BankWork$® Partners with Career Path Services to continue Financial Services Career Training Program in Pierce County.

A free, eight-week training program for low-income adults provides a pathway to financial services industry careers and helps local banks find the talent they need.

BankWork$ is a free, eight-week financial services job training program that operates in partnership with local banks, credit unions, and workforce systems to provide industry-focused skills training to low-income and/or under-employed adults working to overcome employment barriers in Pierce County, Washington.

BankWork$ offers a direct “training-to-paycheck” opportunity for Pierce County job seekers that can translate to a life-long and economically viable career in banking without the burden of accruing student loan debt.  To date, BankWork$ has graduated over 2,800 participants, and has placed over 2,000 participants into banking positions upon graduating.

The program offers an opportunity to enter a skilled profession within a couple of months, making it a short-term investment with long-term gains.   BankWork$ Executive Director, Colleen Anderson, stated the following:

“Our participants commit themselves to the program for eight-weeks of rigorous training and hard work. We commit to the participants as well, dedicating ourselves to putting our participants on the path to a career that provides a living-wage and opportunity for growth. It’s rewarding work, and every time we open a program in a new city we are proud knowing that we’re helping to build stronger, healthier communities.”

Pierce County employers will also benefit from this successful talent-acquisition solution for the banking industry.   According to WorkForce Central’s “Skills Gap Analysis & Sector Strategies at a Glance” report published in September 2016, nearly half of Pierce County’s population commute out of the county for work and employers struggle to hold onto top talent, often losing workers to prestigious “brand name” companies such Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing located in King County.

BankWork$ can assist Pierce County employers by recruiting and training local job candidates for long-term careers in banking.  To date, 82% of participants completing the program and placed into a banking position are still employed after 6 months and 71% are still employed after 12 months, which is promising to labor markets experiencing high worker emigration.

“Career Path Services is excited to enter into this partnership with area banks and credit unions, and with BankWork$”, says George Iranon, CEO of Career Path Services. “Together, we will build a talent pipeline for people interested in a career in the banking industry.  Through partnerships with sponsoring banks and credit unions, we will train 100 workers over the next year to meet the community’s demand for talent.”

Linda Nguyen, CEO of WorkForce Central, added the following:

“WorkForce Central is pleased to be a partner and investor of BankWork$. This training program illustrates the impact that public and private stakeholders can make in addressing a talent shortage in a specific industry.  It is a win-win program that provides an opportunity for Pierce County residents to gain skills and career access to the financial industry and provides a pipeline of qualified candidates to our local businesses.”

Career Path Services will offer four BankWork$ training cohorts within the next year with the first cohort launching September 10^th, 2018.  They are currently recruiting training applicants.  If you would like more information on how to apply for a training program or get involved, please send questions or inquires to bankworks@careerpathservices.org.

About BankWork$

BankWork$ started in Los Angeles in 2006 by the Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation in partnership with JVS Los Angeles.  Since then, BankWork$ has expanded to several markets across the nation including San Francisco, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Portland Oregon, Seattle Washington, and Pierce County Washington.  For more information, see www.bankworks.org

About Career Path Services

Career Path Services seeks to “Break the Spirit of Poverty through the Dignity of Work”.  Since 1971, Career Path Services has been partnering with workforce development systems and programs to assist job seekers obtain career advancing and family-supporting employment, and help employers find and keep the talent they need to create wealth for themselves, their employees and their communities.  For more information, see www.careerpathservices.org