Workforce Development Grant-making

Through the Alternative Education Initiative (AEI), the City of Boston supports youth who are working toward their high school diploma or its equivalent. AEI provides funds to alternative education programs where youth also receive wrap-around services and develop workforce readiness skills. Eligible youth are Boston residents, ages 16–21.

Boston receives Community Development Block Grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, under a formula based on several factors. The funds are received by the City's Department of Neighborhood Development (DND) and are used primarily for affordable housing and economic development. HUD allows cities to use up to 15% of this money for human service programming. DND subcontracts with OWD to manage that portion of the CDBG allocation.

The Office of Workforce Development (OWD) issues competitive Requests for Proposals in order to make awards to non-profits across the city for programming to serve youth and adults. These funds are intended to be used to provide support services to enable individuals to access education or job training and, in turn, obtain the kinds of jobs capable of moving people out of poverty.

Developers of commercial and institutional development over 100,000 square feet pay linkage fees to the Neighborhood Jobs Trust (NJT) and the Neighborhood Housing Trust. In general, NJT funds are awarded through competitive RFPs issued when enough money has accumulated in the Trust. This money can be used for jobs or job training.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) provides federal formula funds to each state through the Department of Labor. OWD administers Boston's portion, with oversight from the Boston Private Industry Council.

Boston's WIOA Title I Youth funds are distributed to alternative education, career exploration, and training programs. Youth have the opportunity to earn a high school diploma or its equivalent, gain work experience, and/or earn a recognized certificate. All WIOA youth complete academic and career assessments which then inform their individualized youth plan. Throughout the program, organizations offer a wide array of supports including: financial literacy, counseling, referrals, subsidized work experience, and mentoring. Youth then take the next step to enroll in post-secondary education, enroll in training programs, and gain employment. Eligible youth are Boston residents, ages 14–24, and face a barrier to employment.

Boston's WIOA Adult funding provides workforce development activities that increase employment, retention, and earnings of participants by increasing occupational skill attainment of participants and improve the quality of the workforce, reduce welfare dependency, and enhance the productivity and competitiveness throughout the country. WIOA encourages business to participate in the local delivery of workforce development services through workforce investment boards, chaired by private sector members of the local community. WIOA funds are distributed annually to low-income Boston residents and job seekers looking to re-enter the workforce after a layoff or plant closure. The Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development (OWD) administers the annual distribution of Individual Training Accounts (ITA) via the two MassHire Career Centers. Individuals have the option to receive reemployment services and/or attend occupational skills training programs in a variety of industries and sectors, including healthcare, information technology, culinary arts, and transportation, among others. To apply to become an ITA vendor, please visit the state Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

The Office of Workforce Development (OWD) also administers National Emergency Grants (NEG). NEGs expand the service capacity of WIOA by offering reemployment services to dislocated workers who are affected by plant closings and large layoffs.

Through the YouthWorks Summer Jobs grant and the YouthWorks Year-Round Jobs grant, OWD ensures that Boston youth ages 14-21 are employed year-round. OWD uses these funds to provide area non-profits to provide Boston youth with these services.

Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) offers career counseling to adult students in its ESOL instruction programs at the Mattapan Family Service Center, South Side in Roslindale, and Parker Hill/Fenway Neighborhood Center in Roxbury.

Artists for Humanity provides Boston teens and young adults, ages 14-20, with hands-on training in the arts that promotes business business, entrepreneurial, and career skills.

Asian American Civic Association, through its Connection Center, provides job readiness, job placement, ESOL, financial literacy, as well as assistance for public benefits such as SNAP, EITC, etc.

Bay Cove Human Services provides low-income Boston residents with career exploration and planning, skills training, job placement, job development, on-site job coaching and case management services.

Bird Street Community Center provides young people, ages 12-22, with academic support, job readiness skills, and hands-on experience in arts and entrepreneurship activities and trades.

Boston Asian Youth Essential Service provides residents, ages 16-24, with academic support, college readiness and job readiness skills, employment/internship placement, case management and assistance to obtain such essential benefits as health insurance, EBT cards, and food stamps.

Boston Builds Credit helps residents build or establish credit through credit-building workshops, one-on-one credit counseling sessions, and ongoing financial coaching.

Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) provides three ESOL and HiSET classes to low- income clients between the ages of 21 and 44 living in North Dorchester and Mattapan.

Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, through its ESL and Early Childcare Education Program, provides job readiness training, ESOL education, and job placement, and helps participants enroll in the Professional Qualifications Registry with the Department of Early Education and Care.

Boston HERC provides college preparation training for first-generation college students that are failing or have been placed in underperforming schools.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester provides students with a college road map that guides them through the end of high school and into their first year of college.

Casa Myrna assists low-income residents and domestic violence survivors, ages 18-50, with financial planning, CORI and credit report reviews, referrals to ESOL and other classes, and job-related counseling.

Catholic Charities provides low-income youth and adults with education support and employment readiness training at its Haitian Multi-Service Center and Teen Center.

Community Servings, Inc Community Servings’ Teaching Kitchen program is a free, twelve-week culinary job training program that provides a warm and supportive pathway to permanent employment in the foodservice industry for one of the most high-need populations in Boston: individuals experiencing multiple, major barriers to employment such as criminal records, poverty, substance use disorder, and homelessness. Housed in our state-of-the-art “Food Campus” facility, we promote employment and economic outcomes among our trainees through a continuum of services, including foodservice, job readiness, and life skills training, integrated case management and job placement supports, subsidized training/work opportunities, digital and financial literacy education, and connections to a network of employment and referral partners.

Crossroads Family Center helps homeless shelter clients optimize qualified benefits, complete an economic security plan, and engage in education and employment programs.

DEAF, Inc. provides deaf, deaf-blind, hard-of-hearing, and late-deafened Boston residents with assessments for assistive technology and overall needs, assistance with applications for financial and health benefits, and job readiness and literacy skills development.

Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation provides 1:1 pre-to-post employment Case Management services, culturally/linguistically appropriate employment, entrepreneurship education, and economic security workshops/training sessions. We will employ our vast referral network to connect clients to industry specific employment certification/training programs and wrap-around services. We will work closely with our employer network to connect clients to jobs in the Carpenter, Commercial Driver, Construction Laborer, Food Prep/Service/Manufacturing, Hospitality, Janitorial, Rehabilitation, Sanitation, Warehouse, and Water Remediation sectors.

East Boston Social Centers serves Boston youth, ages 15-19, with academic support, college preparation, college tours, career planning, job readiness skills, internship placement, budgeting skills and bank account help.

Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath) - The Mobility Action Plan (MAP) is a career development, educational credentials acquisition, and family support program for heads of households with low-income living in the City of Boston, who are interested in increasing their career and/or education opportunities to become self-sufficient.

ESAC provides low-income Boston youth with educational training for the HiSET exam, as well as job training and placement.

Ethos runs the Boston Money Management Program, which assists low-to-moderate income elderly and disabled adults with routine tasks of money management.

Fenway CDC serves residents of the Fenway and Mission Hill neighborhoods with assistance and education related to employment and housing-maintenance needs.

Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center provides case management services tailored to the needs of Chinese-speaking elders. Services focus on assistance with health insurance, Medicaid, housing application, supplementary security income, food stamps, and other benefits to help clients maintain their financial independence.

Greater Boston Legal Services, through its Economic Security Advocacy Project, helps low-income parents with minor children and/or pregnant women obtain, increase, keep and regain cash benefits, nutrient benefits, child care or transportation benefits, and housing benefits.

Haitian-American Public Health Initiatives helps low-income high school juniors and seniors complete high school, learn about job fields available to them, and obtain a full- or part-time job.

Haitian Multi-Service Center provides support for adult education, training and workforce development programming at the agency’s (1) Haitian Multi-Service Center (HMSC), (2) Teen Center’s Career Center (TNC) programs and (3) partnership with the BCYF-Perkins Community Center Adult Education (PCCAE). In collaboration, the HMSC and PCCAE will focus on providing workforce ABE and ESOL classes. TNC will provide high school seniors support for applying to college and entering the workforce.

Hyde Square Task Force provides youth with academic support, college preparation, leadership/life-skills, career knowledge, and case management support through its Jovenes en Accion program.

International Institute of New England provides foreign-born low-income residents with job readiness skills, employment training and placement, ESOL education for employment, financial literacy, and assistance with public benefits.

