Mobilizing Bronx Employers
HERE to HERE champions youth in The Bronx by bringing together business, education, and community leaders to build equitable avenues to lifelong career success.
Key to our work is identifying the systemic challenges facing students and leveraging our resources and expertise to do something about it. Establishing and incubating ambitious and far-reaching initiatives that can transform the way we think about work and learning–and ultimately change how we collectively develop talent–is one of the ways HERE to HERE mobilizes people and organizations to create paths to rewarding careers for young people.
The Challenge
For too long, the employer voice has not been central to the design and implementation of workforce development initiatives. When employers partner with educators to help develop the skills of young people, we better position students to succeed, create a deep base of local talent that employers can tap, and set the foundation for an inclusive economy.
The Solution
Founded in Spring 2019 by HERE to HERE in partnership with the Bronx Borough President’s Office, the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, and a diverse group of local employers and institutions, The Bronx PIC brought employers together to articulate common needs and challenges, and develop shared solutions. This employer-led, student-centered alliance started with a common goal: to transform how businesses, schools, and community organizations develop talent pipelines in The Bronx.
The Impact
The Bronx PIC supported the evolving needs of Bronx businesses and helped prepare Bronx students to generate inclusive economic growth across the borough.
During summer 2019, The Bronx PIC worked with employer members to provide nearly 500 young people with meaningful employment opportunities. Paid summer experiences are vital to providing young people the space to explore careers and to building a skilled talent pipeline for Bronx companies.
The Bronx PIC members are an important community of employers committed to supporting Bronx students and creating an effective youth talent development system. Given the impact of current economic conditions, however, The Bronx PIC will no longer seek to become a stand-alone, membership organization. The many Bronx PIC employers who remain committed to youth talent development will continue to partner with HERE to HERE in a formal advisory role.
The Thinkubator
Beginning in 2019, HERE to HERE, through The Bronx PIC and in partnership with Dreamyard, also successfully incubated The Thinkubator, which provided paid opportunities for high school students to come together with professionals and create solutions to real-world problems. Following three successful cohorts, The Thinkubator was launched as an independent 501c3 in the summer of 2020 and continues to work closely with many of The Bronx PIC employers.
The newly launched Thinkubator places young people at the core of solving complex business, organizational, societal, and world challenges. Tapping into the creative ingenuity of young people through youth-led design thinking, consultancy, internships, and workforce training, The Thinkubator connects Bronx youth to opportunities and issues facing the global marketplace.