Insights from Three Years of Implementing Sectoral Employment Solutions for Economic Mobility
The Green Economy Network, Healthcare Sector Network, Tech Sector Network, and JobsFirst NYC have been designing, refining, and implementing citywide sectoral employment partnerships across New York City since 2020. Together, these partnerships have trained more than 8,000 jobseekers, and are changing how New York City connects people to training and employers to talent.
As the networks move into the “integrate” phase of our five-step process, we are releasing a series of Learning Briefs that capture key practice shifts, systemic outcomes, and recommendations for the field to sustain and expand impact.
Read the Learning Briefs
The Abundance Mindset: Building Employer Relationships Across NetworksMore Than the Sum of Our Parts:Partnership Brokering in the Sector NetworksNo Wrong Door: Building a Connected Ecosystem of Opportunity
The Sector Networks: Building Unified Workforce Pathways
Built on lessons from the Young Adult Sectoral Employment Project, the Sector Networks are partnerships built by JobsFirst NYC and network members that bring together education and workforce development organizations, employers, and government stakeholders across New York City growth industries.
A fragmented workforce development ecosystem cannot be solved by any single organization working in a silo. The Sector Networks were built to bridge these gaps, turning competition into collective action. By aligning training pathways, sharing labor market intelligence, and coordinating industry relationships, the networks create a unified infrastructure that builds direct routes to employment for jobseekers while providing employers with reliable, skilled talent pipelines.
1
Investigate
We listen and we learn first.
2
Imagine
We ideate community-inspired solutions.
3
Incubate
We grow ideas into an outcome-driven action plan.
4
Implement
We launch and continuously refine new ways of working together.
5
Integrate
We evaluate our performance, assess what’s next, and advance what works.
Through JobsFirst NYC’s five-step process, these networks evolved from problem definition into active learning communities, working groups, and executive committees advancing shared visions for the field and individual sector strategies:
Investigate: Defining systemic workforce fragmentation, mapping local market assets, and identifying critical skill gaps across New York City’s changing economy.
Imagine: Building cross-sector consensus on the problem statement, setting shared goals, and co-designing systemic interventions.
Incubate: Developing actionable implementation plans, assembling necessary resources, and securing commitment from core network partners.
Implement: Facilitating trusted working groups, executive committees, and learning communities to test, refine, and execute sectoral action plans.
Integrate: Scaling proven strategies and embedding core practice shifts across the ecosystem to achieve lasting systems impact.
Shared Learnings & Practice Shifts
The Learning Briefs detail three core practice shifts generated across the Green Economy Network, Healthcare Sector Network, and Tech Sector Networks:
Centering an abundance mindset: Anchoring employer outreach in labor market data so workforce trainers shift from competing for employer relationships to building shared talent pipelines that expand employers’ access to qualified candidates across the networks.
Establishing a “no wrong door” approach: Linking jobseekers to a shared ecosystem of training and services so candidates find the right fit regardless of where they enter.
Partnering to expand opportunity: Building new cross-sector partnerships to combine expertise, develop new training models, and expand internship and employment opportunities.
Looking Ahead: The Integrate Phase
Moving into the integrate phase means embedding these shared insights into institutional practices and broader field strategies, and advancing policy and funding recommendations to sustain and expand their impact.
To explore the findings and actionable recommendations, read the full series:
Across New York City, individuals who are out of school and out of work tend to live in communities with the highest poverty rates. Reduced access to work-based learning opportunities and cutbacks in comprehensive support services are occurring alongside increased demand for workers in various sectors, making it critical to develop a collaborative approach that simultaneously prepares jobseekers and meets labor market demand. By enhancing workforce development capacity, increasing employment opportunities, and influencing policy and investment, these sector networks seek to uplift New Yorkers into good careers.
When JobsFirst NYC launched the Sector Networks in 2020:
16%
of young adults were out of school and out of work
10.3%
of youth were unemployed
31%
of young Black workers were unemployed
26%
of young Latinx workers were unemployed
Approach
The Sector Networks organize and expand effective skills training, strengthen collective mechanisms to partner with employers, customize training to meet targeted hiring demands, and increase employment opportunities for young adults and their communities.
