Dalio Education Invests $2.5M In Fair Haven Manufacturing, Tech ​Nonprofit Job Training Program, MATCH

From Dalio Education:

NEW HAVEN, CT — Barbara Dalio, Founder and CEO of Dalio Education, today announced that Dalio Education is making an “important investment” in Manufacturing and Technical Community Hub (MATCH), a nonprofit job training program located in the Fair Haven section of New Haven. The investment will allow MATCH to train young people over the course of five years for careers in manufacturing, an industry that is growing in Connecticut.

MATCH is dedicated to building a skilled workforce by providing hands-on manufacturing training, professional and technical skills development, and wraparound support services for individuals facing barriers to employment. Operating as both a training hub and contract manufacturer, MATCH prepares participants for real careers while strengthening connections with local industry and expanding economic opportunity in Greater New Haven.

The $2.5 million investment will be overseen by the Connecticut Opportunity Project (CTOP), Dalio Education’s social investment fund.

“We are excited to make this important investment,” said Dalio. “MATCH is training young people for fulfilling careers in manufacturing, a sector that provides good jobs – jobs that pay well and provide good benefits – for thousands of Connecticut residents.”

“The MATCH Board of Directors extends our sincere appreciation to Dalio Education for their generous and meaningful investment in our work and for embracing our shared vision,” shared Marcia LaFemina, MATCH Board Chair. “Their leadership recognizes both the urgency and the promise of engaging disconnected youth, and they have seized the opportunity to use manufacturing as a powerful vehicle for dignity, belonging, skill-building, and economic mobility. Together, we are creating real pathways to strong careers and stronger communities.”

The young people entering the program as a result of this investment require comprehensive, wrap-around support. This population – referred to as “moderately disconnected” or young people ages 18-26 with a high school diploma facing barriers to employment – has been the focus of much of Dalio Education’s work over the past 10 years and was described in a heralded research report Dalio Education released in October 2023, entitled Connecticut’s Unspoken Crisis: Getting Young People Back on Track.

“These young people have enormous potential,” said Dalio. “Like everyone else, they have hopes, dreams, and aspirations. What they need is a chance. MATCH will give them that chance, and we’re excited to see them thrive during the time they’re at MATCH and then well beyond as they build their careers.”

This investment follows a similar one made to Nuvance Health, part of Northwell Health, that Dalio Education announced in June 2025 to design and implement a healthcare job-training program for young people in this target population.

“Increasingly, we are focusing our efforts on workforce development programs in growth industries like manufacturing and healthcare,” said Dalio. “For a long time, the thought was that there was one main pathway to success: a 4-year degree from a college or a university. And while that’s certainly still the case for some young people, these days more and more young people are realizing there are multiple pathways to successful careers.”