For Ismeilyn, Language and Career Training Brought Confidence
Ismeilyn
Massachusetts Pathways to Economic Advancement participant
Massachusetts Pathways to Economic Advancement participant
![Shaynise Hill headshot](https://socialfinance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Shaynise-Hill-e1671550710943-1000x1000.jpg")
Working with Comcast to Rewire Workforce Partnerships in Philadelphia
Public Sector Solutions, Workforce & Economic Mobility
HEAR FROM SHAYNISE
“My experience was nothing but success. It allowed me to provide for my son and move into our own apartment. It made me hungry for more.”
In 2018, Philadelphia’s IT employers were hungry for talent. But the city was suffering from a shortage of tech training programs—limiting employers, workers, and the region overall.
To address this challenge, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Economic Growth & Mobility Project, and Philadelphia Works, the city’s workforce development board, partnered with Social Finance and the Sorenson Impact Center. Supported by the Corporation for National and Community Services, we designed a Pay for Success pilot program to fund training for business-to-business sales roles for a small group of eligible Philadelphians. Comcast, one of the city’s major tech employers, agreed to reimburse Philadelphia Works for each program graduate it hired and retained.
Today, the program is up and running, and Comcast is hiring its graduates. One such graduate, Shaynise, enrolled in the program in August of 2022 after a period of unemployment. She completed the short training and was hired as an Outbound Sales Representative for Comcast. In this role, she earns $14 per hour, and her wage is augmented by uncapped commissions.
I would say that my experience was nothing but success. It allowed me to provide for my son and move out of my mother’s home into our own apartment. It made me hungry for more.Shaynise, reflecting on her decision to enroll in the program