OIC Philadelphia has been committed to bringing power to the next generation since its inception in 1964 under its founder, the late Rev. Leon H. Sullivan.
OIC, which stands for Opportunities Industrialization Center, has provided the resources to empower and uplift the North Philadelphia community and beyond for over 60 years.
OIC Philadelphia President and CEO Sheila Ireland takes pride in how the historic organization’s job training programs in clean jobs, medical services and hospitality have genuinely transformed the lives of individuals.
She highlights workforce development and community impact through the Sullivan District, a shopping plaza operated by OIC, and how it has recovered from its financial deficit under her leadership.
Ireland said the mission of OIC is more relevant now than ever as the federal political landscape undergoes department cuts and DEI policy rollbacks.
“The whole idea of equal pay for equal work and work-life balance, we’re still struggling with all these years later,” she said.
OIC serves Philadelphians with employment opportunities that provide a family-sustaining wage with resources available to scale the career forward.
Through its newly renamed Hospitality & Tourism Training Institute, which celebrated 35 years of operations, OIC will expand to Sullivan’s Way Cafe, an opportunity for recent graduates to use their training in hands-on hospitality jobs.
Through its Smart Energy Technical Training program, more than 200 individuals have been trained and connected to clean energy jobs in efforts to create a greener and sustainable city.
Ireland said empathy and strategic planning must go hand-in-hand to sustain OIC. When OIC faced a near million-dollar deficit in 2021, it was Ireland’s strategic planning that has the organization anticipating a $7 million surplus.
“We’ve doubled the number of programs,” says said Chief Advancement Officer Drew Bergman. “We’ve taken the number of participants, and applicants from 800 to more than 5,000 through strategic marketing, advertising, and building this influencer network in the community so that we have boots on the ground as well. The placement rates have soared.”
In Sullivan’s book, “Moving Mountains,” 94% of African Americans in the 1970s, who were in managerial and supervisory positions, came through the doors of OIC.
“So if that many people in this community walked through the doors of OIC, and built the Black middle class, it was this organization,” Ireland said. “And that legacy endures to this day.”
She said she believes the connection to resources has proven to be “the most beneficial” for Black Philadelphians — more than just a handout but continuing education to begin a tailored journey and creating work equity for people of color.
“The reality is to move your career forward, it’s a continual education,” Ireland said. “On to the next level and the next level and the next level. We hope, through the alumni network, to be able to provide some of that training that’s required for you to move your life forward. Not just the first rung, but start running stuff.”
Looking forward, OIC plans to move into more digital spaces by utilizing a federal grant that awarded the facility 200 laptops for a borrower program and open labs to support future initiatives that will be unveiled throughout the year.
Although OIC officials pride themselves as a workforce organization, more facets make it as effective for the community. Its focus on social justice and economic empowerment is a sign that its mission of self-help is still in motion and needed by its community members to protect it from whatever happens in federal, state, or local government.
“Dr. Sullivan’s vision for this organization, which you will see over and over again, was self-help and economic independence,” Ireland said.
“He wanted us to have our revenue so that we have the flexibility to do what it is that we wanted to do, and we continue to pursue that. We don’t want to be subject to all the winds of change. We want to be a stalwart in this community to protect this community from that kind of stuff.”
Article written by Kiara Santos
