BEST CHANCE
In 2024, Capital Workforce Partners’ BEST Chance Program continued its mission of helping justice-involved individuals gain employment through industry-specific training in manufacturing, construction, culinary arts, and most recently infrastructure through the On-ramps to Infrastructure initiative. The program celebrated multiple cohort graduations, with participants attaining credentials and securing jobs in high-demand fields. In addition to Community Project funding, BEST Chance secured significant funding to further expand job readiness services, occupational training, job placement and retention services, and support for overcoming employment barriers for returning citizens, reinforcing the program’s role in reducing recidivism and creating sustainable career opportunities.
CAREER NAVIGATION
The Hartford Career Navigation System, led by CWP in partnership with the United Way of Central and Northeastern CT, the City of Hartford, and other partners, with support from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and the Nutmeg Foundation, made significant strides in supporting Hartford youth. Monthly Career Navigation Community of Practice (CoP) meetings have engaged 25 youth-serving agencies to enhance training, resource-sharing, and professional development to optimize comprehensive service delivery for over 8,000 youth out of school or work in the City of Hartford. In March, a provider-based career navigation resource directory was launched, allowing agencies to manage and update their own listings. May saw the launch of a Navigation Hub pilot at the Artist’s Collective in North Hartford, offering in-person career support twice a week, and most recently, an interagency intake-referral system is being developed to improve coordination and track outcomes, further strengthening the infrastructure for Career Navigation services for high-need Hartford Youth.
YOUTH DISCONNECTION ¹
In December 2024, youth advocates, nonprofit leaders, and elected officials in Hartford urged state leaders to increase investment in programs supporting disconnected youth, citing findings from the 119K Commission’s report, which highlights the nearly 119,000 young people in Connecticut who are at-risk or disconnected from employment and education. Advocates emphasized the urgency of expanding workforce training, educational re-engagement programs, and wraparound support services to help these individuals develop career pathways and avoid long-term economic hardship. As a result, a set of 22 recommendations through were established in the Young People First Report ² encompassing the supports, conditions, capacity, and community coalitions which need to be in place for youth to thrive, which will further guide the youth-focused work and collaboration which CWP engages in this next year.
AMERICAN JOBS CENTERS (AJC)
As the primary access point for jobseekers in need of services stewarded by CWP, the regional American Jobs Centers One-Stop System took significant action in 2024 to optimize AJC operations and further position the System as the one-stop-shop for all individuals seeking employment and career support, under a new plan known as Vision 2024. This plan includes the establishment of the One Stop System Vision, a Career Readiness Curriculum development, and integration of CWP’s Business Services team on-site, with increased performance outcomes across AJC programs expected in the year ahead. As of the most previous program year, over 10,000 were effectively triaged and served, with an even greater number of jobseekers to be served with strong referrals and tangible next steps following the finalization of Vision 2024.
SECTOR-BASED TRAININGS
CWP’s sector-based training initiatives, developed in response to both demonstrated industry hiring needs and the needs of CWP program participants for high-quality employment opportunities following training, expanded significantly in 2024. These initiatives, supported in large part by three regional sector partnerships (i.e. Capital Area Tech, Healthcare, and Transportation, Distribution, & Logistics Partnerships), consist primarily of Career ConneCT, the Good Jobs Challenge, H1-B, Jobs Funnel, and the Apprenticeship Connecticut Initiative (until May 2024), through which CWP administered training to 1,151 individuals, over two-thirds of which completed training in the most recent program year.
CONNECTICUT WORKFORCE SUMMIT ³
In April 2024, the Connecticut Workforce Summit, a collaboration between key stakeholders from business, education, community-based organizations, and the public sector including CWP, the Connecticut Office of Workforce Strategy, Governor’s Workforce Council, was convened to focus on building a skilled workforce, discovering hidden talent, reconnecting the 119,000 disconnected young people to opportunities in the workforce, and creating a more robust economy
GROWTH OF THE CONNECTICUT YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM ⁴
With support from CT DOL and the state legislature, Governor Ned Lamont expanded the Connecticut Youth Employment Program, administered through Capital Workforce Partners in the North Central Region, which connects individuals aged 14 to 24 with career exploration opportunities, job training, and paid work experience. Funding for the program was doubled from $5 million in fiscal year 2024 to $10 million in fiscal year 2025, aiming to provide more youths with valuable work experiences.