BostonHires launches, promoting good jobs for Boston residents

 Thursday, February 15, 2018 - BostonHires, a City-led effort to promote quality jobs for Boston residents announced by Mayor Martin J. Walsh in his Inaugural address on January 1, 2018, officially launched today under the direction of the Mayor's Office of Workforce Development (OWD). The campaign aims to place 20,000 unemployed or underemployed residents in good jobs - defined as jobs paying at least the living wage, with half of these offering employer-sponsored benefits - by 2022.

"BostonHires is about lifting up each and every one of our residents. The City of Boston has both a trained and ready workforce and an exceptional community of business leaders in need of that talent," said Mayor Walsh. "I invite our city's companies, small businesses, and community-based organizations to join BostonHires to ensure that all our residents have access to good jobs that keep our economy thriving."

Employers and job placement providers (such as job training programs and career centers) can join BostonHires by signing up to become either a BostonHires Champion or a BostonHires Advocate:  

• BostonHires Champions pledge to place unemployed or under-employed Boston residents in jobs that pay at least Boston's living wage. BostonHires Champions also pledge that at least half of the living-wage jobs secured will offer employer-sponsored benefits.
• BostonHires Advocates pledge to place unemployed or under-employed Boston residents in jobs that pay at least Boston's living wage.

Any organization that employs Boston residents or places them in jobs is welcome to join BostonHires at owd.boston.gov/bostonhires. The website includes additional information about the campaign.  

Boston's living wage, currently $14.41 per hour, is re-calculated each year to account for the City's changing cost of living.

Twice per year, BostonHires Champions and Advocates will report their numbers of residents placed that count toward the citywide goal. In return, BostonHires Champions and Advocates will be able to display the BostonHires seal on their websites and storefronts to signal their participation to the community.

"BostonHires gives us a concrete objective to work toward in collaboration with our partners," said Trinh Nguyen, director of OWD. "Working together in our various capacities as employers, job trainers, and workforce development professionals, we are pushing ourselves to create a more prosperous and equitable Boston for all."

"At Goodwill and Boston Career Link, the one-stop career center we operate, our mantra is jobs, jobs, jobs," said Joanne Hilferty, President and CEO of Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries. "Every day, we help Boston residents achieve the independence and dignity that come from good jobs. We connect employers in need of workers with qualified jobseekers and are excited to partner with the City of Boston to advance the BostonHires Campaign."

While encouraging good hiring practices through BostonHires, the City of Boston is also doing its part through a new initiative called City Academy. City Academy is a training pipeline for Boston residents to access entry-level City positions that offer good wages, health benefits, pensions, and opportunities for advancement. For more information, please visit owd.boston.gov/cityacademy.

The program is currently recruiting candidates for two tracks:

1) Hoisting and Commercial Driver's License (CDL) training for jobs with the Boston Water & Sewer Commission, the Department of Public Works, the Parks Department, and Boston Housing Authority.

2) Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training for jobs with Boston Emergency Medical Services.

For more information, please visit owd.boston.gov/cityacademy .

The OWD is an affiliate of the Boston Planning & Development Agency.

About the Mayor's Office of Workforce Development

The Mayor's Office of Workforce Development (OWD) is an innovative agency within the Boston Planning & Development Agency that seeks to ensure the full participation of all Boston residents in the city's economic vitality and future. The OWD funds and oversees programs that promote workforce development through education, jobs training, apprenticeships, financial coaching, career pathways, literacy initiatives, and the like. Please visit OWD.Boston.Gov to learn more about the OWD's work.