Posted on November 9, 2010

BNY Mellon Launches $6 Million Global Workforce Development Initiative

Global financial services firm BNY Mellon has announced the launch of a five-year, $6 million workforce development initiative designed to help vulnerable youth make the transition to adulthood.

With a focus on education, job training, and career development opportunities, the initiative will work to ensure that at-risk youth in the United States, United Kingdom, and India become successful, independent, and productive citizens; assist youth in becoming gainfully employed; reduce negative outcomes for youth in terms of substance abuse, poverty, and crime; and make a significant difference in advancing employment and educational outcomes for the target population.

To that end, BNY Mellon will collaborate with public and nonprofit agencies in the U.S., U.K., and India to mitigate challenges faced by at-risk youth, including chronic unemployment, poverty, and homelessness. In the U.S., the initiative will target youth shifting out of foster care; in the UK, it will focus on youth between the ages of 16 and 19 who are neither in school nor employed; and in India, it will support programs to aid older youth as they transition out of orphanages.

"Research shows that vulnerable youth experience a disproportionate number of social, economic, and psychological challenges," said Jeep Bryant, executive vice president and chief corporate affairs officer for BNY Mellon. "By partnering with organizations that have a positive history of providing targeted support and services, we can collectively help this population stay connected to services and programs that help them build real and lifelong skills while remaining in a stable and healthy environment."