Workforce programming for immigrants: Philadelphia, PA
MORE ABOUT THE STRATEGY USED IN THIS CASE STUDY Job placement services and supports
At-a-Glance
Summary
Between 1950 and 2007, Philadelphia’s population declined by about 600,000 residents. Since 2007, the city’s population has grown, largely due to an increase in immigration to the region. While the influx of immigrants has strengthened the city’s finances and the local economy, many of these immigrants have struggled to find high-quality employment.
At the same time, employers in Philadelphia continued to face a “skills mismatch” – a gap between job seekers’ skills and the requirements for available jobs. Recognizing the challenges faced by recent immigrants and the opportunity that immigration represented to Philadelphia, local leaders founded the Pennsylvania Immigrant Resource Center – later renamed The Welcoming Center (TWC).
TWC, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization, aims to promote inclusive economic growth through immigrant integration. TWC offers a variety of services to recent immigrants, including three workforce programs: English and Digital Skills Training, International Professionals Program (IPP), and the Entrepreneurship Program.
Keys to TWC’s success include its highly contextualized, participant-centered programming; strong internal evaluation practices; close relationships with local leaders; access to funders willing to support pilot projects; and the decision to frame its work as a contributor to the city’s economic development.
Obstacles to TWC’s success include a lack of access to stable, long-term funding; greater demand for its services than the organization can provide; and the largely negative framing of immigration in national political and cultural conversations.
Results and Accomplishments
83%
One year after completing the International Professionals Program, 83 percent of participants are employed, compared to 40 percent prior to enrollment.
37%
After completing the program, English for Job Search participants reported a 37 percent increase in the use of career-relevant skills, like finding a job online or writing a cover letter.
67%
Before participating in the Entrepreneurship Program, 44 percent of clients had self-sustaining businesses. One year after completing the program, 67 percent of participants did, a 23 percentage point increase.
Serving thousands of recent immigrants: The Welcoming Center (TWC) promotes inclusive economic growth in Philadelphia through immigrant integration. Since 2003, TWC has served over 20,000 participants, largely through its three workforce programs: the International Professionals Program, English for Job Search, and the Entrepreneurship Program.
Improving employment outcomes: Through TWC’s workforce programs, participants build the skills necessary to achieve their professional goals. For example, after completing its English for Job Search program, TWC participants reported a 26 percent increase in confidence with key professional skills, like completing job applications, writing resumes, and conducting informational interviews.
Creating a sense of belonging: After completing a TWC program, participants not only have stronger professional skills, but deeper social and professional networks as well. For example, after completing the Entrepreneurship Program, significantly more participants reported having both someone they could turn to for personal support and having valuable business connections in their community.
Strengthening Philadelphia’s workforce: With Philadelphia facing a mismatch between the skills workers have and those employers need, TWC actively works to prepare recent immigrants for careers that match their strengths and employers’ needs. Other communities have taken note, with economic development organizations in Detroit (MI) and Cleveland (OH) working to replicate the program locally.
Receiving recognition for its impact: TWC is frequently featured in local and national media for its impact on Philadelphia's immigrant community and workforce ecosystem. The organization has received coverage from the New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and both of Philadelphia’s NBC and NPR affiliates.
Winning local government funding: Early on, TWC secured the City of Philadelphia’s buy-in for its mission, with the local government becoming a key funder. In the years since, the City’s financial support for TWC’s work has only grown, illustrating the value of TWC’s programming to the broader community.
Overview
What was the challenge?
Population decline impacts Philadelphia: Between 1950 and 2007, Philadelphia’s population shrunk by about 600,000 residents, from 2 million to 1.4 million. The population decline cut into the city’s tax base, threatening its ability to provide high-quality services to residents.
Immigration presents a solution: Since 2007, Philadelphia has seen modest population growth, gaining about 100,000 residents. Notably, nearly the entire margin of that growth came from the increasing number of immigrants calling the city home.
Workforce challenges affect immigrants: The influx of foreign born individuals strengthened the city’s tax base and contributed to its economic dynamism. However, many recent immigrants struggled to find high-quality employment in Philadelphia. Language barriers, cultural differences in hiring processes, and limited recognition of foreign professional credentials represented common obstacles to employment.
Employers face a skills mismatch: At the same time, employers in Philadelphia continued to face a “skills mismatch” – a gap between job seekers’ skills and the requirements for available jobs. While traditional workforce programming aimed to close this gap, the region invested relatively little in workforce programming for recent immigrants, even as foreign born individuals grew to represent about 20 percent of Philadelphia's workforce.
Addressing the needs of immigrants and the broader community: Recognizing the challenges faced by recent immigrants and the opportunity that immigration represented to Philadelphia, Anne O’Callaghan and local business, labor, and political leaders founded the Pennsylvania Immigrant Resource Center in 2003. Later renamed The Welcoming Center, the organization aims to promote inclusive economic growth through immigrant integration.
