Our Work

Talent Solutions

What does talent development have to do with economic development?

Talent is increasingly being recognized as a driver of economic development because of its contribution to business recruiting, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Our goal is to develop a holistic approach to prepare and attract highly skilled workers, retain talent across industries, and connect candidates to economic opportunities through powerful partnerships. We have developed a suite of talent solutions that meet the needs of leaders, employers, service providers, and job candidates.
Our talent solutions focus on:
  • Opportunity Youth
  • Adult Job Candidates
  • Financial & Asset Building Strategies
  • Professional Development Opportunities
  • Employer Engagement

LEVERAGING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

NOLABA works with a cohort of strategic partners to drive impact and outcomes for the people of New Orleans through programmatic partnerships, data sharing, professional development, and resource support.

Our major priorities relative to Talent & Workforce Development include:

✅ KEY PROJECTS & INITIATIVES:

HBCU Student Prosperity Project

Financial Capacity for Hard-Working Young People

A New Orleans Business Alliance Initiative in partnership with United Way’s IDA Project.

NOLABA is proud to announce the launch of a new matched savings account program for college students enrolled at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in New Orleans through a partnership with the United Way of Southeast Louisiana’s IDA Project.

According to 2020 Alice (Asset Limited, Income, Constrained Employed) Report data, New Orleans has shown continued increases in the number of households that do not earn enough to afford even basic necessities. ALICE households earn too much to qualify as “poor” and often struggle to find the additional support or resources needed to make ends meet. Students in these families often work as cashiers, office clerks, servers, or in a related low-paying job to help support their family and put themselves through college. And although these positions are vital to New Orleans' economy, they do not provide adequate wages to cover the basics of housing, child care, food, transportation, healthcare, etc., for college-aged students, setting them up for financial deficits post-graduation. These students often rely on multiple sources of financial support, such as financial aid, student loans, and credit cards, to cover living and other expenses relative to their education; with many reporting they live paycheck to paycheck and lack general knowledge and understanding of how to save.

In the coming year, NOLABA will work with financial advisers at Xavier University of Louisiana, Dillard University, and Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO) to identify 45 total students to participate in the HBCU Student Prosperity Project. Participating students will receive a 4:1 match on their savings from NOLABA toward their education, as well as credit counseling, financial education training, and asset-specific training through a series of classes hosted by the United Way. While in the program, NOLABA will also introduce students to our 504ward initiative to connect them with other local young professionals and employers to set them on pathways to personal and financial success post-graduation and ensure more of our youth find good jobs allowing them to stay here in New Orleans and contribute to our local economy.

Our Partners

504WARD

504ward is a collaborative initiative designed to attract and retain young professional talent in New Orleans. As part of NOLABA’s efforts to provide employers with top talent, 504ward is New Orleans’s largest network of up-and-coming young professionals. 

The initiative offers a suite of programs and communications, in partnership with private sector leaders and employers, that provide opportunities for career advancement, professional development, and social engagement for young professionals. 

Over the past 10 years, 504ward has directly engaged more than 23,000 young professionals, featured more than 3,000 quality jobs, and partnered with more than 200 employers to date. 

To learn more or sign up for the 504ward weekly email, CLICK HERE.

Youth Demonstration Project

The Youth Demonstration Project (YDP) prepares and connects young people between the ages of 16 and 24 with quality employment opportunities in high-demand, high-wage, and high-growth industries. These opportunity youth (OY), which include approximately 7,000 in our local area, are disconnected from employment and/or post-secondary opportunities.

 In New Orleans, 61% of jobs in the region require some college or higher. Yet only 54% of our workforce ages 25 and older have the skills/credentials needed to compete for those jobs. In an effort to address this gap, it is imperative that young people transition from high school with the requisite skills to compete for available employment. NOLABA supports the system-level transformation of youth-focused workforce development to better meet their needs by providing them with training providers and access to critical support tools. 

This project has supported over 100 young people to date and over the next two years, the overall goal is to connect 225 youth to quality career pathways by specifically supporting OY training providers and it also serves to build the capacity of opportunity youth (OY) serving organizations, so that processes can be scaled to the larger network of providers.

BOOST Training Pilot Program

At NOLABA, our team works with local businesses and business owners each and every day, so we know first-hand the critical importance of Talent and Workforce Development. Gallo Mechanical was one of those businesses, who, like us, wanted to put their people first, so together, we found a real and meaningful way to do that.

Our talent solutions team worked alongside Gallo’s leadership every step of the way to develop and launch the pilot BOOST program with a unique and immensely-beneficial curriculum as a way for Gallo to thank their rising star employees and let them know how much the company cares about their growth and advancement.Most of these people, like so many New Orleanians, had never received any real leadership training, which represents a hugely untapped resource for economic growth in our city.

The BOOST program can be customized to provide all industries, backgrounds,and skill levels with critical, specific job training and skills needed to not only help participants further their careers, but grow and develop in their personal lives as well.

Aspen Workforce Leadership Academy

In December 2018, the New Orleans Business Alliance partnered with the Aspen Institute to offer a Workforce Leadership Academy. Over 12 months, the Academy will develop a network of leaders who are able to lead their own programs or organizations and who can work collaboratively to build effective workforce systems.

