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Fall 2016 Quarterly Update
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To the PIC Community,
There is PIC news on several fronts this November. The PIC and the UMass Donahue Institute just released a new study on the youth labor market in Massachusetts. The report concludes that teen and young adult employment rates remain near historic lows, despite overall unemployment of only 3.6%. Defying this distressing news, the PIC component of the Mayor's summer jobs campaign accounted for 3,733 positions this past summer, a 12% increase over the previous summer.
The PIC's new career center RFP process is in full swing, in collaboration with the Mayor's Office of Workforce Development, with new priorities in response to the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. In case you missed it, we released our
2016 Annual Report
at our Annual Meeting in September. Hard copies are available by request.
In this edition of the PIC quarterly e-newsletter, you'll learn about:
- The Young Adult Labor Force in Massachusetts
- Career Center Chartering
- 2016 Summer Jobs Campaign
- College Month: A Focus on Postsecondary Success
- Looking Back: 2016 PIC Annual Meeting
- 2016 Corporate Contributions Campaign Supporters
- Recent Media Coverage
Respectfully,
Neil Sullivan
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The Young Adult Labor Force in Massachusetts
A PIC-commissioned study conducted by the UMass Donahue Institute finds that teen and young adult participation in the labor market has not recovered significantly, in contrast to the near-full employment numbers in most other segments of the labor market. As reported in the
Boston Globe
, "Stubborn youth employment is worrisome to economists and policymakers, because early jobs help workers build communication and cooperation skills, figure out career paths, and establish networks that can help them later in life."
The plight of disconnected youth, often referred to as Opportunity Youth, is particularly disturbing. The 9% of the state's teens and young adults who are neither at work nor in school face the toughest path, according to the Donahue Institute's Mark Melnik, the principal author of the report. Black and Hispanic youth are more than twice as likely as white and Asian youth to be out of school and out of work.
The
full study
is available on the UMass Donahue website
. For more information regarding this study, please contact Joe McLaughlin, Research and Evaluation Director, at joseph.mclaughlin@bostonpic.org or 617.488.1314.
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2016 Summer Jobs Campaign
This summer the PIC ran its largest summer jobs campaign in recent years, identifying 3,733 job opportunities for Boston public high school students at more than 200 private companies and community-based organizations. For the third year in a row, Mayor Walsh and members of his cabinet helped to recruit more than 40 new employer partners for the summer.
Both Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital expanded their programs to bring on more than 160 BPS student interns each. Many of these students will move into coveted school-year internships. Top employers include State Street and other financial institutions, most of Boston's teaching hospitals, Vertex, Genzyme, Boston College, Harvard, the MBTA, the Boston Red Sox and Aramark at Fenway Park, and the Federal Reserve Bank, to name a few.
In addition, PIC students served as counselors at day camps throughout the city. Bank of America paid the wages for 100 of these students and sponsored leadership training at Hale Reservation over April vacation and subsequent CPR training to make sure that the students were prepared to assume these important responsibilities.
For more information about summer jobs, please contact Josh Bruno, School-to-Career Director, at josh.bruno@bostonpic.org or 617.488.1327.
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Career Center Chartering
In October, the PIC released an
RFP for comprehensive one stop career center operators
in collaboration with the Mayor's Office of Workforce Development (OWD). The RFP is in accordance with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which states that the PIC and OWD must select operators through an open and competitive procurement process once every four years. There was strong attendance at the bidders conference for organizations interested in submitting proposals.
Later this year, we will release a second RFP for career center Access Points. Access Points are intended to engage the larger community of workforce development providers in a network of career services. They can be community-based organizations that serve specific populations who are typically under-served by the career centers, or are located in geographic areas that are not currently connecting with the Comprehensive One-Stop Centers.
For more information, contact Angela McCabe, Workforce Development Director, at angela.mccabe@bostonpic.org or 617.488.1355.
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College Month: A Focus on Postsecondary Success
October was BPS College Month, which is aimed at increasing college awareness and preparation among BPS students. The PIC's School-to-Career and Postsecondary teams were enthusiastic supporters of the campaign, and were present at several events throughout the month to let students know what services and supports are available for their transition to and through college.
Pictured below are the PIC postsecondary coaches along with partners from the Boston Foundation and other Success Boston organizations.
For more information about the PIC's Postsecondary work, please contact Kathy Hamilton, Youth Transitions Director, at
kathy.hamilton@bostonpic.org
or 617.488.1316.
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Looking Back: 2016 PIC Annual Meeting
On September 22, the PIC held its Annual Meeting at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. We were excited to have Ann Klee, President of the GE Foundation, as one of our featured speakers. She highlighted GE's commitment to partner with the PIC to hire Boston public high school students in internship positions, as well as the company's global focus on youth development.
As always, the
PIC Achiever Awards
recognized the accomplishments of individuals who exemplify the mission and work of the PIC. The program booklet includes profiles of our 16 awardees. Check out some photos from the event and view the full album on the
Boston PIC Facebook page
.
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Thank you to our 2016 Corporate Contributors!
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GOLD
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SILVER
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Anonymous |
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BRONZE
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HONORABLE MENTION
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Arnold Worldwide
IBM
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Boston Private Bank & Trust
Santander
Steward Health Care System LLC
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EMC Corporation
Shire
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For more information about supporting the PIC, please contact Jesse Hatfield, Development and Communications Manager, at
jessica.hatfield@bostonpic.org or 617.488.1322.
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Recent Media and Publications
Youth Employment
The Boston Globe, November 2016
A PIC-commissioned study conducted by the UMass Donahue Institute found that labor market participation among teens and young adults in Massachusetts has decreased in recent years despite overall economic growth.
Brookings, July 2016
The PIC was cited in a report by the Brookings Institute as an exemplar for having a developed staff infrastructure as it relates to successful youth summer jobs programs.
Press Release, July 2016
GE will partner with the PIC to launch its global high school internship program by hiring BPS students for internships at its new headquarters in Boston.
Video
The PIC is part of the C-Town Tech partnership, a technology-focused early college pathway preparing students to thrive in the digital economy.
Dropout Recovery
WBUR, August 10, 2016
The Re-Engagement Center was featured in a WBUR piece about Boston's efforts to reconnect Black and Latino teens who have dropped out of high school with educational opportunities.
Postsecondary Success
Report, June 2016
A report on Success Boston's progress toward its college completion goals found that among students at community colleges, those who had a Success Boston coach were more likely to graduate than those who did not (35% vs. 24%).
The Boston Globe, June 14, 2016
Overall college completion rates have significantly improved for BPS graduates, but gaps in gender and race persist.
Industry Convening
Video
In September, the PIC, in partnership with SkillWorks, launched the Greater Boston IT/Tech Consortium with a forum focused on workforce challenges, including lack of diversity in the sector across all occupations and lack of exposure between employers and two-year colleges as a talent pipeline.
Report, September 2016
This report details the activities and outcomes of the Skilled Careers in Life Sciences (SCILS) initiative over its 4-year grant period, which concluded in September.
Employment and Training Administration, July 2016
The PIC-convened Healthcare Careers Consortium was featured in an Employment and Training Administration report as an example of a workforce board successfully acting as a sector intermediary.
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Help us build a stronger Boston with a gift to the PIC.
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