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Neighborhood Jobs Trust

The Neighborhood Jobs Trust (NJT) is a public charitable trust replenished by linkage fees from developers of large-scale commercial projects in Boston.

Developers of commercial and institutional development over 100,000 square feet pay linkage fees to the Neighborhood Jobs Trust and the Neighborhood Housing Trust. In general, NJT funds are awarded through competitive RFPs issued when enough money has accumulated in the Trust. The Neighborhood Jobs Trust funds jobs and job training programs for low- and moderate-income Boston residents.

How the Neighborhood Jobs Trust Works

Funds in the Neighborhood Jobs Trust come from jobs linkage fees. The Boston's Zoning law requires that commercial construction projects in excess of 100,000 square feet receive a zoning variance, one condition of which is that the developer of the building is obligated to pay a linkage fee, based on the square footage of their project, into the Trust. Currently, the linkage fee rate for the Neighborhood Jobs Trust is $2.39 per square foot. Developers have two options when they pay their linkage fees into the trust. They can designate the money toward: 1) jobs creation or 2) job contribution.

  1. Jobs creation money funds job training for workers to be employed, on a permanent basis, at the developer's project-site.
  2. Jobs contribution money is paid into the trust to be managed by the NJT trustees to residents' benefit.

The three trustees of the Neighborhood Jobs Trust are responsible for setting the trust's funding priorities according to residents’ needs and current labor market conditions. The trustees, who meet quarterly, are City Councilor Julia Mejia, Chief of Worker Empowerment Trinh Nguyen, and Collector-Treasurer Maureen Garceau. 

Learn more

NJT Program Handbook

The Neighborhood Jobs Trust (NJT) Program Guide is a handbook for contracted service providers to implement NJT Job Training Services. It includes:

  • a description of NJT
  • grant requirements
  • best practices for programs
  • procedures
  • a basic timeline for procedures during the grant period
  • a glossary of acronyms, and
  • information on data collection.

All sample forms and informational documents are included within the handbook. Please use this handbook as a resource for questions concerning NJT procedures regarding your program contract.

If you have additional questions, contact Anna Sherr, Senior Program Manager for NJT at anna.sherr@boston.gov.

View the NJT Program Guide

2024 Neighborhood Jobs Trust Grantees

Organization

Industry

Program Description

Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology (BFCIT)

Building Trades

Support individuals facing barriers to employment to pursue a certificate in the clean energy trades of HVAC&R and Practical Electricity. Programs are in the high-demand industry of Construction Trades and can be completed in less than a year.

Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC)

ESOL/Customer Service

 

The ESOL for Customer Service job training program integrates ESOL instruction with general workplace and industry-specific skills and includes individual career counseling and case management services.

Catholic Charities /HaitianAmerican Multiservice Center 

ESOL/Healthcare and Human Services

The ESOL for Human Services and Health Care Bridge Career Path provides contextualized ESOL classes embedded in an occupation training program for individuals interested in healthcare and human services professions.

Community Servings

Culinary

Teaching Kitchen’s 12-week culinary program provides a pathway to permanent employment in food services for high-need Boston populations through skills training and supportive services in digital and financial literacy, life skills, and job readiness, along with integrated case management and job placement supports

Empowered And Dedicated to Edify the Nation (EDEN) 

Healthcare

T.H.R.I.V.E. (Training and Helping Residents in Valuable Employment) is an occupational skills training program specifically designed to meet the needs of today's healthcare job market. T.H.R.I.V.E aims to help single mothers secure stable employment, thereby providing them with a sustainable income and an opportunity to rebuild their lives with dignity and independence.

English for New Bostonians (ENB)

ESOL

The ESOL Economic Mobility Initiative will support 14 ESOL Pathways programs that:

  1. aids students in obtaining family-sustaining jobs via English/digital literacy and job training, 
  2. partners with employers, and
  3. connects students to career coaching and other ENB programs and services.

Friends of the Rafael Hernández School, Inc.

ESOL/Education

The Primeras Maestras program trains low-income Spanish-speaking adults in the Rafael Hernández Dual Language school community to become dual language educators. Relying on the native language and parenting skills of participants, the program provides hands-on training, professional development workshops, and job-seeking support in an industry with high demand and future growth opportunities.

Immigrant Family Services Institute (IFSI)

ESOL

IFSI will assist low-level English speakers with ESOL instruction and career-focused training classes such as culinary arts, computer skills, and financial literacy. Clients will work with IFSI's Workforce Development department on professional development, career goals, and job applications.

Jamaica Plain Community Centers Adult Learning Program

ESOL/Healthcare

Certified Nursing Assistant Certification for English Language Learners: a 16-week intensive program where learners are actively pursuing CNA and CPR credentials while improving their English language proficiency

Jewish Vocational Service (JVS)

Healthcare

Graduates will be equipped to pass the MA State Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) exam, the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE), the National Certified Registered Central Service Technician Exam, or the Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor Exam. JVS will work with all graduates to secure positions while they study to pass their exams, as well as provide ongoing post-placement support and career counseling

More than Words 

Youth Employment and Career Development

More Than Words is a job training and youth development program with wrap-around supportive services for youth who are involved in the foster care system, court-involved, homeless, or out of school without a diploma. Youth work for 6-12 months doing intensive job training in a “Learn and Earn” social enterprise model while simultaneously being paid to advance personal goals in education and life. Additional career services, case management, and supportive services help youth transition to unsubsidized jobs and then move into a living wage career.

