Ashforth is a proud donor and member of Fairfield County Business Collaborative for Education Equity
June 18, 2025 News Release from Fairfield County’s Community Foundation
Fairfield County’s Business Collaborative for Education Equity (BCEE) today announced its support for a bold new workforce initiative designed to connect young people in Fairfield County with high-demand healthcare careers. The Career Pathways Healthcare Pilot aims to close education and workforce equity gaps for young adults living in Fairfield County.
BCEE is investing $80,000 alongside other key funders to help fuel this cross-sector partnership, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, Nuvance Health, CT State’s Norwalk and Housatonic campuses, and Family & Children’s Agency (FCA).
Together, these partners will support young people along two initial career pathways: clinical (LPN) and nonclinical (administrative), designed to lead to livable wages, employment progression, and economic security.
“As a founding member of the BCEE, we support investing in new models of collaboration that bring together education, healthcare, and community partners to connect young people with career pathways,” said Bill Tommins, president, Bank of America Southern Connecticut. “This pilot program is an example of how businesses and employers can join together to help our region’s youth thrive and our economy grow.”
The initiative stems from the findings of Building Tomorrow’s Workforce, a 2023 study commissioned by the BCEE that revealed the urgent need to better connect local youth to in-demand careers and identified healthcare as a top opportunity. The study also found that poor coordination among key institutions was the largest barrier to success, an issue this pilot is designed to directly address.
An integrated career pathways approach has the potential to change this trajectory. If successfully implemented, it could lift nearly 9,600 Opportunity Youth out of poverty, save taxpayers up to $3 billion, and reduce social costs by nearly $9 billion over their lifetimes.
Employers would also benefit from increased productivity by being able to fill persistent vacancies. A staggering three in 10 Fairfield County employers are unable to fill entry-level job postings due to a lack of available talent. Of the 48,000 entry-level roles identified as a strong match for Opportunity Youth, an estimated 14,000 were projected to go unfilled in 2023 without targeted intervention. Notably, in 2023, 10 industries accounted for 80% of livable wage job openings in the region, with healthcare leading the way, underscoring the urgent need to connect untapped talent to in-demand careers.
“This innovative program is designed to address the needs of both young people and the business community,” said Sheila Perrin, who, along with her husband Charles, is a primary donor to the Career Pathways initiative. “By investing in education and workforce development—key areas of focus for us—we are strengthening our community’s future. We hope to inspire others to join us in building and expanding Career Pathway programs.”
Working together, Nuvance Health and CT State will ensure students develop the skills and credentials they need to be successful in the healthcare industry. The Family & Children’s Agency will serve as the community-based organization, providing critical wraparound services, including mentoring, transportation assistance, and case management to help participating students successfully navigate their educational and career journeys.
“This partnership represents a systems-change approach, one that recognizes that no single organization can solve workforce disparities,” said Mendi Blue Paca, president and CEO of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation. “We know that our regional challenges with affordable housing and transportation make it hard for businesses to attract talent to the area. But we also know that there is untapped and underdeveloped talent here already. By leveraging each partner’s strengths, we’re creating a coordinated and compassionate pipeline that supports youth from exploration to employment and helps build an inclusive regional economy that benefits us all.”
The Career Pathways model was designed with scalability in mind, with plans to expand into additional healthcare roles and, eventually, other sectors. Performance will be tracked collaboratively across partners to improve long-term outcomes for both youth and regional employers.
Since its founding in 2020, the Business Collaborative for Education Equity has invested more than $1.3 million to reduce disparities in Fairfield County’s educational systems. Its members include: The Ashforth Company, Avangrid Foundation, Bank of America, First County Bank, Gallatin Point Capital, Henkel, Littlejohn & Co., McKinsey & Company, Pitney Bowes, Synchrony, The Tudor Foundation, Inc., and Xerox.
For more information, visit fccfoundation.org/BCEE.
