The Fort Worth Business Press reports a new partnership has formed between Catholic Charities Fort Worth, J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Fort Worth and Tarrant County College District to address poverty and the middle-skills job gap in Fort Worth.
The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce recently shared research from J.P. Morgan which shows 22% of the Dallas-Fort Worth population aged 25 or older lack a high school diploma and a large number of people do not have basic academic and job readiness skills.
This lack of skills is creating a gap in the job market for employees in the middle-skills range. J.P. Morgan is investing $7 million in programs to train the labor force in healthcare and advanced manufacturing and will also support programs to address poverty and education.
Catholic Charities Fort Worth’s Stay the Course is a community college persistence program to ensure completion of an associate degree or certification from a community college. The program provides case management and emergency financial assistance.
J.P. Morgan also invested in Tarrant County College to address workforce gaps. Tarrant County College uses the Catholic Charities’ caseworker model to assist students in completing their degree requirements.
