National Fund for Workforce Solutions Awards Grants to Five Communities to Adopt Human-Centered Design Approaches to Workforce Services
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions is awarding $1 million to five communities to use Human-Centered Design to improve workforce programs and employment outcomes. The HCD approach requires a mindset that values empathy, avoids jumping to a particular solution, and embraces continuous learning.
This investment from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation will provide collaboratives with the support needed to adopt and sustain an HCD approach for workforce services and/or training. This new work builds on lessons the National Fund learned from helping employers use HCD to engage their employees to improve workplace practices.
“Human-centered design helps us better understand job seekers’ experiences so we can make sure workforce services and training programs benefit all job seekers and workers, particularly those who have experienced inequitable opportunities and outcomes,” said Carrie Felton, director of Worker Success at the National Fund. “We are so excited for our workforce collaboratives to adopt human-centered approaches that will help them advance more equitable pathways to good jobs and careers, and hopefully create more equitable workforce ecosystems.”
The five communities selected to participate in this program will engage multiple stakeholders in an HCD approach to redesign, improve, and document at least one workforce program, policy, or practice that will directly benefit job seekers and workers. Each community will take a different approach to meet this objective.