philly, and right here in Southeastern Pennsylvania.”