Civic and business leaders have honored the first recipients in a Pittsburgh grant program for young talent and their employers.

Six workers and two employers won $5,500 apiece under the first round of HirePGH grants, organizers said at the City-County Building, Downtown during a June 22 ceremony. City Council set aside $60,000 for the first year of the program, known earlier as Promise to Hire.

Splitting award money between workers and organizations that hire them gives Pittsburgh employers an incentive to hire city residents who are qualified alumni of the Pittsburgh Promise scholarship program. The idea is to encourage talent to stay in the city, said Councilman Corey O’Connor, who has led the effort along with the scholarship program and the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania.

First-round grant recipients include Japera Bey, 23; Charmaine Clarke, 25; Allison Meade, 23; Shaqui Scott, 24; Jaquayla Huger, 24; and Jasmine Durham, 26. Employer recipients include Allegheny Health Network’s Healthcare at Home and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council.

Government entities are not eligible for the grant awards, although their employees are.

Mr. O’Connor said organizers are looking to grow the program. He will lobby his council colleagues to fund the effort again next year, he said.

First Published: June 30, 2017, 12:12 p.m.