Target sectors include: Green Economy,Technology, and Healthcare.
The Green Economy Network establishes effective practices and aligns current systems to create green jobs and career paths in New York City, prioritizing access and sustainability.The Healthcare Sector Network customizes skills training with employer collaboration and promotes fair pay and quality healthcare jobs in New York City.The Tech Sector Network fosters an inclusive tech industry in New York City by facilitating customized training for in-demand roles and connecting employers with skilled tech talent.
This is a space dedicated to sharing updates from the Green Economy, Healthcare, and Tech Networks; reporting on goals and insights, relaying program openings and recruitment opportunities, and fostering cross-network collaboration.
Cross-sector convergence in action! Interested in learning more about Network Co-Chair roles? Reach out to mdarby@jobsfirstnyc.org
Connecting the Sector, Together 🔄
The Sector Networks are growing! We are expanding our impact by bringing in new perspectives to build on strong partnerships that shape and advance a more effective workforce development system. Each Sector Network is welcoming new members. Are you ready to join us?
What You Get as a Member
📊 Labor Market Intelligence and Employer Insights
Access to real-time hiring trends, employer priorities, and dynamic profiles of emerging skills needs across Green, Healthcare, and Tech.
🔄 No Wrong Door Referral Pipeline
Utilize shared referral tools that expand training, certification, and specialized support options for participants across Network members.
💡Knowledge Exchange & Spotlight
Showcase your proven models, operational lessons, and emerging best practices to help shape sector-wide standards and elevate your organization’s work in quarterly working sessions.
📣 Amplified Field Voice & Advocacy
Opportunities for greater visibility and influence through collective policy briefs, public briefings, advocacy, and funding opportunities.
The Member Commitment
Quarterly Participation: Designate at least one representative to join and contribute to quarterly sector learning communities of up to three hours, with optional opportunities to to lead or join time-bound task forces.*
Amplify Best Practices: Adopt and share field learnings, referral practices, and policy insights within your own organization.
Collective Intelligence & Insights: Share high-level outcomes and operational takeaways to help us capture, synthesize, and demonstrate the true impact of sector strategies across NYC.
*There will be opportunities for leadership roles within our Networks. Reach out to mdarby@jobsfirstnyc.org to learn more
Climate Week NYC is coming up! See below for where our members will be featured 👇
Catch Malia Darby, JobsFirst NYC, Nikki Tourigny, The Hope Program, and Stephanie Klocke, NYC Talent, speaking on The Future of Green Jobs at Green Jobs Pavillionon September 21st
Join JobsFirst NYC, LESEN, Henry Street Settlement, The Green Launchpad, Willdan, Stacks + Joules, and Con Edison at Pathways to Power: Building Sustainable Careerson September 22nd at Abron Arts Center
Bring your young people to Youth WINS’ Green Energy Symposiumat College of Staten Island Center for the Arts on September 23rd
St. Nicks Alliance — Rolling opportunities for CNA and Hemodialysis Technician. Info Sessions on Fridays
When you refer to a Healthcare Sector Network member, you access the entire Network’s resources. Thank you to our Referral Task Force for ensuring that there is no wrong door to a healthcare career!
✨Highlighting a work-based learning model within the Tech Sector Network: Per Scholas’ Salesforce Administrator Fellowship.
Through this program, nonprofit partners can host a fully trained, full-time Per Scholas Salesforce Administrator Fellow for an eight month placement.
A Reciprocal Win for Tech Capacity and Sector Network Pipelines
Tech-Enabling the Sector: Participating CBOs gain dedicated, full-time technical capacity to build custom dashboards, implement AI-powered workflows, streamline operations, manage donor databases, and track participant outcomes—allowing nonprofits to leverage enterprise-grade tech without sacrificing critical program budgets.
Real-World Work-Based Learning: These fellowships provide full-time, hands-on experience solving complex operational challenges within real-world environments for graduates. Fellows apply their certifications, build vital social capital, and accelerate their tech careers.
Cross-Sector Impact: Embedding skilled technical talent directly into community-based organizations ensures that local providers across all three networks have the digital infrastructure needed to operate efficiently, measure impact, and scale their services.
