PYN's vision is that all of Philadelphia's young people will take their rightful places as full and contributing members of a world-class workforce for the region. As a catalyst for collective action, the Philadelphia Youth Network makes connections among individuals, organizations and systems. We increase capacity and resources in order to provide high-quality preparation so our City's youth can thrive in a regional and global economy.

It's no secret that a thriving regional economy relies on highly-skilled workers, leaders and entrepreneurs. To meet these needs, educational institutions must prepare individuals who can think, create, identify problems and solve them. But schools can't do the job alone. They need partners who can help to create high-quality opportunities that bring relevance to academic rigor and prepare students to become productive employees and active citizens.

That's where we come in.The Philadelphia Youth Network's vision is that all of our city's young people take their rightful places as full and contributing members of a world-class workforce for the region. We're pursuing this vision by making connections between individuals, organizations and systems to provide the preparation needed for our City's youth to thrive in a regional and global economy.

Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) does this mainly through two citywide strategies:
WorkReady Philadelphia which coordinates $12M in public, private and foundation investments to place more than 10,000 young people in high-quality programs that incorporate work experience, academic enrichment and college exposure. WorkReady also includes skills training and industry pipeline programs. PYN manages all aspects of WorkReady, on behalf of the Philadelphia Youth Council.

Project U-Turn which is a citywide campaign to raise awareness of, and develop strategies to address, the City's dropout crisis. It is designed to enhance the career prospects of struggling students and out-of-school youth by expanding the availability of high-quality education and training options. PYN manages a collaborative of citywide leaders and stakeholders to oversee the Project U-Turn campaign.

In connection with these efforts, we're helping to prepare tomorrow's workforce by operating Student Success Centers in seven of the School District's comprehensive high schools; managing education and training services for dropouts and adjudicated youth at the City's five community-based E3 Centers; and helping the School District to equip students with 21st century skills.

www.pyninc.org