KWY Education Report

Helping People Find Jobs

by KYW's Dr. Marciene Mattleman

Published January 26, 2007

Over the years, we have become less a nation of manufacturers and more a nation of service providers. But, despite the rise in manufactured products abroad, we still make many goods. Those factories, however, are often away from city centers and a problem has been finding qualified workers for those jobs.

In the Greater Philadelphia area, the Commuter Options program of the Philadelphia Unemployment Project, PUP, is helping to solve that problem through federal and state funding.

Minivans for groups of four to seven commuters are serving as carpools for jobs in the suburbs. The program covers insurance and commuters pay what they would for public transportation.

First, at the Jobs Club, there is resume help, career counseling, access to benefits and job placement assistance. Then there is the matching of people with jobs-some paying as high as $17 an hour.

If you or someone you know is unemployed or looking for a career change, or if an employer has workers with a long commute or is planning to expand the workforce, PUP is a good example of regional planning