Workforce development initiatives and job training can help link low-income workers to higher paying jobs. In this section, we highlight one such initiative, The Academy for Career Advancement Program in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Academy Program was developed by The Workplace, a non-profit workforce development organization based in Bridgeport.

Poverty

• Bridgeport has a higher concentration of individuals living below the poverty threshold and lower educational attainment levels than Fairfield County as a whole. The region also has one of the most expensive housing markets nationwide.

• A family must earn about $38,640 to afford the $966 fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Bridgeport area.¹ This translates into wages of about $18.60 an hour—more than double Connecticut’s minimum wage of $7.40.²

• In 2005, 17.9 percent of Bridgeport residents had incomes below the poverty threshold—more than 10 percentage points higher than the county rate of 7.3 percent.³ Figure 1 shows the density of poverty in the Bridgeport area.

• Median household income for Fairfield County was $71,633—roughly double Bridgeport’s median household income of $36,976.⁴ Bridgeport’s level of unemployment in 2005 was 7.7 percent, compared with 4.4 percent for Fairfield County.⁵

• In the neighborhood of East Side, in central eastern section of Bridgeport, the median income was $15,625 in 2000. In this neighborhood, 42 percent of the population lived below the poverty line and more than 57 percent of the adults age 25 and older lacked a high school diploma or GED.⁶

The Academy Program: A Workforce Development Initiative

• After the passage of federal welfare reform legislation in 1996, Connecticut implemented its Jobs First program. This program required Connecticut residents receiving cash welfare benefits from the newly created Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to move toward self-sufficiency within 21 months. To help low-wage workers acquire skills needed to get higher paying jobs necessary for economic self-sufficiency, The Workplace launched The Academy for Career Advancement, a program that offers services such as basic reading and math instruction, resume development, occupational skills training, career exploration and access to information on high growth occupations. Since its inception in 2004, the Academy Program has served 239 clients.⁷

• Between July 2004 and June 2006, nearly 70 percent of The Academy's clients were residents of Bridgeport, according to data provided by The Workplace. Figure 2 illustrates the places of residence for Academy clients who live in Bridgeport.

• Almost two-thirds of the Academy's clients were African-American and 27 percent were Hispanic. The median age was 34.⁵ Only 6 percent did not have a high school degree and more than one-third had some education at enrollment.

• About 87 percent of all clients’ wages rose after completing the Academy program, with increases as high as $7.50 per hour for some. The overall average wage for Academy graduates increased from $11.34 to $13.32 per hour. Most clients were placed in high-demand medical sector jobs, including nursing aides and medical billing workers.

Figure 1
Percentage of Bridgeport Population in Poverty by Census Tract, 2000

Source: Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration.

Figure 2
Percentage of Bridgeport Population in Poverty and Residence of Academy Program Clients in Bridgeport

Source: Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration; The Workplace, Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Endnotes
_______________________
¹Fiscal year 2006 Fair Market Rents (FMRs) for Bridgeport, CT HUD Metro FMR Area, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R)
²Fiscal year 2006 Fair Market Rents (FMRs) for Bridgeport, CT HUD Metro FMR Area, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R)
³U.S. Census Bureau, 2005 American Community Survey
⁴U.S. Census Bureau, 2005 American Community Survey
⁵2005 Annual Averages, Benchmarked 2005, Connecticut Department of Labor
⁶Draft Neighborhood Profiles, City of Bridgeport Department of City Planning, based on U.S. Census Bureau 2000
⁷The data reflect information for the Academy program period between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2006, Source: The Workplace

December 2006