Hartford Business Journal

22 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 29, 2024 A panel at the 2024 Connecticut Workforce Summit consisting of (from left): Adhlere Coffy, senior portfolio director, Connecticut Opportunity Project; David Golfin, associate director and deputy chief engineer, Pratt & Whitney; Tara Spain, vice president and COO, Travelers Foundation; Vilma Cuevas, associate vice president of talent strategy, Nuvance Health; and Julie DeGennaro, associate executive director, Domus. HBJ PHOTO | SKYLER FRAZER Lamont to CT employers: Be more like UConn coaches Hurley, Auriemma in building successful teams might need holistic and financial support to further their educations and career plans. "We saw a shortage of young people from our communities in our industry, and so we wanted to address that," said Tara Spain, vice president and chief operating officer at the Travelers Foun- dation, which is Travelers Cos.' philanthropic arm that runs the EDGE program. Travelers EDGE helps partic- ipating students plan for college and insurance-related careers, and includes financial scholarship and stipend opportunities to help them pay for school. "Students face several barriers financially, so that scholarship was designed really to try to remove as much of that financial barrier as possible," Spain said. "So, each one of our students that are going to four- year universities receive $15,000 a year, and then students that are in the community college system would be $6,500 a year." Paired with the financial support is on-campus academic advising resources, mentoring and profes- sional development opportunities like internships, she said. In 2022, Travelers EDGE marked its 15th anniversary. At that time, Travelers said the program helped more than 300 students complete bachelor's degrees, and more than 100 of those graduates have gone on to pursue a career at Travelers. By Skyler Frazer sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com G ov. Ned Lamont had basket- ball on his mind during the 2024 Connecticut Workforce Summit event held earlier this month: contemplating how coaches Dan Hurley and Geno Auriemma built championship-caliber teams through recruitment and talent development. Speaking at the April 16 event, which was hosted by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA), Lamont recalled how the two coaches scour the globe for top talent to ultimately create cohesive teams that work together toward their goals of winning championships. And with some 86,000 open jobs in the state, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Lamont emphasized the importance of employers casting wide nets when recruiting talent and increasing opportunities for young people seeking employment. "It really is key to our economic future," Lamont said. "Our workforce is our great strategic advantage." Panels at the event discussed the importance of considering nontraditional populations for open positions — such as formerly incar- cerated individuals and disconnected young people — and establishing career pathways for people that need assistance. "One of the things we don't often talk about enough is how many young people are actually in a position to seize workforce oppor- tunities," said Adhlere Coffy, one of the event's moderators and a senior portfolio director at the Connecticut Opportunity Project, a social investment fund. Coffy alluded to a report recently produced by nonprofit Dalio Educa- tion — "Connecticut's Unspoken Crisis: Getting young people back on track" — that identified about 63,000 disconnected young people in the state, the majority of whom could fill open jobs if given appro- priate support. Disconnected youth are young people who are off-track toward continuing their education or entering the workforce after high school. During the event, company officials from major Connecticut employers like jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney and insurance giant Travelers Cos. shared ways they've helped reach young people who have typically been left behind in the past. Pratt & Whitney David Golfin, an associate director and deputy chief engineer at Pratt & Whitney, said his East Hartford-based company partners with the University of Connecticut on three youth outreach programs starting from the K-12 grade levels, up to college. Pratt focuses on science, tech- nology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and aims to showcase career opportunities in those fields. Its Engineering Ambas- sadors program, for example, brings undergraduate college engineering students back to their local high school, so younger people can see that someone from their community pursued an education and career in a STEM field. "It's all about finding the students that might not have otherwise consid- ered a career in engineering, and showing them how rewarding it can be and how accessible it can be, and giving them role models and then support as they transition into college," Golfin said. In addition, Pratt & Whitney works with UConn to host a multi-week program for incoming "underrep- resented minority" freshman engi- neering students. The program allows students to meet their peers, develop mentor opportunities, and learn more about the programs they're entering. Scholarship opportunities and hands-on internships are also avail- able to students through Pratt's partnership with UConn. "We give them the tools to succeed, the programs give them the tools to succeed when they're starting their careers at UConn, and then finally at Pratt," Golfin said. Travelers Travelers launched its Travelers EDGE program in 2007, as a way to support future potential employees who typically come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and FOCUS: HIGHER EDUCATION

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