Interseminarian-Project Place Inc. career tracks provide a continuum of care encompassing work readiness and computer lab learning, advanced industry training, credentialing, transitional employment, and wraparound case management and career development services. The program will be provided to individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty in Boston with the goal of placing them on pathways to gainful employment and, ultimately, economic independence. We will work with employer and program partners to provide a holistic program focused on long-term retention of outcomes.

Jackson Mann Community Center provides academic support, college readiness and job readiness skills, employment/internship placement, and case management services to low-income Boston residents, ages 14-21.

Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, through its Family Prosperity Initiative, provides job readiness, ESOL/education, job training, job search support, and public benefits assistance to low-income Boston residents, ages 18-60.

JVS Boston, through its Hyde Park ESOL program, provides ESOL classes to immigrants living in Hyde Park and surrounding Boston neighborhoods who need to improve their English language skills.

La Alianza Hispana serves low-income elders with work readiness support, life skills training, and access to socialization activities.

MAB Community Services provides visually impaired seniors with in-home rehabilitation services, peer support groups, a telephone support network, adaptive aids and materials, and specially trained volunteer assistance.

Madison Park Development Corporation (MPDC) Piloted in 2016 - MPDC’s Opportunity Employment Program (OEP) primarily serves opportunity youth from Roxbury and nearby neighborhoods like Dorchester and Mattapan, as well as other neighborhoods when appropriate. Since its initial pilot period, OEP has expanded to include in-house HiSET classes, comprehensive workforce development, on-site mental health services/case management and mentoring. MPDC has acquired significant experience in serving the City’s highest need opportunity youth population, successfully connecting them with alternative education and workforce development/employment resources in the short-term and ultimately facilitating transition to postsecondary training and education pathways in the long-term.

Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers provides skills training, case management, education and access to benefits to mostly Brazilian and Cape Verdean clients.

Maverick Landing Community Services, through its Hospitality & Beyond Program, provides six-week skills training to prepare participants for careers in Boston's growing hospitality industry.

Mothers for Justice & Equality tailors its 12-15-month career readiness training to trauma-impacted individuals who have been unable to gain or retain employment due to anxiety or depression.

Mujeres Unidas Avanzando provides ESOL classes, education for Hi-SET certification, career exploration, computer and occupational skills training, job placement and apprenticeship opportunities, financial literacy training, and assistance with income maximization. The Adult Literacy Program provides Spanish HiSET programs to Latina single parents who possess few or no job skills.

New England Center for Arts & Technology (NECAT) is a culinary training and job placement program for low-income Boston residents.

Notre Dame Education Center, through its Workforce Readiness Program, provides job counseling, job training, internship, and employment services to Boston residents, ages 25 and over.

Operation ABLE serves low-income residents, ages 45+, with computers training, job search skills instruction, case management, career counseling, internship development, placement and post-placement support.

Partners for Youth with Disabilities provides entrepreneurial job skills training and job readiness activities to low-income Boston resident students with and without learning or physical disabilities.

Project Hope supports low-income residents with resume writing, interviewing skills, and applying for new jobs.

Project Place is a transitional employment program that provides low-income clients with job training and job placement services as well as individual career counseling and case management support.

Rian Immigrant Center provides low-income Boston residents with training in ESOL classes as well as home care skills.

Roca provides basic transitional employment, workforce readiness training, pre-vocational training and alternative education to low-income young men.

Somali Development Center provides support services and case management to Somali- Americans, ages 16-22, living in Boston to help them acquire employment and become self-sufficient.

Stone House supports low-income Bostonians in their efforts toward financial stability by teaching personal financial management skills, assisting with applications for adult education or workforce development programs, and providing substantial wrap-around services.

STRIVE Boston supports the re-entry of court-involved, out-of-school and underemployed youth into training and job placement activities.

Tierney Learning Center operates the Technology Mobility Action Plan, an education and career development resource for low-income heads of households who seek employment in the technology field.

West End House gives young people, ages 17-24, academic support, college preparation, leadership and career development, and employment services.

Workforce Opportunity Resource Center (WORC) provides construction-industry workers and small businesses with “one stop shopping” for the resources and technical support promoting growth and success in either their career or business.

X-Cel Education offers low-income adults classes in HiSET preparation, career exploration, and further educational and career development.

