Partner4Work awards $350K to support entrepreneurial, STEM opportunities for young adults

Partner4Work announces a total of $350,000 in grant funding to 11 organizations tapped to deliver entrepreneurial or STEM programming to young adults in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

In late 2016,  Partner4Work sought to expand the portfolio of activities of services by seeking partners that could deliver innovative entrepreneurial skills training programs built on linkages between business, education, and non-profit partners. At the same time, Partner4Work sought to expand its STEM-related career exploration and short-term occupational skills training programs for disadvantaged high school students or recent high school graduates.

Awards were made in February; the following activities will take place through June 30, 2017.

Entrepreneurial skills 

• Auberle will connect 10 young adults with maker skills at Tech Shop. Young people will sell their project at the Pittsburgh Arts Festival or another city market.
• Fifteen young people connected to the Ozanam basketball program will take over an Italian ice business.
• Eight young people will learn college-level technical training in audio recording and mixing and work with local musicians through Homewood-Brushton YMCA.
• Twenty young adults will establish a entrepreneurial design studio as a consulting firm through Homewood Children's Village.
• Junior Achievement will blend digital and hands-on learning to help 35 young people develop a product from conception to supply.
• Twenty young adults will work with Youth Places to develop a business plan to pitch to a panel of judges for possible acceptance into the Innovation Works summer program.
• Goodwill of Southwestern PA will pair 20 young people with small and mid-sized business owners to learn what it takes to run a business.

STEM programming

• Gwen's Girls will provide 20 weeks of STEM education and job readiness training to 50 young people. 
• Carnegie Science Center will match a young person and a mentor for the Fab Lab to complete four design challenges and create a capstone project.
• About 220 young people will be served as a result of Neighborhood Learning Alliance's Tech Warrior Leaders program. Older youth learn tech and mentorship skills as they teach middle school students robotics and engineering, digital media, and environmental sustainability lessons.
• YWCA will teach 60 young people coding, 3D printing, financial literacy and decision making.