To ensure that Baltimore’s economy is thriving, residents must have access to training and education that lead to jobs with family-sustaining wages. Building a jobs pipeline for Baltimore City is crucial to the economic vitality of the city and region. As such, workforce development is a major focus of the BPM’s Hire Black Baltimore
Baltimore’s highly educated workforce and diverse innovation economy have buoyed the region’s growth. However, each year thousands of jobs remain vacant due to a mismatch between the skills required by employers and those available in the labor force talent pool. Closing this jobs/skills mismatch is essential for Baltimore to retain and grow talent, jobs and its competitive edge in the global marketplace.
BPM’s Hire Baltimore initiative is an ambitious effort on the part of philanthropy, government, community organizations, unions, and employers to strengthen the workforce development system so it:

Helps low-skill, low-income residents move to family-sustaining jobs.

Initiative Components:

Resume Writing
Professional Development Workshops
Job Search & Network Coaching
Mock and real interviews

Initiative Overview:

Monthly in-person and virtual workshops
Online resume database to be reviewed by employers
Bi-annual Career fairs with professional development workshops

Initiative Goals:
Goals of the Workforce Development Program includes:

90% of low-skill, low-income participants will move to family-sustaining jobs.
100% of employers find and retain skilled employees.
Increase the job growth rate by 1% per year in the Baltimore City area
Increase the number of job opportunities for minorities.
Decrease inner-city crime and incarceration rates.
Create partnerships with the community to meet the increasing demand for a skilled workforce.