SkillWorks

Who we are

SkillWorks is a workforce development intermediary and funder collaborative launched by a group of public and private funders in 2003 to improve the workforce system’s effectiveness and efficiency, resulting in significantly improved economic outcomes for job and skill seekers, with a priority focus on those in greater Boston who are low-income and low-skilled.

As a nationally recognized workforce funder collaborative, we have spent more than a decade developing evidence-based strategies for training and employment that have linked thousands of people and hundreds of employers to help close the persistent skills and opportunity gaps in our region.

SkillWorks has been a consummate mainstay for the past 14 years, acting as an innovative funder and partner while influencing the policies and practices of dozens of organizations in the region. As the pendulum of the economy has made dramatic shifts from periods of high unemployment to today’s tight labor market, SkillWorks has applied its practice, knowledge and experience to respond as a nimble tool in support of our region’s workforce needs. As we consider our role for the four years ahead, we will continue to sustain our values and act as a dynamic partner to aligned funders, intermediaries, organizations and employers, innovative platform to link talent to employers, responsive driver for diversity and inclusion, and strategic shaper of policy and practice.

SkillWorks' vision is to help to make Boston a place where every resident has an opportunity to thrive by making a good living and where employers have access to a diverse, well-trained, and qualified talent pool. We support that vision with a set of values that we believe shape and sustain our work. -We are employer centric in order to ensure we are a nimble tool for employers. -We believe diversity and inclusion are critical to business success. -We believe a “good job” means wages at or greater than a living wage, access to benefits, strong supervisor training for frontline workers to support retention and advancement, access to professional development and training for employees, and opportunity to advance in a career. -We support coaching to help jobseekers persist and complete training and retain good jobs. -We believe the first job is not the last, and individuals need greater opportunity to advance into higher skilled, better paying jobs through incumbent worker investment. -We support career pathways to good jobs and family sustaining wages -We create a culture of high expectations among all stakeholders. -We believe work readiness and career navigation should be integrated early and often in training and education to better prepare the workforce to meet employer needs.

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