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JPMorgan Chase Invests $3 Million to Prepare Dallas Students for Well-Paying, High-Demand Careers
First corporate partnership with Dallas County Promise and the Commit Partnership provides students with critical skills for careers in the growing healthcare and IT sectors through tuition-free community college education
JPMorgan Chase today announced a $3 million New Skills for Youth investment to expand access to opportunity in the Dallas region and provide students with necessary education and skills to secure well-paying, high-demand careers in growing local industries. Partnering with Dallas County Promise, this investment will substantially increase the number of young people graduating from the region’s public high schools with career opportunities in healthcare and information technology sectors. Since 2014, the firm has invested $10 million in skills-related programs in the Dallas area.
“Too many young people, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, do not get a fair shot at economic opportunity,” said Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase. “They continue to lack access to the education and skills necessary to get ahead. We cannot look away from this moral and economic crisis. It’s the responsibility of business and community leaders to work together to provide people with the skills they need to compete for today’s jobs and strengthen the Dallas economy.”
The Dallas region consistently ranks among the top metro areas in employment growth, but opportunities are not shared equally among all in the community. Between 2013 and 2018, there was 3.6 percent and 5.5 percent average annual job growth for middle-skills jobs in the region’s healthcare and information technology sectors, respectively. Median hourly wages for in-demand roles, such as surgical technologists and help desk support, can be over $20 an hour.
Yet, three out of four students in Dallas County are economically disadvantaged. About one-in-four graduating high school seniors from 2010 completed a 2 or 4-year degree by 2016, which is a critical requirement to securing these middle-skill roles. About 18,000 students from the class of 2010 alone have no college credential, which equates to more than $18 billion of lost lifetime income.
“It’s a powerful force for good when public institutions and private-sector leaders form partnerships to prepare our youth for high-skill, high-wage jobs,” said Mayor Mike Rawlings. “Working together, JPMorgan Chase and The Dallas County Promise will transform lives by putting more young people on the path to success.”
Dallas County Promise is an unprecedented collaboration between school districts, community colleges, universities, workforce, the philanthropic community and community advocates to increase college completion. The Promise is a scholarship from the Dallas County Community College District that matches degree programs to career pathways to high-demand industries in the region. By next year, the Promise will support 10 Dallas County School Districts, 43 High Schools, and over 15,000 high school seniors.
With JPMorgan Chase’s New Skills for Youth investment to the Commit Partnership, Dallas County Promise will target a goal of supporting 3,500 community college student complete degrees that provide them with a pathway to well-paying careers in healthcare and information technology. Specifically, the investment will help introduce students early in high school through college to workforce opportunities in these sectors. It will also match students with coaches that support them in effectively managing the college process and ensure they have a clear pathway to high-demand careers. This effort will provide students with access to economic opportunity and help local businesses find workers with the critical skills they need.
“The Commit Partnership is energized by this catalytic investment supporting our community’s unprecedented coalition of school districts, community colleges, four-year universities and workforce,” said Todd Williams, Chairman and CEO of The Commit Partnership. “There is no doubt that today, the future of our students became brighter.”
“Dallas County Promise is an investment in the future of our communities, our economy and the Dallas-Fort Worth region. The investment made today by JPMorgan Chase through its New Skills for Youth initiative illustrates the critical need for financial support from industry partners, especially in the areas of health care and information technology,” said Dr. Joe May, chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District.
To address critical workforce issues around the world, JPMorgan Chase has invested more than $350 million to support skill building and job training. This includes $75 million in New Skills for Youth, a program designed to increase the number of young people who successfully complete career training that begins in high school and aligns with well-paying careers. The firm has also expanded The Fellowship Initiative to Dallas, providing young men of color with comprehensive, hands-on academic support, college access, leadership development and mentoring at a critical juncture in their lives.
About JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services Firm with assets of $3.2 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of customers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands.
About Dallas County Promise
Dallas County Promise began as a pilot in the fall of 2017 with 31 high schools in Dallas County, representing 9,300 high school seniors. At its core, the Promise is a last dollar, full-tuition scholarship for an associate’s degree (the first and second years of college) provided by the Dallas County Community College District Foundation to every high school student, regardless of family income or grade point average. DCCCD’s effort is being matched with tuition-free scholarships provided by UNT Dallas, plus other partner public and private universities for students’ junior and senior years. Equally important, the Promise will include a coordinated effort to promote career awareness in high schools and higher education institutions with the goal to better align credentials students are seeking with current high-demand jobs. Those efforts will be supported by a framework of non-profit staff members, and will include mentoring and support from a student success coach as well as robust data support to drive the goal of owning the educational outcome for every Dallas County Promise student. To learn more, visit DallasCountyPromise.org.