Workforce Development
A trained and skilled workforce is essential to Baltimore’s health and economic growth. We support programs that train low-income, unemployed, and underemployed job seekers and help them find and keep jobs that pay family-sustaining wages.
We prioritize programs that:
The Turnaround Tuesday jobs initiative, created by BUILD (Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development), connects Baltimore’s largest anchor institutions to unemployed neighborhood residents. With support from Abell, Turnaround Tuesday has grown into a significant employment pipeline to Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland Medical Center, and MedStar Hospital.
A framework for improving job quality and creating a highly trained direct care and services workforce.
Without regular access to reliable transportation, it’s almost impossible to get and maintain employment. Since 1999, the Abell Foundation has supported Vehicles for Change (VFC) in making low-cost cars available to low-income job seekers in Baltimore City, fueling economic opportunity.
To date, VFC has trained over 175 individuals, boasting a 90% completion rate, a 98% job placement rate of program graduates, an average starting wage of $17.50 per hour, and a 95% one-year employment retention rate, although not all graduates are employed at their original job placement.
Have questions or want to discuss your idea for workforce development in Baltimore? Get in touch using the form below.
Header photo courtesy of BioTechnical Institute of Maryland.