PHILADELPHIA, PA — Philadelphia Works Inc. will receive $851,000 in federal workforce funding to train 115 justice-involved Philadelphia residents ages 15 to 24 through December 2029, using a model designed to continue job training after participants leave custody rather than forcing them to restart programs.
The funding comes through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Reentry Employment in Skilled Trades, Advanced Manufacturing, Registered Apprenticeships, and Training initiative, or RESTART, and is being distributed by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. An additional $300,000 in Commonwealth funding brings the Philadelphia program’s total cost to $1.151 million.
Participants will train in four career pathways: welding and industrial fabrication, advanced manufacturing, health care support operations, and enterprise digital solutions and information technology support.
The program is structured around continuity between incarceration and reentry. Participants can begin pre-apprenticeship instruction at the Philadelphia Department of Prisons Skills Center and resume at the same point after release, carrying forward instructional hours, competency milestones and progress toward credentials.
Case management will begin at least 90 days before release and continue for 12 months after participants exit the program.
“Too many young people in Philadelphia do everything we ask of them while they are incarcerated and then hit a wall the moment they come home,” Philadelphia Works President and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Clancy said. “This award lets us close that gap.”
Each career pathway will provide technical instruction and lead toward industry-recognized credentials, with participants connected to Registered Apprenticeships, subsidized on-the-job training or employment through Philadelphia’s fair-chance employer network.
Participants who have not earned a high school diploma may apply qualifying work-based learning hours toward graduation under Pathway 5 of Pennsylvania Act 158 in coordination with the School District of Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Works will coordinate the program across several city workforce and corrections organizations. For participants ages 18 to 24, the Philadelphia Technician Training Institute, procured by the Philadelphia Department of Prisons, will provide training before release.
Contracted providers will handle post-release training in partnership with the prisons department and PA CareerLink Philadelphia. Support services will include transportation, tools and work attire.
Participants ages 15 to 17 will enter through Career Connected Learning Philadelphia, the city’s youth workforce initiative led by the City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Works and the School District of Philadelphia.
Those participants will receive stipends for paid work-based learning, including internships, project-based and service-learning programs and job shadowing with employers, nonprofit organizations and city agencies.
The Philadelphia award is part of nearly $3 million in federal RESTART funding distributed through Pennsylvania to four local workforce development boards serving about 400 participants statewide. The U.S. Department of Labor established RESTART as an approximately $81 million national grant initiative focused on employment and training for people with criminal records.
Partner4Work in Allegheny County received $851,000 to serve 115 people ages 18 to 24. Lancaster County’s workforce development board received $518,000 for 70 participants ages 18 to 24, while Montgomery County’s board received $444,000 to serve 60 people ages 15 to 24.
Businesses interested in hiring justice-involved young adults or providing work-based learning opportunities can connect with Philadelphia Works through its employer participation form. Career seekers can access services through pacareerlinkphl.org.
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