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:

  • Link Baltimore residents with criminal records to employment
  • Help trainees earn industry-recognized certifications and secure employment in high growth/high demand industries
  • Provide paid work experience through internships or on-the-job training
  • Provide essential workplace skills training
  • Focus on improving digital, math, and reading skills
  • Promote job retention and career advancement
  • Engage employers that are committed to providing family-sustaining wages and benefits
  • Connect program participants to needed services such as free tax preparation and transportation
  • Advocate for policies that remove barriers to employment and increase earnings for low-income families
Program Officer: Melanie Styles

Considering Applying?

Learn more about our eligibility and review criteria, and small and regular grants processes.

See Our Grants Process

Featured Work in Workforce Development

Photo courtesy of Grow Home.

Issue Brief: Paid Work Experience

Research has shown that providing teenagers with early work experience can positively affect their employment and earnings later in life and that youth participation in summer employment programs is associated with decreases in criminal activity and increases in school attendance.

And for adults returning from incarceration or who are in recovery, paid work experience addresses the need for immediate income and a supportive environment for learning new job skills.

Photo courtesy of Wide Angle Media for Turnaround Tuesday.

Case Study: Turnaround Tuesday

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.

Abell-Supported Research: Long-Term Services and Supports in Baltimore

A framework for improving job quality and creating a highly trained direct care and services workforce.

Past Grants

Learn more about our grantees and their work to enhance the quality of life in Baltimore.
Filter our past grants by year or program area, or search by keyword.

See Our Past Grants

Contact Us

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.