What was the solution?
Supporting immigrants in reaching their goals: The Welcoming Center’s (TWC) programming aims to increase immigrants’ upward economic mobility and strengthen their social and civic ties to the community. TWC’s three primary workforce programs include English and Digital Skills Training, International Professionals Program (IPP), and the Entrepreneurship Program.
Tailoring learning to the U.S. professional context: The English and Digital Skills Training program integrates English language, digital literacy, and career readiness instruction. The program is experiential, placing language and digital literacy learning in the U.S. job search and work context (e.g., practicing speaking skills through a mock interview). Participants also receive one-on-one support from a student success and intake coordinator, who connects participants to support services they need to be successful in the course.
Helping highly educated immigrants leverage their skills: TWC’s International Professionals Program helps highly skilled immigrants leverage their past training and professional experience to access higher quality employment. To qualify, applicants must have work authorization, at least intermediate English proficiency, and an international university degree or its equivalent. The program includes eight weeks of job readiness training followed by six months of career coaching, with both designed to support participants in transitioning into a professional role that takes advantage of their skill set. TWC also leverages its relationships with local employers to expand participants’ professional networks.
Developing immigrant entrepreneurs: Geared toward immigrants who operate or intend to operate a business, TWC’s Entrepreneurship Program guides participants in creating a viable business plan. During the 12-week program, students learn relevant skills, like accounting, cash management, and marketing, and work one-on-one with an advisor to address individual needs. At the end of the course, students with sound business plans are eligible to be connected to lenders who may provide them with capital for their businesses.
Who were the key stakeholders?
City of Philadelphia: The City of Philadelphia is one of The Welcoming Center’s (TWC) key funders, as well as an employer partner, with the City’s Department of Human Resources regularly collaborating with TWC to connect immigrants to civil service careers. The Department of Commerce also coordinates the Workforce Professional Alliance, a collaborative of workforce development organizations, of which TWC is a member.
Community-based organizations: TWC works closely with other social services, immigrant-serving, and cultural organizations. These partners serve as a key source for client referrals and as collaborators in advocacy campaigns to increase support for immigrant- and workforce-oriented programming.
Local business community: TWC builds relationships with area employers to create pipelines for its participants to secure employment. Local employers also serve as a key source of volunteers for TWC programs (e.g., leading mock interviews for participants).
Program participants: As part of its commitment to measurement and evaluation, TWC regularly collects participant feedback on its programs to inform subsequent improvements. Through the Participant Advisory Council, which consists of TWC program alumni, former participants engage with organizational strategy and in working groups focused on key organizational priorities.
Philanthropic partners: Philanthropic partners, like the Knight Foundation, Barra Foundation, and the WES Mariam Assefa Fund, have been key funding sources for TWC. In particular, when TWC has stood up new, innovative program models, philanthropic partners have been vital in securing the initial funding to show proof of concept.
What factors drove success?
Leveraging strong local leaders: From the offset, The Welcoming Center’s (TWC) Board of Directors included key business and labor leaders. Both groups were natural stakeholders given TWC’s focus on immigrant integration as a workforce development strategy. Strong buy-in from these leaders proved vital to building broader community and political support for TWC’s vision.
Framing the mission around economic development: While TWC acknowledges the ethical imperatives for supporting immigrant communities, the organization intentionally frames its mission around inclusive economic growth. As immigration is typically seen as a national issue, many leaders in Philadelphia did not initially understand why it should be a priority at the local level. By emphasizing the role of immigrant integration in the city’s economic development, TWC is able to attract a broader base of support for its work.
Access to funders willing to take risks: On multiple occasions, TWC developed innovative program models to address unmet community needs. However, to demonstrate the effectiveness of these models, TWC relied on funders – typically philanthropic foundations – willing to take measured risks on unproven approaches. This willingness proved vital to TWC’s ability to subsequently secure larger, longer-term funding streams for these programs.
Offering individualized support to participants: TWC offers multiple workforce programs, each designed to meet the needs of specific immigrant subpopulations – from professionals with postsecondary training from international universities to entrepreneurs looking to start or grow a business. Across these programs, staff also provide participants with a high degree of individualized support based on their professional goals. For both of these reasons, TWC excels at connecting participants to professional opportunities related to their areas of interest.
Leveraging data to demonstrate impact and improve programming: TWC has a strong commitment to measurement and evaluation, collecting pre- and post-participation data for all of its programs. These data enable TWC to recognize when participants are not experiencing the desired outcomes and adjust its programming accordingly. Additionally, these data play a key role in demonstrating the organizations impact, allowing it to build buy-in from funders and other stakeholders.
What were the major obstacles?
