BankWork$ program coming to Pittsburgh
By Patty Tascarella
Senior Reporter, Pittsburgh Business Times
Partner4Work has teamed with the Pennsylvania Bankers Association and several local financial institutions to bring a national program to the region that prepares young adults for banking positions and helps to provide a diversified pipeline of talent to banks as competition intensifies for skilled personnel.
Developed by the banking sector, BankWork$ prepares individuals with barriers to employment to become qualified candidates for entry-level positions such as tellers, customer service representatives and personal bankers. Students also receive soft-skills training, coaching and mentoring, information about career pathways, interview prep, and other hands-on activities.
Classes are offered at no cost for qualifying students and run for eight weeks at the Energy Innovation Center Institute, beginning Sept. 30. The program’s kickoff is a Wednesday afternoon event at the Jeron X. Grayson Community Center in the Hill District.
Recruitment is open, with a special emphasis on recruiting individuals from the Hill District, Partner4Work said.
BankWork$ is a program of the Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, based in Seattle. Les Biller, a former COO of Wells Fargo & Co., and Sheri Biller, a community activist and volunteer, launched BankWork$ in 2006. It operates in 13 other U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Dallas, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia.
In Pittsburgh, supporters include: Citizens Bank, PNC Bank, Bank of America Corp., Northwest Bank, First Commonwealth Bank, Dollar Bank, Huntington Bank, S&T Bank, and the John K. and Margaret S. McCartan Charitable Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation. Michael Price, First Commonwealth CEO, is chairman of the Pennsylvania Bankers Association.
As of the end of the first quarter, banks employed 31,810 statewide, down from 35,131 a year ago. But turnover is steep industrywide, and competition for employees is accelerating in the Pittsburgh metro. Both Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have ambitious plans as they enter retail banking in southwestern Pennsylvania, and small local banks, including Somerset Trust Co., are opening branches in surrounding counties such as Fayette and Westmoreland.
See the article online at https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2019/08/19/bankwork-program-coming-to-pittsburgh.html.
Source: Pittsburgh Business Times
Nationally recognized for innovation, Partner4Work delivers workforce solutions for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County to ensure the current and future needs of businesses and job seekers are met. As stewards of more than $25 million in public and private workforce funds, Partner4Work oversees and funds workforce programs for adults, dislocated workers, and youth; educates the community through robust labor market analytics; and implements innovative solutions to the region's systemic workforce challenges. Partner4Work bridges the gap between people looking for work and companies in need of talent. More information is available at www.partner4work.org.