Wall Street West Announces Additional Workforce Development Projects; Continues Commitment to Aid Northeastern Pennsylvania Citizens

Keystone College, Lehigh University and Northampton Community College to receive more than $375,000 for new projects

NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA - With the debate for improved education and workforce development ongoing throughout the commonwealth and nation, Wall Street West forges ahead in making strategic investments to generate long-term dividends for the ten-county region. To continue towards this goal, the initiative has partnered with three regional institutes of higher education on three new workforce development projects.

"Because a number of governmental funding streams are in question, it is essential that we utilize the current funding streams that we have available to us," said Chris Haran, Wall Street West Human Capital Committee Co-Chair. "With these most recent awards, Wall Street West continues to fund quality workforce development projects that will benefit the residents of Northeastern Pennsylvania now and in the future."

The following projects have received more than $375,000 in funding by Wall Street West through the U.S. Department of Labor's Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant. This will be supplemented with matching funds by the recipient:

  • Northampton Community College has been awarded $203,751 for the development of the Business Information Systems Initiative, a project that will help train Monroe County teachers and incumbent workers in information and communications technology through curriculum and software upgrades. The College will use the funds to expand on the already existing regional Cisco Networking Academy by adding Monroe Career and Technical Institute as a newly certified local academy. This includes training of instructors and purchase of lab equipment. Through a six-part series of workshops entitled, "IT: The Corporate Backbone," the curriculum has been developed for both experts and non-experts in business and financial IT. The Business Information Systems Initiative is part of Wall Street West's Investments in Pathway Programs, which are projects that infuse business, financial services and information technology career programs into various curricula.
  • With a $102,605 Wall Street West grant, Keystone College will create Education for the Future: Online Business Degree with a Minor in Finance, a program to expand the pipeline of financial service industry workers who want to remain in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Keystone College will use the funding to place its Business Degree Program fully online, as well as develop an online minor in Finance that will provide graduates with the operational skill-sets necessary to succeed in the financial services industry. In addition, there will be a strategic collaboration with local high schools and businesses that will allow the initiative to be self sustaining upon implementation. This project is part of Wall Street West's Investments in Curriculum Development, which include projects that are creating or updating curricula to meet key industry needs.
  • Lehigh University has launched the Innovation and Leadership Residency, a program that has created a "real-life laboratory" that teaches leadership skills to undergraduate and graduate students that will soon be entering the workforce. Using a $70,150 Wall Street West grant, and in collaboration with local businesses Originate Ventures and Compass Point Ltd., as well as Lehigh University Enterprise Systems Center, students work closely with, and learn from, entrepreneurs in the early formation of a company and observe first-hand the reactions of angel / venture capital investors. The Innovation and Leadership Residency project is part of Wall Street West's Investment in Entrepreneurship, which includes projects in the region that are expanding entrepreneurship opportunities in education and business.

"These projects represent a focus on improving the strengths in education and business that exist in Northeastern Pennsylvania," said Vito Gallo, Wall Street West Human Capital Committee Co-Chair. "With supplemental funding for these quality programs, as with all Wall Street West projects, we are creating a base for long-term workforce sustainability."

With these new projects, the total number of Wall Street West workforce development projects has reached 55, most of which are documented in the Wall Street West Investment Portfolio. Among the other milestones achieved thus far by the initiative are:

  • More than $11 million in federal funds awarded
  • More than $9 million of leveraged funds
  • More than 113,000 teachers, students and incumbent workers trained
  • The creation of 36 educational certificates/degrees/curricula
  • The development of 25 academic and workforce models
  • The expansion of industry clusters to include healthcare; advanced materials and diversified manufacturing; logistics and transportation; and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) sectors.

Wall Street West is a not-for-profit partnership in Northeastern Pennsylvania that is enhancing the financial services, information technology, healthcare and related industries in the commonwealth through strategic workforce development and state-of-the-art economic development. Stemming from an interagency report by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Department of the Treasury - whose recommendations make the ten-county region an optimal geographic location for secure data back-up and back-office operations - the goal of Wall Street West is to work with firms in New York City and the surrounding metropolitan threat zones to establish supplemental facilities to safeguard data, fund the education and training of a growing workforce, and expand the competitiveness and potential of these industries.

The Wall Street West partnership is made up of the top-tier economic development agencies; technology investment groups; workforce development organizations; education and research institutions; and private sector companies in the region. With oversight from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Wall Street West has federal support through a $15 million Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant from the U.S. Department of Labor for education and job training, as well as a combined $24 million commitment by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, and private industry to enhance existing infrastructure.

For more information on the Wall Street West partners and programs, please call 610-758-5233 or visit www.wallstreetwest.org.

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