The Philadelphia Jobs Commission released to Council, Mayor Nutter and the public its report on how the City can better create and retain private sector jobs. The Commission, established pursuant to charter change legislation sponsored by Council President Darrell Clarke and Councilman W. Wilson Goode, comprises 17 experts in the field of employment creation who met regularly for 6 months culminating with the release of a recommendations report.
Members include Commission Chair Robert Nelson, Executive Director of OIC; Councilman W. Wilson Goode Jr., Ryan Boyer, Business Manager, Laborer’s District Council; Bilal Quuyum, President, Father’s Day Rally Committee; Erin McGowan, Associate Director, Wharton Small Business Development; Jaine Lucas, Exec. Dir. Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute, Temple University; Julie Welker, President, Caldwell Banker Welker Real Estate; Ed Grose, Executive Director, Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association; Al Taubenberger, President, Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce; Bill Hart, Executive Director, Mayor’s Office of Re-integration Services for Ex-offenders (RISE); Sultan Ahmad, Founder, Sultan Ahmad Community Foundation, Former MOCS Executive Director; Mark Edward, President & CEO, Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation; Narasimha (Nick) Shenoy, President and CEO, Asian American Chamber of Commerce; David Donald, Founder & CEO, PeopleShare; Ruta Bastos, Senior VP, Sovereign Bank, Representing the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; and Eden Kratchman, Vice President of Global Corporate Giving, ACE Group, representing the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.
The Jobs Commission was charged with the following:
1. Determine how City government and other public, quasi-public and non-profit agencies can best marshal resources in a coordinated manner to create and preserve private sector jobs for Philadelphians;
2) Identify all entities that play a significant role, either directly or indirectly, in influencing the growth of the local private sector economy;
3) Evaluate the effectiveness of those entities, including, but not limited to, the extent to which their respective initiatives are coordinated with each other;
4) Articulate the key factors that contribute to or impede the growth and retention of private sector jobs for Philadelphians; identify successful job creation policies and initiatives used in other jurisdictions;
5) Develope a set of principles to guide future decision-making with respect to job creation initiatives; and,
6) Through the application of those principles, develop specific recommendations for reform.
The analysis undertaken by the Commission encompassed job training; workforce development; economic development, including land acquisition and disposition; education; licensing, zoning, and other regulatory processes; and tax policies. The final report sets forth 11 recommendations the City should pursue to maximize job creation and retention. Click the following link to view the full report: https://philadelphiacitycouncil.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Jobs-Commission-Report-FINAL-2013-01-15.pdf