New England Culinary Arts Training (NECAT)

Culinary

NECAT empowers adults facing barriers to employment through training in culinary skills, social-emotional development, and career readiness for success and long-term financial stability. The Culinary Arts Job Training Program is designed to help those marginalized from the mainstream economy due to racism, education, language barriers, housing, or previous incarceration bridge the skills gap, launch careers, and achieve self-sufficiency and success at no cost to them.

Per Scholas

IT

Per Scholas Greater Boston advances economic opportunity by teaching in-demand technology skills tailored to business needs. Training courses including IT Support, Cybersecurity, AWS Cloud, and Software Engineering, focusing on engaging individuals underrepresented in the tech industry, such as people of color, women, and those with a high school diploma as their highest educational credential.

SkillWorks - The Boston Foundation

Multiple

SkillWorks is a nationally recognized funder collaborative and public/private partnership between The Boston Foundation, the City of Boston, and other funders. To better meet the needs of low-income job seekers, it acts as a workforce intermediary that pools funding from public, private, and corporate philanthropy to create a flexible set of resources that can be steered towards innovative solutions, capacity building, and system improvement across community-based organizations, government entities, and employers.

Tech Goes Home

IT

In Tech Goes Home’s Digital Inclusion programs, each learner completes 15 hours of community-based, culturally responsive digital skills training, focused on fundamental digital skills needed to apply for jobs, participate in vocational training or educational programs, grow a small business, utilize community resources, manage finances, and more. Each earns a new Chromebook or PC, and, if needed, a year-long internet connection.

The Loop Lab

Media Arts

A highly regarded Media Arts Apprenticeship program that directly establishes Career Pathways for Youth and Young Adults of Color. Diversity, inclusion, cultural competency, and equity are core values of the Loop Lab and drive their mission to empower minority talent in careers in the creative economy through job training.

X-CEL Inc.

Water Treatment

X-Cel Conservation Corps breaks the poverty cycle with a 10-week program that prepares young adults for water and wastewater management careers leading to economic self-sufficiency through well-paid full-time jobs with benefits and career advancement. Paid conservation work projects develop workforce-readiness skills and introduce skills used in wastewater management while classes prepare students for the MA Grade 3 municipal wastewater operator license required for operators. Corps members also receive assistance obtaining a driver's license and a used vehicle.

Health Care Resources in Action (HRIA)

Human Services

Reaching Tomorrow is a cohort of young adults trained in youth development and core competencies of youth work, serving in community-based organizations through a supported employment partnership.

Bioversity

Life Sciences

Learners with high school diplomas or GEDs will enroll in the Biotech Career Foundations program to develop the soft and technical skills necessary to be work-ready upon graduation in scientific operations roles such as lab operations and facilities management.

Just-A-Start

Life Sciences

The Career Connect Biomedical Training program is a nine-month, tuition-free education and training program for low-income adults, preparing them for family-sustaining careers in the life sciences industry. The curriculum includes classroom instruction, hands-on learning through lab work, career development training, job search and retention counseling, wrap-around services, and robust alumni support.

Mujeres Unidas Avanzando (MUA) 

Healthcare

MUA’s Clinical Medical Assistant for English Language Learners program consists of 320 hours of instruction followed by a 160-hour externship. MUA has direct externship and job placement with various employer partners, such as Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dorchester House Multi-Service Center,  Mass. Mobile Phlebotomy, A & P Dermatology, and Living Well. MUA provides wraparound services such as educational and career advising, job coaching, free, onsite pre-school childcare, referrals for basic needs assistance, domestic violence support, toiletries and food gift cards, and more.

Project Place

Logistics

The LEAP program will provide comprehensive job training, employment, and support services to homeless and low-income individuals, via occupational skills training and learn-and-earn pathways to employment in modern logistics (transportation, warehousing, and delivery), with community and employer partners.

Charlestown Adult Education

Case Management

Charlestown Adult Education, Workforce, and Reentry serves high-risk young adults and formerly incarcerated individuals with educational programming (ESOL and ABE) and case management services. The career team works with clients on career exploration and job placement while case managers work to break down barriers to employment and retention.

Operation ABLE Greater Boston

Healthcare

The ABLE Medical Office Skills Training program offers 12 weeks of classroom instruction and practice in computers, customer service, communication, and administrative skills, followed by a 6-week internship with a partner healthcare employer. The primary goal is to prepare older adults to rejoin the workforce by teaching them new skills.

About the Commission

The City of Boston has a variety of boards and commissions. Each work with internal departments and the public to serve the City. Each board or commission has a specific number of members. Members go through an application process to ensure they have the expertise and passion for serving. Active members may become holdovers if their official term is up, but there is no new applicant to take their place.

Serving on a board or commission is one of the most impactful ways Bostonians can become active in their community. Read our guide if you are interested in applying.

Current members

Member Appointed Expires Status
Julia Mejia 6/8/2022 1/24/2024 Active
Trinh Nguyen 1/16/2024 1/16/2026 Active

Trust Information

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