Workforce Leadership Academies create and support peer-learning communities of workforce leaders from nonprofit organizations, business associations, community colleges and universities, union-based training efforts, and public agencies. Academy participants work with leading practitioners from around the country, learn about practical planning tools, and are offered the rare opportunity to imagine and develop effective workforce strategies that strengthen local workforce systems. 

Fellows are selected in a competitive application process and are typically senior-level managers with authority to implement program changes. Academy graduates are part of the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunity Fellows Network.

Meet the 2019 Workforce Leadership Academy Fellows here.

📈 IMPACT (2019/2020)

PROJECTS & PROGRAMMING

YOUTH DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

115

Enrollments

54

Job Placements

STRIVE

997

Intakes

882

Program Enrollments

776

Workshop Enrollments

574

Workshop Graduations

155

Job Placements

FRESH START

71

Enrollments

64

CORE Completions

23

Legal Services

44

Job Placements

4

Occupational Skills Training

10

Work Experience

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

FAMILY-CENTERED COACHING COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE (COP) LAUNCH

4

Family-Centered Coaching CoP sessions

2

Organizations represented

3

Front line staff participating in each meeting

VIRTUAL CHAT & CHEWS

12

Monthly case consultation meetings w/youth development partners

13

Front line staff attended each session

CASE MANAGEMENT & CAREER COACHING

9

Organizations represented

15

Front line staff participated

DATA COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE (COP) DISCUSSIONS

3

Meetings

17

Front line staff participating in each meeting

6

Organizations engaged

60

Individual users

6

Organizations using web-based career exploration tool: LA Career Explorer Users

6

Organizations using a shared database system-Economic, Technical or Organizational (ETO)

EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT

TESTRONIC

45

Candidates

17

Interviewed

BIG EASY BUCHA

7

Candidates

5

Hires

PARTNER TESTIMONIALS

  • I realized I didn’t get a quiet moment to truly say how appreciative I, (and I believe) many others are. All too often I go to these professional development events and I don’t feel as if I leave with practical tools that will influence my work and ultimately support me in changing people’s lives.”

— Melissa Sawyer, YEP

  • Quentin Messer, Victoria Adams Phipps, Louis David and Monique Robinson - among others on this terrific and highly qualified team with whom we’ve worked at NOLABA - they are the conductors, composers, arrangers, and instrument makers who are orchestrating economic opportunity for people in New Orleans. They most assuredly have my vote for Economic Development Organization of the Year.”

— John Fraboni, Operation Spark
  • Adjusting to Stay at Home was very difficult for many businesses, including ours, but with the support and assistance from NOLABA, we have been able to achieve our goals during these stressful times. NOLABA has a unique and rare ability to achieve both massive goals and cover every small need thrown their way. The details matter to them – every question gets an answer, every concern gets attention, and they always respond faster than you would expect.”

— Kate Heffernan, Testronic

  • Over 80% of households under age 25 don’t earn enough to survive in New Orleans, meaning we're missing opportunities to set our young people up for success. Thanks to support from NOLABA, we're beginning to close achievement and wealth gaps for our students and help them reimagine brighter, stronger futures."

— Michael Williamson, United Way of Southeast Louisiana

Talent & Workforce

Partners & Resources

JOB 1

504.658.4500
3400 Tulane Avenue
2nd Floor
New Orleans, LA 70118

TOTAL COMMUNITY ACTION

504.872.0334
1424 S. Jefferson Davis Parkway
New Orleans, LA 70125

URBAN LEAGUE OF NEW ORLEANS

504.324.4444
464 S. Carrollton Avenue, Suite 210
New Orleans, LA 70119

GOODWILL INDUSTRIES

504.456.2662
3400 Tulane Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70119

Youth Empowerment Project

504.522.1316
1600 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70113

NOLA Youth Works

504.658.4500
JOB1 Youth Career Center
New Orleans, LA 70119

Operation Spark

504.534.8277
514 Franklin Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70117

United Way of Southeast Louisiana

504.822.5540
2515 Canal St.
New Orleans, LA 70119

Big Easy Bucha

504.407.0544
4040 Euphrosine St.
New Orleans, LA 70125

Testronic

504.370.2824
935 Gravier St, #1300
New Orleans, LA 70112

Tulane University

504.865.5000
6823 St Charles Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70118

Ochsner

504.842.3000
1514 Jefferson Hwy.
New Orleans, LA 70121

Conrad Hilton Foundation

Louisiana Career Explorer

Laitram

Financial Health Network

YouthForce NOLA

1100 Poydras St, # 1405
New Orleans, LA 70163

Internship Opportunities Webinar

Black Tech NOLA 2021

THE NEW ORLEANS BUSINESS ALLIANCE is here to help you navigate the business environment with ease. All of our services are free of charge, so let’s have a conversation today.

Angela Shiloh-Cryer

Senior Director of Advancing Cities

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1250 Poydras St., Suite 2150
New Orleans, LA 70113
info@nolaba.org | 504.934.4500