Initiative
Big Picture Strategy
Allentown Works addresses employment barriers and provides residents pathways to education, affordable childcare, enhanced transportation options, workforce development, and employment in high opportunity industries.
By initiating new partnerships with local service providers, employers, and institutions, residents will have access to training opportunities to close skill gaps, affordable childcare to make stable employment more feasible, enhanced transportation options to more efficiently connect to jobs and education, and opportunities to pursue career pathways in high opportunity industries such as healthcare and manufacturing.
By 2030, Allentown Works will connect over 650 residents to high opportunity jobs and thereby reduce unemployment in priority neighborhoods by 60%.
Overview – What We Do
The Lehigh Valley continues to grow and transform, and Allentown is its beating heart. However, the regional growth of economic activity and opportunity has not completely made its way through to many of Allentown’s residents. Some of the city’s neighborhoods still experience persistently high levels of unemployment and low access to opportunity. This reality prompted the City of Allentown to successfully compete for U.S. EDA Recompete funding, to advance the city’s journey out of economic distress. Following this blueprint, Allentown Works is a $20 million program funded by a 2024-2029 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). The Allentown Works program will connect residents in the priority neighborhoods of Franklin Park, Center City, and the 1st and 6th Wards to pathways of opportunity, through supportive services, training, affordable childcare, enhanced transportation options, and connections to growing local industries.
Four Core Strategies
Allentown Works has four core strategies to help overcome barriers to employment and reduce the prime-age employment gap. As the Allentown Works team continues to build out these strategies with local partners, residents, and employers we will work to ensure each strategy is responding to the needs of our community members and evolve our approaches as needed.
Strategy 1: Facilitate Local Employment
Strategy #1 connects residents with a trained network of Resource Navigators who will work with PAEG residents in the three priority neighborhoods to better their barriers and identify pathways through the Allentown Works program to connect them to long-term, stable employment. To support economic mobility and job placement, Resource Navigators will connect residents to job search support, training, apprenticeships, and career pathways programs. Additionally, for those in the community who may be returning from prison, there are resources that provide support to formerly incarcerated individuals through workforce programs and job readiness coaching.
Strategy 2: Expand Access to Childcare
Strategy #2 addresses one of the biggest barriers to stable, long-term employment, accessing affordable and reliable childcare. Through expanded subsidies, families can access more affordable childcare options. For providers, a coordinated care network and programming to boost the capacity and quality of local facilities will allow them to better serve and accommodate local families while also increasing their funding streams and qualifications.
Strategy 3: Invest in transportation options
Strategy #3 is closing the gap between home and work with new flexible and reliable transit options that will result in shorter commutes and lower transportation costs. By investing in local transportation improvements, residents will have access to more reliable routes within the city and to local employment hubs. The Allentown Works priority of local employment and career pathways in local high-opportunity industries can facilitate bringing more good paying, stable jobs closer to the priority neighborhoods which will help to lessen transportation burdens in these communities.
Strategy 4: Connect to High-Opportunity Industries
Strategy #4 is unlocking job creation potential within our neighborhoods by redeveloping brownfields into urban manufacturing sites and enhancing healthcare career pathways. Identifying areas for urban manufacturing and flexible industrial uses will bring walkable, good paying, and stable jobs to our neighborhoods. Harnessing the power of the local healthcare sector by identifying opportunities for training and job growth that will provide accelerated pathways for economic mobility.