Workforce System and Bank Partnerships: A “How-To” Guide
This online toolkit provides a blueprint to help your workforce development board establish stronger partnerships with banks. These partnerships improve program participants’ employment and economic outcomes and benefit your community. These resources also encourage workforce development boards to examine whether your existing partnerships focus on equity and support of historically underserved communities, including people with disabilities and people of color. The toolkit has three sections and includes a short description of the resource discussed in each section:
A federal law called the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) encourages banks to support low- and moderate-income (LMI) individuals in attaining financial stability and workforce success. The workforce development system prioritizes a similar demographic. As a result, the CRA presents an opportunity for collaboration. The following resources describe the CRA and outline the benefits of workforce system–bank partnerships.
As you develop your strategy to partner with a bank, there are a few routes you can take to build an outreach approach. The resources below explain how to discuss workforce development activities and how to engage banks in a strategic planning process.
The information in this section identifies initiatives and resources in your area.