Auberle’s Employment Institute

Right now, there are more job openings in the U.S. than workers to fill them. All too often, otherwise-capable workers are shut out from these opportunities because they lack skills training or educational completion, or because of poverty, homelessness or former justice-system involvement.

Auberle is a nationally recognized human service agency that, each year, serves more than 4,000 individuals and families across southwestern Pennsylvania. Founded 70 years ago, Auberle’s mission is to transform lives through holistic and innovative services and programs aimed at building strong individuals, families and communities, and at breaking generational cycles of socioeconomic distress.

Auberle’s commitment to meeting community needs is exemplified by its flagship Employment Institute (EI). Established in 2013, EI is a workforce-development program that prepares unemployed and underemployed individuals of all ages and backgrounds for well-paying jobs, with benefits, in businesses across diverse industries. Auberle pairs its job-readiness training and 13 national certification programs with comprehensive social services so that its graduates not only obtain employment but also have the skills needed to maintain a career that changes the trajectory of their lives and their families’ lives for future generations.

Auberle partners with more than 260 employers, as well as the workforce-development organization Partner4Work, to create a steady pipeline of full-time job opportunities. One such partner is the nationally renowned UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. In just two years, more than 90 EI graduates have been placed in career-track positions at the hospital, many coming from vulnerable communities facing high rates of poverty and unemployment.

“Our ability to help UPMC Magee fill vacant positions with capable workers has enabled the hospital to extend its capabilities and thrive,” said John Lydon, Chief Executive Officer of Auberle. “We’ve replicated the EI model at hundreds of other businesses across the region, enabling our partners to grow and positively impact the communities they serve.”

“Today, we are the area’s go-to workforce- development program,” Lydon added. “We will continue to innovate new ways to fuel southwestern Pennsylvania’s talent engine and to remove barriers for segments of the population who face greater obstacles to employment.”