Peirce College is launching a workforce training program for parents

A new workforce training program at Peirce College is in the works to help not just the adults who need job and life skills, but their children as well.

Described as a “two-generation approach” in a statement, the program, set to launch in 2018, will support an inaugural class of 25 to 30 participants over 18 years old who have at least one child in the household.

Throughout the 12- to 14-week program, the participants will be taught the job skills needed in “front-line, customer service roles in the non-clinical healthcare industry” — but in addition, financial literacy and human services experts will also help the participants develop their more personal lives, either economically or socially.

Once the participants have completed the program, they’ll be given interview opportunities in the healthcare industry as well as college credit to help them on the pathway to earning a degree.

The goal of the program and its approach, which has been publicized by experts in the nonprofit think tank Aspen Institute, seems to be to help participants understand where they’re at in life so they can come up with a plan for not just themselves but for the sustainability of their children’s lives in the future.

“If they are able to pursue higher education and to model strong financial practices and a healthy lifestyle, it’s more likely that their children will follow in their footsteps,” said Uva Coles, VP of institutional advancement and strategic partnerships at Peirce College, in the press release.

The program is coming together thanks to the support of a $60,000 grant from the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, which recently expanded its regional effort in ending intergenerational poverty by taking in the the North Penn United Way chapter.