Job Skills for New Careers
Help our community on the path to recovery. Empower people who are working hard but not getting ahead.
Launched at the beginning of 2020, the Truman Heartland Community Foundation community initiative, Job Skills for New Careers, is a strategic partnership focused on helping improve the economic status of families in Eastern Jackson County by providing a path to better paying, in-demand careers and resources to help them build financial stability in their lives.
Many low-wage restaurant and retail employees - who were barely making ends meet before the pandemic - are struggling to return to work. Job Skills for New Careers is the opportunity they need to recover and get on the path to jobs that are in-demand even during this crisis, including jobs in healthcare, technology and industrial trades.
In 2020, with $120,000 in support from Truman Heartland fundholders and a $60,000 grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, even amidst the coronavirus storm, the Job Skills initiative helped 81 participants.
In addition to covering the cost of training, the program provides wraparound support services, including public benefits counseling and financial coaching that will help remove barriers that may prevent program participants from reaching their goals both during the program and for the future. Now, as we approach the second year of the program, we anticipate demand to continue to grow.