PowerCorpsPHL

Year Founded: 2013

PowerCorpsPHL connects people to careers and advances community. In Philadelphia, PowerCorpsPHL engages out-of-school or out-of-work 18- to 30-year-olds in an immersive, paid 3- to 24-month experience that results in connection to living wage jobs in clean energy, green infrastructure, and community-based careers. Nationally, PowerCorpsPHL engages cities to work collaboratively across sectors to implement our equity-centered workforce development framework as a solution to diversifying industries, growing local talent, and producing pathways to economic opportunity.

Through service gaps identified in landscape research and analysis led by the City of Philadelphia, PCPHL was founded to address three critical issue areas: community resilience to climate change, gun violence, and equitable economic development for opportunity youth. Its program model addresses this trifecta by training and skilling up out-of-school or out-of-work 18- to 30-year-olds to work in living wage jobs in high demand environmental fields such as clean energy, green infrastructure, and other community-based careers.

With the PCPHL model, communities not only address these challenges but amplify impact across intersecting issue areas while incentivizing systems and employers to collaborate on solutions and processes. PCPHL serves three main groups of clients: untapped talent (its program participants); talent-seekers (employers); and the community as a whole.

Impact Highlights:

• More than 90% of participants transition to employment or postsecondary education within six months.
• Approximately 10% one-year post-program recidivism rate for justice-involved participants (compared to ~35% overall in Philadelphia)
• Expanded its workforce model to multiple cities through technical assistance partnerships.