Exploring Pay for Success in Philadelphia

Public Sector Solutions, Workforce & Economic Mobility

Highlights

Comcast's human resources department will repay Philadelphia's workforce board for results achieved as part of the city's first Pay for Success job training project

Social Finance partnered with the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Economic Growth and Mobility Project (EGMP), the workforce development nonprofit Philadelphia Works, the Comcast Corporation, and the Sorenson Impact Center to design a Pay for Success structure that could help address a tight local labor market and expand access to economic opportunity.

Goals

Design and operationalize a Pay for Success structure to meet business and worker needs.

The Work

Model design and transaction structuring: Created and gained consensus on five Pay for Success structure parameters: job type, target population, relevant skills, outcomes, and outcome measurement. Developed a novel Pay for Success partnership structure where Philadelphia Works would source and cover the cost of training for workers with Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funding, and the Comcast Corporation would hire workers and reimburse Philadelphia Works based on internal retention and performance data.
Final agreement development and negotiation: Crafted a formal, performance-based agreement between Philadelphia Works and Comcast Corporation, with fair risk distribution and review and approval powers for each entity’s controller or chief financial officer.

The Results

Philadelphia Works and the Comcast Corporation ultimately signed the final agreement in 2019 and launched the program in October of that year. In the time since, the program has enrolled 18 participants across four cohorts, and five of these participants have been offered jobs at Comcast.

Participant Stories

Working with Comcast to Rewire Workforce Partnerships in Philadelphia

Today, the Pay for Success pilot program in Philadelphia is up and running, and Comcast, one of the city’s major tech employers, has agreed to reimburse Philadelphia Works for each program graduate it hired and retained. One such graduate, Shaynise Hill, 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.

While many corporations support workforce programs through philanthropic giving, Comcast’s commitment from its human resources team demonstrates an investment in both talent pipelines and the greater Philadelphia region.Tyrone Hampton Jr. and Ashley Putnam

Insights

Workforce Realigned, Chapter 9: Rewiring Workforce Partnerships, Social Finance and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Philadelphia

News

Philadelphia Works is Partnering with Comcast for the City’s First Pay for Success Job Training Program, Technical.ly

Partners and Supporters

Participant photo courtesy of Philadelphia Works.

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