The Workforce Partnership Team
Securing a steady, sustainable job with a livable wage is a critical element of many of United Way’s Steps to Success, including Basic Needs, College- and Career-Readiness and Financial Well-being.
Unfortunately, many Richmond residents face obstacles that prevent them from landing and maintaining a sustainable job. Many others are underemployed with little support towards upward mobility. Common barriers to employment include lack of developed soft skills, inconsistent transportation, insufficient wrap-around support services, lack of social capital, criminal records, undeveloped computer skills and lack of education and/or training to increase pay.
United Way is committed to removing these barriers and helping everyone in the Greater Richmond region find a path to success. One of the ways we do this is through the Workforce Partnership Team.
About the Workforce Partnership Team
The Workforce Partnership Team (WPT) brings together workforce professionals and those providing wrap-around services from across the Greater Richmond region. The goals of the team include streamlining services by building a network with strong referral mechanisms, sharing curriculum and best practices and providing professional development opportunities for team members. By setting these goals, the team aims to strengthen the region’s workforce system for job seekers, practitioners and employers.
United Way provides backbone support to the Workforce Partnership Team and employs a full-time staff member dedicated to leading Workforce Partnership Team activities.
The Workforce Partnership Team is supported through funding from the Bob and Anna Lou Schaberg Foundation.
Current partners include:
- AARP Foundation
- Anthem
- Better Housing Coalition
- Capital Region 15 Adult Education
- CARITAS
- Commonwealth Catholic Charities
- Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA)
- Department of Aging & Rehabilitative Services (DARS)
- Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired
- Goodwill of Central & Coastal Virginia
- Henrico Department of Social Services
- HumanKind
- International Rescue Committee
- J&G Workforce Development Services, LLC
- JobsRVA/Jobs for Life
- Office of Community Wealth Building
- Opportunity. Alliance. Re Entry. (OAR)
- RE:work Richmond
- The READ Center
- Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity
- Richmond Opportunities, Inc.
- Richmond Public Library
- Senior Connections
- SOAR365
- Southside Community Development and Housing Corporation
- St. Joseph’s Villa
- Virginia Career Works – Capital Region
- YWCA Richmond
The Workforce Partnership Team has four main goals:
- Facilitate coordinated employment, training, and wrap-around service support to the unemployed and underemployed.
- Build a network of workforce professionals and develop referral mechanisms to address the needs of job seekers in the region.
- Share and implement curriculum and best practices that holistically prepare job candidates to fulfill the workforce needs of the emerging economy.
- Equip members to provide high quality workforce services by providing professional development opportunities.
The Workforce Partnership Team consists of working committees focused on soft skills development, co-case management systems, professional development and new member outreach.
Each committee designates one partner to serve on the Workforce Partnership Team Executive Committee.
The Workforce Partnership Team is a coalition of cross-sector partners that provide workforce development services at the direct-service or manager level.
All Workforce Partnership Team members agree to:
- Work collectively as a team to share information and build public awareness regarding employment sustainability;
- Develop and manage mechanisms to more effectively coordinate and communicate workforce services;
- Build and strengthen internal and external relationships between workforce development and wrap-around service providers so that they can better serve the needs of job seekers, employers, and the community;
- Advocate for policies and procedures that support the effective provision of workforce services.
Workforce Partnership Team meetings are held the second Tuesday of every month at United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg’s office.
2001 Maywill Street, #201
Richmond, VA 23230
2:30-4:30 p.m.
March Events:
Tuesday, March 10th – 2:30-4:30 p.m.
KatyBeth Lee, the Director of Business Career Services at VCU will speak on Career Development Principles. Katybeth has worked in career development for over 15 years. She is the co-author of Sweet Spot: Finding Your Career at Any Age. We will also welcome Jovan Burton, Director of Implementation at the Partnership for Housing Affordability. He will present the recently released Regional Housing Affordability Framework.
Tuesday, March 17th – 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Lunch and Learn Series – Cultural Awareness
Our speaker will be Karla Almendarez-Ramos the Manager of the City of Richmond’s Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs. The event will be capped at 30 participants. Please email danesea@yourunitedway.org for sign up instructions.
Contact
Anna Danese
Director of Workforce Partnerships
United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg
danesea@yourunitedway.org