Goodwill Workforce Strategy

UBRI is supporting Goodwill Industries of WNY’s long-term workforce strategy that meets the needs of underserved residents, especially those who are out of work or underemployed, as well as hiring employers and new and expanding workforce trainers.

As a long-standing nonprofit in the region with a focus on workforce development, Goodwill is implementing a strategy that is responsive to the current economic crisis, with many residents hit hard by the pandemic and in need of work readiness skills, occupational training, and wrap-around services that remove barriers to training and work, as well as employers with hard-to-fill entry-level jobs. To develop a data-driven, research-grounded strategy, Goodwill partnered with UBRI for research, strategic planning, partnership building, communication services, and program implementation support.      

Through research, UBRI is sharing insights on workforce needs and gaps to support the development and fine-tuning of the Goodskills Career Builder program. UBRI analyzed job posting data to identify skills, qualifications and credentials that hiring employers seek. UBRI is also examining industry and occupational trends as it considers jobs of the future and career pathways, along with microdata to quantify and characterize Goodwill’s target populations.

Through strategic planning and partnership building, UBRI is serving as a guide to Goodwill in forging connections that strengthen ecosystem pipelines, while leveraging Goodwill’s unique strengths. Communication services support Goodwill in talking about its strategy and the ecosystem need to various audiences.