Nonprofit workforce-focused organizations can fill the gaps in local education and employment systems. Many organizations are founded to address a specific need in a community, like underemployment or barriers to transportation or training. It may be challenging for a business to address a need alone, but a nonprofit supported by several area businesses might be able to support the need across a community more effectively.

Nonprofit organizations generally support community programming and that can look different among organizations and even within each chapter to meet the specific needs of the served community. There are numerous organizations and it is worth doing research on potential partners before making a decision.  Different approaches to different workforce needs are necessary. Learn about a few below.

• She Built This City is a nonprofit headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., that is dedicated to providing industry-disruptive programming that sparks interest and builds pathways to lucrative careers in the skilled trades for youth, women, and marginalized communities. This involves dismantling barriers and stigmas in traditionally male-dominated industries through innovative, sustainable practices that prepare participants for both the current job market and jobs that have yet to be created. One of the several programs they run provides pre-apprenticeships and career guidance to underemployed women in the Charlotte metro area. She Built This City offers childcare to pre-apprentices--just one example of removing a barrier that can stand between motivated jobseekers and the jobs that need them. Learn more here.
• Be Pro Be Proud, Inc. is a nonprofit aiming to elevate the skilled trades as a career of choice, not last resort. The organization was born out of the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce’s goal to increase the number of residents pursuing a skilled trades career. The organization has expanded to a new state each year since its founding. Be Pro’s efforts focus on building Virtual Workshops that tour the state’s high schools to increase career exposure and celebrate students signing their first job offer upon graduation. Each state’s Virtual Workshop has different simulations featured, reflecting the different industries' financial support. 

State and local WDBs serve as connectors between the U.S. Department of Labor and local American Job Centers that deliver services to workers and employers. They are part of the Public Workforce System, which is a network of federal, state, and local offices that support economic expansion and develop the talent of the nation’s workforce.

A WDB is a group of community leaders who identify the needs of the local job market, oversee American Job Centers, and align workforce development initiatives in their area. WDBs develop regional strategic plans and set funding priorities for their area, coordinating with education and economic development stakeholders to administer programs that meet the needs of job seekers, businesses, and communities. They define the goals for local service delivery systems that serve employers and people entering the workforce.

Learn about the integral role workforce development boards play in local communities.

CareerOneStop maintains a Workforce Development Board Finder to make it easy to identify the local, county, and state boards that serve your community. CareerOneStop is a comprehensive source for career exploration, training, and jobs sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor and a partner of the American Job Center Network. Once you identify your WDB, a phone call and an email to the listed contact are the best first steps to learning more about opportunities to get involved.

As an active member of your local WDB, you can bring attention to the unique workforce needs of the structural steel industry within the context of the manufacturing and construction industries and beyond. The WDB can help interpret labor market data to guide your workforce development program. These agencies administer community workforce initiatives, so don’t be afraid to offer new program ideas to support your business’s workforce needs. Participating in the WDB can also help you forge valuable connections with other business owners facing similar challenges, which opens the door for collaborative problem-solving.

Chambers of Commerce are either government agencies or private enterprises that promote economic growth and development in their communities and are driven entirely by business interests. While a Chamber of Commerce can have a significant impact on workforce development training and education in the community, their overall goals are economic growth and development.

Workforce Development Boards are government agencies that are laser-focused on the workforce needs of a community from the employers' and jobseekers' perspectives.

Participation in one or both might serve your needs, so doing your own research is important.

If, after you've completed your research, you come up empty-handed, it may make sense to build your own support. Your company may take on this program as a special employee benefit or you may choose to partner with other local businesses to start your own nonprofit or foundation. Chances are you aren't alone in your needs and you will find alignment and passion for problem-solving within your own facility or at a business down the street.