Visitors / Employees
West Philadelphia Skills Initiative
West Philadelphia Skills Initiative
University City District works to make University City hospitable to both employers and workers, and to help businesses grow and flourish. Our West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI) brings together universities and health systems, linking anchor institutions to community residents and focusing on career-ladder job opportunities paying family sustainable wages.
Stats
- Over 40 West Philadelphia high school graduates will be employed at Penn Medicine while pursuing college degrees and career opportunities
- Over 50 neighborhood high school students are placed in paid summer internships and receiving college and career preparedness training at University City’s largest institutions.
- Over25 underemployed West Philadelphia residents will become animal care technicians at Penn and medical assistants at Drexel’s College of Medicine.
- Over 10 West Philadelphia high school students are placed in year-round, after-school internships at University City small businesses such as Metropolitan Bakery and the Gold Standard Café.
- Under 1 year is all it took WPSI to create these invaluable new opportunities.