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The Most Powerful Investment in NEPA? The System That Connects the Economy

JobsFirst NEPA provides the coordinating infrastructure that turns aligned investment into measurable progress for young adults and the regional economy they will power.

12,000

16-to-24-Year-Olds Are Out of School and Out of Work in NEPA

Fragmented paths from school to work hold thousands of young people back.

51%

of Young Adults Live in Communities Where Local Job Markets Fall Short of Demand

Building pathways requires building opportunity where people already are.

$337,000

Is the Average Lifetime Earnings Loss for a Young Adult Who Is Out of School and Out of Work.

That loss multiplied across thousands of young people drains the regional economy.

What Your Investment Makes Possible

Aligned Systems Across Workforce, Education, and Community

Funders, workforce organizations, schools, and employers work toward shared goals: not parallel ones.

A Funder Collaborative with Clear Shared Priorities

Your investment enters a proven structure: pooled with other funders, directed by community-identified goals, and accountable to measurable outcomes.

Pathways Young Adults Can Find and Follow

Coordinated systems produce connected pathways. Young adults in NEPA gain clearer routes from school to training to careers.

Solutions Designed for NEPA’s Economy

Every solution is built for local conditions: incubated with local partners and refined through a shared process.

Learning That Travels

What works in NEPA strengthens the national community. What other Local Drivers have proven is available to NEPA from day one.

A Proven Process for Investment in Northeastern Pennsylvania

JobsFirst NEPA aligns local and national investors within a workforce funder collaborative funding shared goals for the region. We serve as the coordinating infrastructure ensuring every dollar enters a proven system connected to clear pathways to economic mobility for young adults.

Laura Ducceschi, President and CEO of the Scranton Area Foundation, speaking at the launch event for JobsFirst NEPA

“JobsFirst NEPA is not just another initiative. It is the infrastructure we have been building toward – a neutral, regional workforce intermediary that aligns partners across industry, education, community, and policy; advances sector-based strategies in high-demand industries like healthcare; and builds clear, connected pathways for individuals, especially those who have historically been left out.”

Laura Ducceschi

President and CEO, Scranton Area Community Foundation

Start the Conversation

FAQ

You can fund workforce development in Northeastern Pennsylvania by investing through JobsFirst NEPA’s coordinated model. Rather than backing isolated programs, your investment enters a proven system that aligns funders, workforce organizations, schools, and employers around shared goals—connected to clear pathways to economic mobility for young adults.

The NEPA Workforce Funder Collaborative is a separate, independent entity that pools local and national investment behind shared goals for young adults in Northeastern Pennsylvania. JobsFirst NEPA helped establish it and partners closely with it as the region’s coordinating workforce intermediary.

Fragmented systems stall good investments. Without a shared coordination structure, capital flows through separate tracks and produces isolated results. Investing through JobsFirst NEPA’s model gives local and national investors a clear, proven way to align around shared goals.

JobsFirst NEPA serves as the region’s coordinating workforce intermediary. We align local and national investors around a shared framework: proven tools, clear goals, and measurable progress for young adults. Every investment flows through a design built to produce outcomes that are visible, measurable, and repeatable.