The Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development is seeking proposals from qualified organizations to provide sectoral training and intermediary services under its Life Sciences Workforce Development Initiative (LSWDI), an initiative that seeks to support the growth of local life sciences clusters by expanding access to career opportunities for underserved and underrepresented communities.
Donor Name: Office of Workforce Development (OWD)
State: Massachusetts
City: Boston
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/21/2023
Size of the Grant:
- Category 1: $100K
- Category 2: Up to $500K
Grant Duration: 2 years
Details:
Through LSWDI, Mayor is acting on its commitment to build a more equitable, inclusive economy. The vision is to cultivate and diversify the City’s life sciences workforce by investing in training and education, partnering closely with industry, and addressing barriers to employment in the sector.
- Increase the number of workers receiving life sciences certification or academic degrees and expand employment opportunities and career pathways in the industry, particularly workers from underrepresented communities, including those without four-year degrees and workers of color.
- Expand the availability of training and education programs to increase access for Boston residents.
- Increase the number of Boston residents with access to middle- and high-wage earning opportunities in life sciences through demonstrated employer commitments to new hires and the promotion of incumbent workers.
- Remove institutional obstacles to occupational mobility for potentially qualified candidates.
- Develop clear and achievable career pathway strategies in life sciences and STEM fields.
- Provide resources to help workforce development partners, training partners, and employers leverage available funding to place workers in middle-skill and high-skill occupations in life sciences and STEM.
- Engage industry leaders in an expanded role of informing training curricula; removing credential barriers; creating certificate training programs; and training job seekers and incumbent workers (e.g., non-technical life sciences workers, health care workers, etc.) for reskilling and upskilling into life sciences occupations.
- Empower engagement between community-based organizations, training organizations, and employers by creating opportunities for substantive exchange and cross-system alignment and improvement.
The key elements of the LSWDI include:
Through these objectives, the City aims to reach the goal of 1,000 new Boston residents employed in the life sciences by the end of 2025.
Categories City of Boston seeks proposals in two distinct service categories:
- CATEGORY 1: Funding for Training and Placements They will fund job training services for Boston residents to gain entry into high-growth, high-demand careers in the life sciences and STEM industries. Award Information: Awards will be for $100K or more for Category 1 programs.
- CATEGORY 2: Greater Boston Life Sciences Intermediary They will fund an intermediary to drive the formation of labor market relationships and develop sustainable pathways to career advancement and family-supporting employment in the life sciences industry. Both service categories are complementary, and funded entities are expected to interface closely with each other and operate in a collaborative manner to achieve the desired outcomes.
Award Information
Up to $500K will be available for Category 2.
Grant Term
The award will be made for a two-year contract with an anticipated start date of October 2, 2023.
Eligible Type of Entity
City of Boston welcomes applications from partnerships or collaborations. Partnerships will need to identify a lead applicant. An organization may be part of multiple applications as a partner but may only be the lead applicant on one application. Lead applicants must hold 501(c)(3) status under the Internal Revenue Code or have an identified fiscal sponsor holding 501(c)(3) status. Non-profit, private, or public higher education institutions are also eligible to apply.
Eligibility Criteria
Category 1 Participant Eligibility and Target Populations
Participants funded under Category 1 must meet all the eligibility criteria below:
- Unemployed or underemployed, defined as those in temporary, part-time, or unstable positions; those working in jobs without benefits; and those whose income does not suffice to meet the needs of their families (including those earning less than the City of Boston’s Living Wage).
- Boston resident.
- 18 years old or older.
- Must be willing and able to be placed in and retain full-time, unsubsidized employment, internship, or post-secondary education leading to a career with full-time employment in a living wage job, defined as $17.55 /hour as of July 1, 2023.
- OWD is especially interested in reaching individuals with limited English proficiency, historically marginalized and/or underrepresented communities, women, and populations from low-income backgrounds.
- NJT Funds may only be used to serve clients who are at or below 80% of Boston’s Area Median Income (AMI) .
In addition, the project has the goal of serving at least 75% of participants being (of) one or more of the following:
- BIPOC communities;
- individuals with limited English proficiency;
- low-income communities.
Category 2 Target Stakeholders
The intermediary will engage entities with a vested interest in Greater Boston’s life sciences sector, including employers, education and training providers, and workforce development agencies.
For more information, visit LSWDI.