We encourage all partners looking to upgrade their digital tools to take advantage of this opportunity. Contact NYSF-Fellowship@perscholas.org to learn more.
Whether you are a training provider looking to expand candidate access, an employer seeking job-ready talent, or an educational institution aligning career pathways, we invite you to learn more about joining the Sector Networks. Reach out to mdarby@jobsfirstnyc.org
This is a space dedicated to sharing updates from the Green Economy, Healthcare, and Tech Sector Networks; reporting on partnership goals, insights and impacts, relaying program openings and recruitment opportunities, and deepening cross-sector collaboration.
Curious what’s next and how to get involved? Our Integrate phase announcement is at the end of this newsletter ⬇️
Sector Networks: Implement Phase in Review 🎉🔥
What a year! The Sector Networks have completed 3 years of Implementation, as part of the JobsFirst NYC 5-Step Process for partnership development. Together, we built the foundation for a strong, interconnected network of networks that organizes and expands effective skills training, strengthens how partners work with employers, customizes training to meet hiring demand, and increases employment opportunities for young adults and their communities.
Since 2023, the Green Economy, Healthcare Sector, and Tech Sector Networks have strengthened systems impact through core practice shifts:
Creating a No Wrong Door for Jobseekers and Employers: When one jobseeker walks through the doors of a network member, they unlock access to dozens of other training programs and services. If the first program they enter is not the right fit for their circumstances or career aspirations, there are options. Similarly, employers can access thousands of talented people through any one member of the Sector Networks.
Centering an Abundance Mindset: Working together can be easy, but building trust is not. Through anchoring employer outreach conversations in labor market data, the Sector Networks have adopted an abundance mindset—that there is far more demand for talent and future pipelines than there are seats in training programs. We produce better results when we work in collaboration rather than competition.
Partnering to Expand Opportunity: By participating in the Sector Networks, organizations have built new partnerships to expand training pathways and strengthen curricula. The Sector Networks are truly interconnected networks of organizations and people dedicated to improving services and programs through collaboration, with impact that extends beyond any single organization.
Reflecting back on our Cross-Sector Network convening at Solar One Environmental Education Center, where partners from all three Sector Networks collaborated to solve K-12 connections to workforce development programming at Runway Green.
Green Economy Network
FY 2026 Highlights
GEN made significant strides this year in raising visibility for green career pathways and driving policy recommendations from our members. We believe an inclusive green economy must provide all New Yorkers with family-sustaining careers that reinvest in local communities
This past year, the GEN:
Released the full Voices from the Green Frontline Brief outlining the realities of green workforce training.
Built a new website and training exploration tool to bring more awareness to green career pathways.
Published policy recommendations for the Mamdani administration pushing for an inclusive and coordinated green transition that prioritizes New Yorkers’ careers.
Hosted Clean Energy Connect Expo and a strategic policy briefing, connecting policy and practice to real opportunity for jobseekers in search of a green career.
Clean Energy Connect “connected” our programs, jobseekers, and employers, offering an up close look at the different green pathways. From building management at the Doe Fund to horticulture at the Hort, there was something for everyone.
Powering NYC’s clean energy future through local talent and innovation!🔌 💚
Healthcare Sector Network
FY 2026 Highlights
HSN dove deep into understanding the young adult healthcare workforce landscape, recognizing that healthcare is one of the most difficult yet critical sectors to work and thrive in.
This past year, the HSN:
Uncovered the on-the-ground realities of entering healthcare via workforce training programs in our Careers in Care Focus Groups, translating findings into organizational and Network practices.
Embedded participant feedback into our Referral Task Force processes by evaluating participant fit when making program recommendations, understanding that clinical pathways require intensive, hands-on training that may not align with learner personality and long-term goals.
Collected healthcare workforce training provider stories, challenges, and bright spots to synthesize and release in Voices from the Healthcare Frontline this fall
Partnered with the Bronx Opportunity Network to share and educate post-secondary professionals on the viability of healthcare training as an option for educational and career pathways.
Young adults remain curious and dedicated to becoming part of the care workforce. Our Careers in Care focus group revealed that even with generational differences in how caregivers show up to work, our learners remain steadfast in their pursuit of a career in healthcare.
