What does it mean to be an Employer partner?

First and foremost, JobTrain is about the talented men and women who come through our program, excited about a new career pathway and ready to make the substantial commitment of 3 months of intensive, full-time training.  They are, in many ways, the future of the Bay Area workforce.

Would you be surprised to learn that 1.6 million people in the Bay Area are living below the self-sufficiency level? 

Our newly released Broken Pathway report is one of the tools we use to understand the world around us to set our sights on JobTrain’s future.  Nearly half of those Bay Area residents below the self-sufficiency level are working, often in more than one low-wage job.  You may also be surprised to learn that 67% of jobs in California do not require a college degree. For a person to have access to those jobs and to those opportunities, an individual must have the specific job skills.  It is often said that talent is equally distributed across all communities…but opportunity is not!

So what is it that JobTrain does to create a space where Talent meets Opportunity?

We deliver three steps to opportunity that are designed to meet a person where they are, while offering a breadth of programs to allow us to have options and services for most people, regardless of their background and barriers.

At the first level, participants have access to services and benefits that help them become more stable in their lives.  Access to food security, housing security, legal services, on-site child care, and much more. Once stable, a student may have some basic skills that require development or improvement.  So, the second step to opportunity, for those that need it, is upgrading their skills.  This could be improving English as a second language, obtaining a GED or High School diploma, developing contemporary digital literacy and more.

The third step is full scope career training for high demand, middle wage careers. JobTrain offers pathways to careers in Technology, Health Care, Construction Trades and Culinary Arts.  These four career pathways include five different courses.

And it works!  How do we know?

• In 2018 482 students entered career training.
• In 2018 alone, 482 students attended career training courses.
• 77% of graduates have secured jobs, earning an average of $45K/year.
• 81% of those graduates are still employed one year later.
• And on average, 70% of JobTrain graduates are still working 10 years later!

JobTrain focuses our internal employer partnership efforts on High Road employers.

These are employers that take the high road with their employees; help them develop their skills and provide opportunities to advance within the company; seek out and embrace nontraditional talent; pay a fair wage and offer meaningful benefits; and engage in the community as civic entrepreneurs.

Speaking of High Road employers, JobTrain launched an annual employer awards program designed to find and shine a spotlight on the Bay Area’s most forward thinking, human centered companies of our time.  Originally called the Economic Opportunity Awards, we now call these awards the Bridge Awards.

We invite any High Road employers to begin their partnership with JobTrain today!