Public-Private Partnership Brings Job Training Programs to Bay Area Community Colleges

In the nation, and throughout our region, job creation is key to our recovery from the recession. The San Francisco Foundation has a multi-pronged approach to help put Bay Area residents back to work. One strategy that we’ve been investing in since 2004 is the Bay Area Workforce Funding Collaborative (BAWFC). A nationally recognized initiative, BAWFC helps job seekers build new skills while also helping employers find trained workers.

This year, to maximize our impact on this complex issue, The San Francisco Foundation sought and won a $600,000 federal grant on behalf of the Bay Area Workforce Funding Collaborative (BAWFC). The grant is the only one to be awarded in California.

The federal grant, which is funded by the Social Innovation Fund, will boost BAWFC’s efforts develop job training programs at Bay Area community colleges and prepare workers for careers in the fast-growing healthcare industry. The BAWFC has matched the grant, bringing it to a total of $1.2 million.

“This federal grant is really an endorsement of our strategy,” says Jessica Pitt, Initiative Officer for BAWFC. “These resources will go a long way in supporting our focus on community colleges and training that leads to career ladder jobs in the growing healthcare field.” 

The two-year matching grant focuses on the design and development of new programs at Skyline College in San Mateo and Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz. The programs will train workers for entry-level healthcare jobs that not only pay family-sustaining wages but also create opportunities for career advancement. Community colleges are the largest providers of workforce training in the state of California and the healthcare sector is one of the largest industries in the San Francisco Bay Area, employing more than 342,000 workers in hundreds of occupations.

BAWFC is one example of the Foundation’s strategies to help Bay Area residents affected by the recession. TSFF’s Job Training and Creation program specifically targets nonprofits who help people who have the most difficulty finding work in this economy to find jobs. This year, we granted $1.4 million to help individuals train for jobs in growth industries, from green construction to clean energy. We also made an investment in the Microenterprise Impact Fund, a new strategy that sparks entrepreneurship by providing microloans to small business owners.