Career Readiness

Preparing individuals with the skills necessary to join and thrive in the workforce for today and tomorrow's industries.

Why is this important?

One of the quickest paths out of poverty towards economic self-sufficiency is sustainable employment. However, being “career ready” means having not only the technical skills but also the soft skills needed in today’s workplace. Despite relatively low unemployment rates, according to studies conducted by NACE (The National Association of Colleges and Employers), there is a current perceived skills gap in the area of career readiness, even for college graduates – from critical thinking to communication to leadership skills and more.

What are we doing about it?

Through the programs we support, individuals get help to find the right career path for them (despite diverse circumstances). We partner with nonprofits that provide individuals in our communities with resources for a better tomorrow – whether through certificate job programs, basic soft skills training, or even removing barriers to employment.

The Union Home Mortgage Foundation's signature program, uLaunch, is a done-in-a-day career readiness experience designed for high schoolers and young adults, whether college bound or not, that focuses on soft skills and professional development topics, from financial literacy to communication to career management and more. All experiences include a short overview of Union Home Mortgage and roles available within the mortgage industry. Each experience is flexible, with the ability for partnering organizations to develop a curriculum from our 29 courses which works for their students built into a 1-3 hour experience. Our knowledgeable and experienced UHM professionals instruct each course and cap each experience through panel discussions, interactive games or activities and more. The experience may be provided on UHM's corporate campus in Strongsville, in-person at your organization's location or virtually.

What are we doing about it? | Career Readiness

We have proudly provided grants to:

Towards Employment empowers individuals to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency through employment. They connect people to careers - helping them prepare, get, and keep a job; and then advance - so they can change lives, advance businesses and strengthen communities. They are a proven leader in workforce development, connecting people to careers in Northeast Ohio. Just last year, 560 Greater Cleveland residents got a job and took a step along their career pathway through their programs. A grant from the Union Home Mortgage Foundation supported their Career Pathways model which helps address complex issues/barriers (from homelessness to addiction recovery to criminal reentry) that keep people from retaining employment and advancing in their careers.

Youth Opportunities Unlimited helps teens and young adults succeed by providing educational and workforce opportunities, skills development and access to career pathways. Y.O.U. is the largest provider of youth workforce development in Northeast Ohio, serving teens and young adults in Cuyahoga, Lake and Lorain counties. Y.O.U. has many different employment, credentialed and training programs for young adults, ages 18-24, and operates the Young Adult Resource Center. They also have educational focused programming such as Jobs for Ohio Graduates, Internships and the E CITY Entrepreneurship program. Our most recent grant helped fund the Jobs for Ohio Graduates program, which is a career development based program focused on skills building and finding meaningful work experiences.

The mission of Boys Hope Girls Hope (BHGH) is to help academically capable and motivated children-in-need to meet their full potential by providing value-centered, family-like homes, as well as opportunities and educational experiences [from middle-school] through college. The major objective of their programs is to provide the support needed to envision, develop and realize a path to post-secondary education. BHGH addresses both the academic preparedness and character development needs of each child to ensure that they are not only afforded the opportunity to attend college, but they also learn the life and character development skills needed to succeed in, and graduate from, college. Our grant is providing their 175 scholars with job readiness programming, as well as individualized career coaching.

For over 60 years, the Cleveland Boys & Girls Clubs have been providing a safe space for vulnerable youth ages 6-18 to come to after school and during the summer. They offer safe and enriching environments where they can thrive. After merging with three other local clubs, they now serve over 8,500 young people daily at 36 different clubs focusing on literacy, arts, career readiness and more. BGCNEO inspires and enables young people who need us the most to reach their full potential. The Union Home Mortgage Foundation supported a grant focused on career readiness opportunities for at-risk youth through skills development, job shadowing and career coaching.

The Literacy Cooperative works to advance literacy by raising awareness of the issue, promoting effective public advocacy and fostering a delivery system with maximum impact on the region. They are an umbrella organization that brings foundations, organizations and people together to find practical solutions to improve literacy. Their support, coordination and facilitation of adult literacy initiatives are creating pathways that lead to rewarding and life-sustaining careers. Our most recent funding is supporting newer initiatives and research promoting and encouraging Cuyahoga County nonprofits to utilize a 2-Generational approach in their services or through collaboration to better serve residents for sustainable change.

Do you have a nonprofit with career readiness programs?

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