Excel Philadelphia

Over fifty percent of adults in Philadelphia — about 550,000 people — are considered low literate, which means they would struggle to follow written instructions or complete a form such as a job application. At the same time, employers across all industries are demanding a new kind of worker. They must be highly literate, adept at problem solving, comfortable with technology, and able to communicate and respond to change. As a result of this mismatch, one-half of all job seekers in the city are only able to compete for one-third of the jobs in our city. That's approximately 550,000 individuals qualified for roughly 189,600 jobs. If the issue of adult literacy is addressed in the current manner, another 50,000 Philadelphians won't have the basic literacy skills to compete in the economic mainstream by 2030.

Excel Philadelphia is an initiative of the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, created in partnership with the Philadelphia's Literacy Coalition, to generate new knowledge and advocate for the issue of adult literacy. The purpose of Excel Philadelphia is to inform, engage, and mobilize the full community — employers, educators, adult literacy providers, government, other stakeholders, and, of course, adult learners — to create the conditions necessary to support literacy gains, particularly among working adults.

Additional Resources and Downloads

> Help Wanted: Knowledge Workers Needed Report
> Help Wanted Fact Sheet
> Help Wanted: Research Brief 2009
> Help Wanted: Policy Brief