Peirce College, Philadelphia’s only institution of higher learning dedicated exclusively to serving adults, has received a $175,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation to support the Career Bridge program to accelerate the region’s equitable recovery.

Career Bridge helps displaced workers and those in low-wage jobs navigate career change by acquiring the skills, certifications and credentials needed for jobs that pay family-sustaining wages, and providing guidance and support to help find employment opportunities – at no cost.

“We are extremely grateful for the generosity of the William Penn Foundation and its support of Career Bridge,” said Dr. Mary Ellen Caro, president & CEO of Peirce College. “Career Bridge is like a GPS for navigating career change. This stackable, career-focused program helps people prepare for high-priority occupations.”

The program blends Peirce courses, industry-recognized certifications, skills mapping and prior learning assessment opportunities with career-integrated advising and counseling to create short, stackable tracks that validate students possess the skills and credentials required by employers for jobs with projected growth. The program will also guide students to sustainable employment opportunities.

Career Bridge tracks can be completed in as little as six-to-nine months and prepare students for jobs in medical coding, information technology, cybersecurity, project management, financial/business operations, and sales/client service.

This grant was awarded as part of the William Penn Foundation’s 2021 Family Recovery Fund, which supports organizations providing access to healthy food and housing, children’s educational opportunities, and job training programs to support the region’s recovery from the pandemic.

Media Contact:

Joe Guzzardo
609.439.7433
jguzzardo@peirce.edu

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