Mission Statement Video
Supporting San Francisco to strategically and creatively invest in the education, training and employment of youth.
MatchBridge
MatchBridge is a local, community-based organization that is made possible by the incredible partnership with United Way of the Bay Area and the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and their Families. MatchBridge contributes to the development of San Francisco’s workforce by connecting qualified youth to entry level jobs and internships in business.
Unlike other youth workforce organizations, MatchBridge focuses on employment opportunities in the private sector. MatchBridge partners with schools, local youth-serving CBO’s and, of course, employers in the public and private sectors that can help us achieve our goal of creating a workforce for the 21st century that is prepared, educated and ready to work.
Our business partners are very important to us and we depend on them to help inform us of both the ‘hard’ technical skills and the ‘soft’ skills needed for entry-level workers to be successful in their respective industries; as well as the educational and career paths to take to succeed in this industry. We do this informally, but we also gather data through convening focus groups with employers and of course feedback is key once the youth have been hired.
Our benefit to the community is that local community organizations and schools benefit from the expanded connection to businesses we have, and the exchange of information on hiring trends and future skill set requirements within different industries and business sectors. Youth served by organizations working with MatchBridge have an increased access to a wide range of job opportunities.
Our benefit to Business is their ability to aggregate their search efforts with a single organization. Through their partnership with MatchBridge, they can be recognized for their total entry-level job contribution to their community.
MatchBridge is an intermediary organization. This means that, in the context of the youth-serving system, we are a staffed organization that connect schools and other youth-preparation organizations with workplaces and other community resources so that young people can combine “learning with doing” and become better prepared for post-secondary learning and careers. As an intermediary, we also play a key role in increasing leadership and professional development for service providers in the field of youth workforce development.