Uncertainty around funding: There are few consistent, long-term funding sources available to The Welcoming Center (TWC). To mitigate this challenge, TWC has moved to diversify its funding sources, including by expanding its geographic footprint to open up access to new funders. Additionally, TWC leverages its strong measurement and evaluation practices to demonstrate its impact and cultivate interest from additional funders.
Negative narrative toward immigration: Currently, the broader political and cultural conversation around immigration is largely negative, failing to recognize the positive impact of immigration of communities like Philadelphia. This negative, often highly politicized narrative makes it more challenging for TWC to convert skeptical stakeholders into supporters.
Demand for services outstrips capacity: Given its limited resources and the high overall demand for immigrant-serving workforce programming, TWC is unable to serve all of those who would benefit from its services. In recent years, TWC has received nearly four times as many applications than the number of participants it has the capacity to enroll.
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Timeline
Anne O’Callaghan and local business, labor, and political leaders founded the Pennsylvania Immigrant Resource Center, which would later become The Welcoming Center (TWC).
Working with a community partner, TWC offers English for Entrepreneurs workshops to business owners on Philadelphia’s 52nd Street. This training would later inform TWC’s Healthy Carts Initiative, aimed at supporting vendors using sidewalk carts, and its Entrepreneurship Program.
Focused on immigrants with college degrees from foreign colleges and universities, TWC pilots its IPP program. With data from this pilot, TWC would later expand its IPP program to all college-educated immigrants.
As part of its commitment to advance immigrant integration at the national-level, TWC serves as a founding member of the WE Global Network, a group of organizations focused on leveraging the economic development opportunities created by immigrants.
After a successful pilot, and after reviewing community feedback and evaluation data, TWC opens the IPP to all college educated immigrants.
Recognizing the value of participant input, TWC forms the Participant Advisory Council (PAC), which would consist of program alumni. The PAC would advise on strategic decisions and assist with organizational projects through working groups.
Leveraging a partnership with the Build From Within Alliance, a consortium of entrepreneur-focused organizations across the U.S., TWC expands its Entrepreneurship Program, adopts a new curriculum, and begins offering the program in more languages.
Through a partnership with The Junkin Group, TWC develops and launches a robust internal measurement and evaluation system, enabling the organization to make data-driven decisions about its programming.
FOCUS, a workforce-contextualized language course for immigrants with lower English proficiency, launches. FOCUS would later become the English for Job Search program.
Supported by a grant from the WES Mariam Assefa Fund, TWC develops the Engaging Immigrant Talent Toolkit, a resource for employers interested in implementing best practices for immigrant integration in their workplace.
TWC’s English for Job Search program, offering professionally contextualized language learning for immigrants with lower English proficiency, launches.
Implementation process
What were the key components of the program’s design?
- Centering participants in program design: The Welcoming Center (TWC) continually revises its program curricula based on the needs of current and upcoming participants. For example, TWC currently offers its Entrepreneurship Program in English, Spanish, Dari, and Ukrainian, reflecting the most common languages used by its current program participants.
- Prioritizing applied, context-specific learning: TWC’s workforce programs incorporate “real-world,” professionally-relevant exercises to best prepare participants to succeed in the U.S. job market and workplace. For example, as part of the English and Digital Skills Training program, participants practice English language skills through resume writing, mock interviews, and other career-relevant scenarios.
- Emphasizing relationship building through programming: Across its programs, TWC supports participants in developing social and civic capital. By using a cohort model for its programs and planning networking and other community-building activities, participants are positioned to build strong relationships with their fellow participants. For many immigrants, these relationships are a vital part of building their support system as they settle into their lives in the United States.
How were community members engaged?
Incorporating participant feedback into process improvements: The Welcoming Center (TWC) integrates participant perspectives into its cyclical evaluation of each of its program models. Participant feedback is collected through both surveys and focus groups, and these data are used to inform improvements to program curricula.
Engaging participants in decision-making and implementation: TWC’s Participant Advisory Council (PAC) consists of former participants who are leaders in its alumni community. The PAC is involved in TWC’s strategic planning efforts and is tapped to support various internal working groups. For example, when TWC reviewed its intake process, the PAC advised on changes to TWC’s physical space that would make it more welcoming and culturally-responsive for new participants.
Developing relationships with workforce partners: TWC works closely with employer partners to understand their workforce needs and increase their access to immigrant talent. Through its International Professionals Program, TWC also partners with local American Job Centers (AJC), creating a pipeline of candidates into AJC services.
How did equity considerations factor in?
Focusing on immigrants: Immigrants often face barriers to integration, including workplace discrimination, an inability to transfer professional credentials, and disconnection from social and professional networks. The Welcoming Center (TWC) provides key services to Philadelphia’s immigrant population, a group that has been traditionally underserved by workforce and economic development organizations.
