Forge City Works
Forge City Works serves people in the Hartford community who are unemployed and face barriers to employment by providing job training in the food and hospitality industry to help them achieve sustainable careers.
Target Population
Forge City Works enrolls participants from the Hartford Community between the ages of 18-40 from a low-income background facing one or more of these barriers to employment:
Unemployed or under-employed- Willing but not yet ready and able to particiapte in unsubsidized employment
- Previous justice involvement
- Housing Insecurity
- Lack of work-appropriate soft and/or hard skills
Long-term Outcomes
After completing Levels 1 and 2 of the job-readiness program, trainees will maintain employment in a job that offers career growth opportunities for at least 12 months following program graduation.
Program Summary
Throughout the job readiness program, trainees learn hard and soft skills to prepare them for a career. In the first 4 months of the program, trainees will participate in hard and soft skill classes to build knife skills and kitchen safety and sanitation and reliability, emotional regulation, and professional communication by rotating through 8 shadow shifts at one of FCW social enterprises. These fully functioning businesses offer participants real-world work experience while simultaneously earning critical industry certifications and developing resume and cover letters to ultimately secure a full-time, unsubsidized job.
Collaborating with CTOP is helping us make a profound impact on disconnected youth in our community. CTOP’s dedication to reengaging and empowering these young individuals, and strong focus on data-driven evaluation, has already yielded tangible results.
- Ben Dubow, Executive Director