About Us

The Need

Michigan’s recovery and long-term prosperity hinges on having a skilled workforce that can meet the needs of employers in our new economy. Projections suggest that by 2018, 62% of all jobs in Michigan will require some postsecondary training beyond high school, but only 36% of our adults have postsecondary degrees.

We know this challenge is especially acute in and around Detroit, where only 25% of adults have postsecondary degrees. Increasing adult educational attainment is critical to connecting the one in two residents of the city who are unemployed and underemployed¹ right now to good jobs in our new economy.

Unfortunately, underfunding and fragmentation in Southeast Michigan’s public workforce development system has constrained our capacity to meet the tremendous needs for workers with new skills.

The Solution

As a response, the Knight Foundation joined forces with local public and private funders to launch the Detroit and Southeast Michigan Fund for Innovative Workforce Solutions (The Detroit Regional Workforce Fund).

The Detroit Regional Workforce Fund is a regional public/private collaborative that supports partnerships among employers and workforce development partners (workforce partnerships), effects change in the region’s strategic workforce vision, and aligns public and private resources in new ways around workforce development.

In addition to the support it receives from the United Way and the collaborative’s funders, The Detroit Regional Workforce Fund also has access to the vast resources of The National Fund for Workforce Solutions and its network of similarly focused organizations.

Visit National Fund for Workforce Solutions.