Job Training and Creation

The Job Training and Creation grantmaking program supports efforts to connect low-income, low-skilled workers to training and employment opportunities that offer family sustaining wages and career advancement opportunities.

Program Goals

Although the economic recession officially ended in June 2009, the effects of the recession are still being felt throughout the country. Perhaps the most recalcitrant of our current economic issues is the problem of widespread unemployment. As of June 2012, the statewide unemployment rate of 10.7% (compared to 8.4% nationally) illustrates the extent the crisis has hit home for Californians¹. In the Bay Area in June 2012, unemployment was estimated at 8.5%, with Alameda County at 9.5% and Contra Costa County at 9.4%². Individuals with barriers to employment are having a particularly difficult time in the current labor market as more highly educated and skilled workers line-up for jobs previously filled by less qualified workers.

This continuing unemployment crisis in the Bay Area highlights the need for a strategic and comprehensive look at regional job training and creation strategies. The Job Training and Creation grant program supports efforts to connect mostly low-income, low-skilled workers to training and employment opportunities that offer family sustaining wages and career advancement opportunities.

Another focus of this grant program is the role of loans and technical assistance in helping Bay Area entrepreneurs start or expand their businesses. At Year End 2010, California’s small businesses made up 99.2% of all employer firms in the state, employing 52.1% of the private workforce and accounting for 90% of all new job creation.³ Research has shown that financing small businesses provides a major economic boost with a proven return of at least 2 to 1 as it flows through the regional economy, creating new wages, new spending and new tax revenues.⁴

The Job Training and Creation Program also seeks to expand small business financing and microlending to boost employment opportunities as well as economic activity in low-income Bay Area communities.

¹ California Employment Development Department (EDD), http://www.calmis.ca.gov/file/lfmonth/oak$pds.pdf

² State of California Employment Development Department, http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov

³ Betty Jo Toccoli, California Small Business Association article, CalForward.org: http://www.cafwd.org/reporting/entry/policymakers-in-sacramento-must-help-small-business

⁴ Ripple Effect: The Economic Impact of Microlending, A case study of Opportunity Fund’s Microfinance Program from 1995 to 2010, http://www.opportunityfund.org/social-impact/microloans

Objectives and Strategies

Objective One – Job Training

To support job preparation and training programs that rapidly prepare individuals for employment in industries experiencing growth and offering career advancement opportunities.

Strategies:

Increase the capacity of existing training programs offering short term training for entry-level employment in growth sectors (such as healthcare, hospitality, green construction and recycling, office admin and the IT sector).
Support job preparation services including career exploration, job search skills, work readiness, soft skills, basic skills, and case management.
Support career coaching for low-skilled individuals searching for work or seeking to advance.

Objective Two – Job Creation

To increase the supply of quality jobs that offer employment opportunities for low- to moderate-skilled workers.

Strategies:

Promote the creation of social enterprises that offer transitional employment, entry-level placements, and skill-building for low-skilled individuals.
Support the development of micro-enterprise training and technical assistance programs or other efforts that assist low- to moderate-income entrepreneurs to launch and grow small businesses.
Invest in employer intermediaries that address barriers to business expansion and growth, and align employer needs with the workforce training system.
Support the development, implementation, and enforcement of policies that lead to the creation of jobs, such as first-source/local hire ordinances, project labor agreements, and workforce provisions of community benefits agreements.

How to Apply

Please note that is not an open call for proposals. Only invited organizations may apply.
Grant funds will be awarded on a competitive basis to invited organizations. In order to be considered for funding, invited organizations must submit a full grant proposal and all of the requested materials through The San Francisco Foundation’s online grant application system, Grantee Center.

Timeline

The application cycle is now closed.
Applicants will be notified in late October.
Grants will start on November 1, 2012.