YMCA of Greater Boston delivers an integrated education and workplace training program model called the Education & Career Advancement Program. The program integrates adult education and literacy activities with workforce preparation activities and workforce training for the purpose of educational and career advancement. This Education & Career Advancement Program integrates the core components of its longstanding history of successful workforce development programs at Training, Inc., and English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs at the International Learning Center (ILC) to serve 50 program participants

YMCA Training, Inc. provides job readiness and computer skills, basic financial literacy, employment training, internship placement, and job seeking support to low-income residents, ages 20 and above.

ZUMIX engages youth, ages 7-18, in activities involving music and technology to improve their communication and interpersonal skills and provide them with valuable job training.

The Alternative Education Initiative (AEI) supports alternative education programs that provide young Boston residents, ages 16-21, with help pursuing their high school diploma or its equivalent, workforce readiness skills, and various wrap-around services.

Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) supports at-risk high school students to earn a Boston Public Schools diploma at University High School.

Bridge over Troubled Waters provides a HiSET program for youth experiencing homeless and housing instability.

Catholic Charitable Bureau of the Archdiocese of Boston, Inc. supports communities throughout Eastern Massachusetts by providing services to the most vulnerable populations.

Ecumenical Social Action Committee, Inc. (ESAC) is a community-based nonprofit and multi-service agency that strives to improve the quality of life for residents of Boston and eastern Massachusetts. ESAC provides HiSET preparation, as well as career exploration, skill-building, internship, and employment opportunities.

El Centro del Cardenal, a program of Catholic Charities, provides bilingual alternative education and employment services for at-risk, primarily Latinx, youth.

Mujeres Unidas Avanzando prepares low-income Latina youth to take the HiSET exam in Spanish.

Notre Dame Education Center runs an alternative high school diploma program in partnership with Cathedral High School, which includes a weekly college and career readiness class.

X-Cel Education offers HiSET preparation classes, career exploration opportunities, and post-secondary transition services to youth.

Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) supports at-risk high school students to earn their Boston Public Schools diploma at University High School. Through its Career Explorations program, ABCD exposes young people to career tracks in the building trades, criminal justice, culinary arts, early education and care, and health care and helps them acquire the necessary work experience or credential to enter one of those fields.

Asian American Civic Association, through its "Hire Values" program, provides out-of-school youth (ages 16-24) with career exploration and skills training opportunities, as well as help enrolling in and completing educational programs.

College Bound Dorchester prepares high-risk, out-of-school youth for the HiSET exam, provides coaching in the college application and completion process, and offers apprenticeship opportunities in boat-building.

East Boston Neighborhood Health Center provides holders of high school (or equivalent) diplomas with certified nursing assistant (CNA) training, including college credit-bearing classes and internship opportunities.

El Centro del Cardenal offers a HiSET and internship placement program, along with tutoring in ESOL.

More Than Words employs youth in paid shifts at a warehouse bookstore, where they can learn technical, entrepreneurial and work readiness skills as they process online orders, set inventory goals, run the register, and provide customer service.

Mujeres Unidas Avanzado (MUA) helps youth attain the High School Equivalency Test (HiSET in Spanish); enroll in a Clinical Medical Assistant (CMA) training program and complete and externship and job placement with various employer partners, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Dorchester House Multi-Service Center; and through two career coaches, access other work opportunities and work experience through MUA's network of referrals and other job partners, such as Breaktime.

Notre Dame Education Center (NDEC) in South Boston offer low-income, out of school youth (ages 18-24) a multi-step pathway from secondary education completion to post-secondary education and career. This program includes an Alternate Education Program to attain a high school diploma (HSD) from Cathedral High School or gain a high school equivalency (HSE), access to Early College Program for dual enrollment in post-secondary education while completing a high-school credential and supported entrance, including scholarship funds, into a first year of post-secondary education at Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology.

X-Cel Education offers HiSET classes, college and career planning, and internship opportunities with community partners.

Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) provides job placement in day care, camps, health, building trades, library/science, office work, food service, and outdoor/maintenance primarily to youth who are court-involved, in foster care or homeless.

Youth Engagement & Employment connects youth with a variety of summer jobs through its SuccessLink application system.

Boston Private Industry Council connects BPS students and recovered dropouts or those who are at risk of dropping out with employment in churches, child care centers, boys and girls clubs and similar venues.

YOU Boston supports court-involved and/or gang-affiliated youth in jobs in construction, facilities maintenance, retail, landscaping, and residential and commercial painting.