Removing barriers to participation: As in many workforce programs, TWC’s clients face barriers to sustained participation in programming. To reduce participant attrition, TWC offers support services both internally and through referral to external partners. For example, English for Job Search participants check-in one-on-one with an intake and student services coordinator, who can connect them to various supports, like transportation assistance.
Emphasizing language access: TWC is committed to ensuring that individuals who are not able to speak English or are non-native English speakers can navigate their services and participate in their programs. To this end, TWC contracts with a translation service and provides course materials and participant surveys in multiple languages that are commonly spoken among their client base.
What were the key activities leading up to and following launch?
Recognizing a need and an opportunity: Recognizing the challenges that immigrants faced in integrating into the Philadelphia community, along with the positive benefits that immigration brought to the city, local leaders founded the Pennsylvania Immigrant Resource Center in 2003. Focused on promoting economic growth through immigrant inclusion, PIRC would later become The Welcoming Center (TWC).
Partnering to support local entrepreneurs: In 2010, TWC partnered with the African Cultural Alliance of North America to run the English for Entrepreneurship program, which provided customer service and conflict resolution training to business owners on Philadelphia’s 52nd Street. Created in response to a high-profile dispute between an immigrant business owner and native-born customers, the program aimed to reduce tension along the corridor. In 2018, the Entrepreneurship developed into its current form, as TWC joined the Build from Within Alliance, gaining access to a network of organizations working on entrepreneurship programming.
Iterating programming to best serve immigrants with college degrees: Early on, TWC recognized that highly-educated immigrants often struggled to transfer their professional credentials to the U.S. After creating Career Guides, which laid out licensure pathways for a set of fields, TWC identified that many participants would best be served not by securing a formal professional license in the U.S., but by leveraging their experience and training to secure a related role. Piloted in 2012, the International Professionals Program aimed to fill this niche. By 2017, after examining data from and feedback on the pilot, TWC expanded IPP to be open to all college-educated immigrants. Largely with funding from the City of Philadelphia, TWC subsequently added paid fellowship opportunities to IPP, enabling participants to gain U.S.-based work experience.
Leveraging learnings across programs: Seeing the impact of the IPP program on college-educated immigrants, TWC aimed to build a program where immigrants with lower English proficiency could learn similar workforce readiness skills. At the same time, TWC wanted to integrate more contextualized learning into its English for Speakers of Other Languages program. These twin goals led to the development of the Foundations of Communication in the US program, which subsequently grew into TWC’s current English for Job Search program.
How was the approach funded?
Stewarding a diverse set of funding sources: Early on, TWC was primarily funded by the City of Philadelphia. Over time, the City’s contributions have increased, but TWC has added other funders to create a more diverse set of funding sources. This approach has allowed TWC to expand its services and increase its resistance to funders’ changing priorities. As of 2023, the organizational budget was $2M, largely made up of government, private foundation, and direct fundraising.
Securing key government funding: Approximately a third of TWC’s budget comes from government grants and contracts, with the City of Philadelphia being the single largest governmental funding source. TWC has also accessed additional funding through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.
Leveraging flexible philanthropic funds: Grants from private foundations represent a further third of TWC’s annual budget. Currently, these funds largely support programmatic operations, but TWC has historically leveraged philanthropic dollars to pilot new programs as well. This approach has allowed TWC to demonstrate the effectiveness of new programs, subsequently opening up a broader range of funding sources to sustain them over time. TWC’s key philanthropic partners include the Knight Foundation, Barra Foundation, Connelly Foundation, Citizens Charitable Foundation, WES Mariam Aseffa Fund, Weinberg Foundation, Lincoln Financial Foundation, and William Penn Foundation.
Cultivating gifts from individual donors and corporate partners: TWC has also developed a strong pipeline of direct contributions from individuals. A cornerstone of this work is TWC’s annual fundraising event, Solas, which raised $520,000 in 2024 to cover operating expenses. Key corporate partners, which largely support TWC’s Entrepreneurship Program, include Santander, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
How was the approach measured and refined?
Leveraging external evaluation support: In 2017, The Welcoming Center (TWC) began working with the Junkin Group, an external research and evaluation firm. As part of the partnership, the Junkin Group conducted an evaluation of the International Professionals Program and helped build out TWC’s internal monitoring and evaluation system.
Robust internal evaluation processes: TWC collects both qualitative and quantitative data on key outcomes for all of its workforce programs. These data are collected longitudinally, allowing TWC to understand each program’s impact over a multi-year period. For example, for its International Professionals Program, TWC tracks participants’ employment status, job satisfaction, and feelings of social support, among several other outcomes.
Learning from participant experiences: TWC regularly uses its internal evaluations to identify opportunities to improve its workforce programs. As part of this process, TWC also conducts focus groups with participants after they complete a program, providing another opportunity to collect client feedback. This systematic approach allows TWC staff to continuously adjust program curricula and design based on the needs of participants.