As Pennsylvania looks toward the rebound, life as we know it has changed. For many, the job they had before won’t be waiting for them. The Commonwealth has lost 7.7 percent of its service industry jobs, with the effect felt most heavily by the 27 percent decrease in jobs in the leisure and hospitality fields.
That’s why Peirce College has launched a new program, “Career Bridge,” that helps displaced workers navigate career change by transferring skills, earning professional certifications and credentials needed for jobs that pay family-sustaining wages, and receiving the support and guidance to find job opportunities.
As Pennsylvania’s only Minority Serving Institution focused exclusively on adult learners, Peirce is uniquely positioned to help displaced workers navigate the post-pandemic world. Career Bridge serves as their GPS to navigate their career change.
Working together with employer partners, the program — which also serves veterans, military spouses and other career changers, focuses on high priority occupations and teaches the skills that are most in-demand. It blends Peirce courses, industry-recognized certifications, skills mapping and prior learning assessment opportunities with career-integrated advising and counseling to create short, stackable tracks. This trajectory validates that Peirce students possess the skills and credentials required by employers for jobs with projected growth.
Career Bridge tracks can be completed in as little as 6 to 9 months, and prepare graduates for jobs in:
- Medical coding
- Information technology
- Cybersecurity
- Project management
- Financial/business operations
- Sales/client service
As employers evaluate their talent pipelines, many of the old strategies no longer work. Building a more diverse and better trained workforce is essential to the success of our region’s businesses. Peirce graduates are uniquely suited for this opportunity. With an average age of 34 and years of professional experience under their belts, Peirce graduates have both the power and technical skills to help Pennsylvania’s businesses thrive.
Peirce is working with leaders in the healthcare, insurance and banking industries to identify pipeline, interviewing and hiring opportunities for our graduates. We’re always looking to expand our partner network.
To learn more about our graduates, visit www.peirce.edu; or contact us directly at upskill@peirce.edu to explore partnership opportunities in training or talent acquisition.