Camden, NJ – Today, Camden Community Partnership (CCP) released the 2024 Camden Works Progress Report – outlining the goals, milestone achievements and next steps for the Camden Works program and further demonstrating the initiative’s continued growth and positive impact on the City of Camden and its residents. Camden Works provides training and job leads for Camden residents, assisting them in the entire job seeking process from preparation and skills development to recruitment and placement. Each week, an email listing positions available at companies and organizations across Camden is sent to city residents. The most recent listing can be viewed here.

“I am so proud to see how far Camden Works has come since it was first initiated by Cooper University Health Care Chairman George E. Norcross, III and American Water’s Walter Lynch in 2019,” said Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen. “With so much economic development occurring in the City, Camden residents deserve an opportunity to secure a job right in their own backyard. Through the Camden Works initiative, we built stronger partnerships among local employers and workforce development agencies to ensure our residents could obtain a living wage. I am confident we will continue to build off of this success.”

Main findings from the 2024 Camden Works Progress Report include:

• Camden has experienced significant economic growth, improvements in public safety and education, and critical investments in multiple sectors. The key to sustaining this continued growth lies in the City’s ability to create employment opportunities for its citizens – which is the primary focus and goal of the Camden Works initiative.
• In approaching its sixth year of operation, Camden Works has exceeded the initial target to support the hiring of 100 Camden residents per year – with the initiative and its immediate partners able to hire or support the hiring of more than 1,000 Camden residents for employers and industries both in the City of Camden and throughout the local region.
• By identifying and addressing barriers to employment, relying on the strengths of our partnership organizations/businesses, and focusing on supporting residents holistically with their career aspirations and life journeys, we are seeing success at all levels for Camden Works.
• Innovation is key to how Camden Works continues to best support our local Camden residents and employers on the employment and workforce development front – programs like Camden Loop, the Camden Works Job Board, and the successful Camden Works Spring Job Fair are offering residents with the opportunities to explore their employment options, while also helping them hone skills, prepare for the workforce, and support long-term success.
• Collaboration with local Camden Works partners is also fostering an exchange of new ideas to help drive progress, support employers, and help residents envision new goals and achieve better lives for themselves and their families.

In October 2019, Camden Works was initially launched as a four-year pilot program designed to spur and support the local hiring of Camden residents, under the leadership of and with the funding support of several corporate and philanthropic funders, including the Board of Directors of Camden Community Partnership. Since then, the program has continued to evolve and grow into an initiative focused on equity, inclusion, and wealth creation by connecting Camden residents to employment opportunities and critical workforce development training within the City of Camden and the surrounding region.

“Camden Works offers a holistic approach to employment and workforce development, providing Camden residents with the critical support and resources needed to create pathways to long-term success,” said Mark McDonough, Board Co-Chair of Camden Community Partnership. “For us, it is not simply about job placement – we help make the initial connection, but then go further to provide residents with all of the tools, resources, and support they need to achieve their career aspirations and ensure viability. By building partnerships among city residents, local employers, and workforce development agencies, we are helping to support each resident’s unique goals while also further contributing to Camden’s continued growth and prosperity.”

Several local organizations and businesses helped establish and manage Camden Works, including the City of Camden, Camden Community Partnership, New Jersey National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Latin American Economic Development Association (LAEDA), Center for Family Services, Volunteers of America Delaware Valley, Camden County Workforce Development Board, and Hopeworks.

“When Camden’s renaissance began more than a decade ago, it was clear that three things had to happen: dramatically improved public safety, the creation of high-quality education options across the city and real economic opportunity for Camden residents,” said George E. Norcross today. “By connecting people who need work with companies who need workers, Camden Works is changing the future of Camden residents and the city, continuing its transformation from America’s most violent and poorest city to a place where people want to live and work.”

Camden Works remains focused on the advancement of equitable workforce development strategies that are inclusive and expand employment, housing and wealth creation opportunities for city residents. As such, the report outlines the following programs that have been developed and launched under the Camden Works initiative to support these efforts:

• Reinventing Our Communities Cohort Program – A program designed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia to encourage strong local economies by helping communities address structural racism and historical structural barriers to economic opportunity. The Camden, NJ Cohort for this program is co-led by Camden Community Partnership and Rutgers University-Camden, and it is anticipated that by 2025, the cohort will release a multi-year racial equity plan to be implemented in short order.

• Camden Loop – With service partner Via, Camden Community Partnership launched this innovative, on-demand micro-transit service in 2023 to further support residents seeking employment by addressing transportation barriers and further support connections to other social determinants of health needs (i.e. healthcare, social services, groceries, etc.)

• Camden Works Job Board – An online, weekly resource publication launched in early 2024 featuring job openings and current employment opportunities from over 50 local employers, as well as a wealth of resources including workforce development, skills, and training opportunities (training videos, expert tips and techniques, transportation alternatives, and more). The publication also details upcoming job fairs, internships, and scholarship opportunities for both high school seniors and adults pursuing higher education.

• Job Fairs and Career Development/Training Opportunities – The Camden Works Spring Job Fair was launched in 224 in collaboration with the Office of the Mayor, featuring over 50 employers and service providers and drawing over 300 participants who were able to interact with local employers, file applications onsite, and interview in person, on-the-spot for available job openings/positions. In collaboration with partnering organizations, additional hiring events, trainings and workforce development opportunities continue to be scheduled and offered to residents throughout the year.

Since November 2019, Camden Works and its partners have successfully hired and/or supported the hiring of more than 1,000 Camden residents into various positions with employers and industries, both in the City of Camden and throughout the local region.

“Being able to find a job through the Camden Works initiative has meant the world to me,” said Camden resident Amber Soto. “I was unemployed for two years and applying for any job that was willing to hire me. When I attended the Spring Job Fair, I spoke to a few employers and before I knew it, I was offered employment at Cooper University Medical Center, as a Phlebotomist. Now, I am working full-time in my own hometown and able to provide for my family.”

To read the full 2024 Camden Works Progress Report, click here.

To learn more about Camden Works, visit: https://camdenworks.net/.

###