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City extends Pathway to Employment program

INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — After what officials are calling a successful pilot program, the city has extended the Pathway to Employment workforce development program.

The extension will fund the program through the end of the year, with proposed plans to keep the program in place permanently not far behind. 

The program is part of a partnership between the city’s Department of Public Works the city’s Office of Public Health and Safety, and the employment agency Keys to Work. Officials said the program has connected 43 people with paying jobs and work skills that could help lead to long-term employment in the 20 weeks it has been operational. 

Participants pick up trash and perform other efforts intended to boost beautification of the city. They make $10 an hour for full eight-hour days.

A reported 18 participants of the program have successfully transitioned from the program to full-time employment. 

“The results we have seen from the Pathway to Employment pilot are promising,” Mayor Joe Hogsett said in a statement. “With continued investment in this program, we have the potential to help even more of our city’s vulnerable residents get connected with work experience and a paycheck, and ultimately, a bridge to more permanent employment and stability.”

Hogsett’s proposed 2020 budget includes funding that, if approved, will make Pathway to Employment a permanent program and available to more participants.

In the Nov. 5 election, Hogsett, a Democrat, will face reelection in a race with Republican Jim Merritt, a state senator, and Libertarian Doug McNaughton and two independents.