Our Mission
Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) equips young people to build lifelong skills, pursue meaningful careers, and embrace change with confidence —so they can thrive in the workforce, experience economic mobility, and strengthen their communities.
What We Do
PYN's career connected learning our out-of-school time programs offer middle school youth specialized learning opportunities after school and during the summer. These programs blend academic support with career exploration, helping students strengthen foundational skills and build confidence in their future.
Our Professional Pathways programs support young adults ages 18-24 with a high school diploma or equivalent who are ready to take their next step into the workforce. These programs combine hands-on experience with targeted professional development, credentialing, and mentorship. Participants are connected to full-time, benefit-bearing employment that helps them build financial stability and gain the freedom to make choices that shape their futures.
PYN’s work-based learning programs give high school age youth paid opportunities to explore careers through internships, job shadowing, and hands-on experiences—helping them build networks, gain transferable skills, grow their professional networks and chart a roadmap for their future careers.
PYN partners with local and national organizations to coordinate efforts that align resources, advance policy, and strengthen data-driven approaches to youth workforce development. Click the link below and learn more about our collaborations with the Aspen and Annie E. Casey Foundations.
Our History
Founded in 1999, the Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) has played a pivotal role in the development and empowerment of Philadelphia's youth. At its core, PYN was established to be a collaborative effort to address the multifaceted challenges faced by young individuals in the city.
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Starting as a small non-profit organization, PYN has grown into an independent, citywide entity, putting more than 250,000 youth to work in internships, training programs, and out-of-school time programs, infusing more than $51 million into the local economy through wages paid to youth, launching seven industry pipeline programs to enhance education in high-growth and high-earning careers, and coordinating services for over 140 youth-serving organizations.
Our Impact
Over the course of its 25 year history, PYN has served more than 250,000 youth across the city of Philadelphia. Our programs have helped young people gain valuable work experience, develop essential job skills, and build the confidence they need to succeed. We are proud to have made a positive impact on the lives of so many young people in our community.
Driving Data For Change
To improve outcomes for teens and young adults in Philadelphia, PYN has worked with partners to build data sets focused on better understanding Philadelphia's youth population, their connection to career and academic opportunities, and their needs. Our data-based initiatives are driven by chartering research, fielding surveys, and hosting interviews to inform our work and make a maximum impact.
Over the last several years, PYN has worked closely with the Aspen Institute, to track and quantify local opportunity youth (ages 16-24 and disconnected from school/work) and set target goals for re-engagement.
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Click below to learn more about how PYN uses opportunity youth metrics to drive our program targets and evaluation.