A healthier NYC starts here, fueled on the front lines by dedicated caregivers.❤️🩺
Tech Sector Network
FY 2026 Highlights
With the rise of AI and contraction of traditional tech jobs, the TSN worked creatively to connect job seekers with new opportunities, sectors, and skill sets in demand.
This past year, the TSN:
Connected waitlisted training seekers with TSN programs and referral partners at Opportunity Day, ensuring that anyone who enters the doors of a TSN member is met with the resources they need to succeed and pursue a career in tech skills.
Built a social capital network with 30 learners and graduates from TSN programs during the Social Capital Building Experience, hearing and learning directly from alumni now employed at marketing firms, museums, schools, and financial institutions.
Collected tech workforce training provider stories, challenges, and bright spots to synthesize and release in Voices from the Tech Frontline this fall.
Finalized Version 3 of the Digital Pipeline, with capabilities to digitally refer candidates across the platform and post training opportunities, videos, in-person and virtual resources, and more!
Opportunity Day was an inside look into the motivation and excitement of New Yorkers pursuing careers in tech roles. The alumni panel and subsequent resource fair illustrated an honest assessment of the tech job market and how young people can take advantage of the program rich ecosystem the TSN provides.
NYC tech isn’t just growing, it’s breaking boundaries with homegrown talent!💡💻
➡️What Comes Next: Transitioning to the Integrate Phase
As we look back on an incredible year of impact across the Green Economy, Healthcare, and Tech Sector Networks, we are gearing up for our most transformative year yet!
Transitioning into the new fiscal year and JobsFirst NYC’s Integrate phase, Sector Network membership evolves into a broader platform to extend the reach and impact of the Networks, elevate Network insights, spotlight proven models, and align systems citywide.
💡What to Expect: Sector Network Membership
Sector Network Members (Green Economy, Healthcare, and Tech), gain direct access to a network of training providers, employers, CUNY partners, and system leaders.
What You Get as a Member
📊 Labor Market Intelligence and Employer Insights
Direct access to real-time hiring trends, employer feedback loops, and dynamic skills profiles across Green, Healthcare, and Tech.
🔄 No Wrong Door Referral Pipeline
Utilize shared digital tools to cross-refer participants to complementary training tracks, certifications, or specialized wraparound supports.
💡Knowledge Exchange & Spotlight
Share your proven models, operational lessons, and emerging best practices to help shape sector-wide standards and elevate your organization’s work.
📣 Amplified Field Voice & Advocacy
Representation in collective policy briefs, public briefings, and grant opportunities.
The Member Commitment
Quarterly Participation: Designate at least one representative to join and contribute to quarterly sector learning communities of up to 3 hours and opt in to lead or join time-bound task forces on a rolling basis.
Amplify Best Practices: Adopt and share field learnings, referral practices, and policy insights within your own organization.
Collective Intelligence & Insights: Share high-level outcomes and operational takeaways to help us capture, synthesize, and demonstrate the true impact of sector strategies across NYC.
📩 Ready to Connect?
Whether you are a training provider looking to expand candidate access, an employer seeking job-ready talent, or an educational institution aligning career pathways, we invite you to learn more about joining the Sector Networks.
We are officially kicking off Integrate in September – join us!
Together, we are transforming how New York City builds talent, partners with employers, and drives equitable economic mobility. Thank you for a fantastic year—we look forward to growing with you!
For more about Sector Networks, contact Malia Darby, Manager of Work Solutions at JobsFirst NYC via email at mdarby@jobsfirstnyc.org.
Young adults in New York City are contending with unprecedented difficulties in the local labor market. The long-term trend of public sector disinvestment in training and employment services, combined with employers increasingly basing their hiring decisions on demonstrable skills and previous work experience, has created an almost impossible situation for young adults without a college education who seek stable, career-track employment at a family-supporting wage. This is particularly the case in New York City, where job growth has concentrated at the extremes of the labor market: high-paying jobs, which require education and skills that young adults often lack; and low-wage, low-skill jobs, for which young adults must compete against older jobseekers who typically have the advantages of relevant work experience and strong references.
118,000
out-of-school and out-of-work young adults were in New York City
61%
of jobs held by young people were part-time
31%
of New York City college students worked while in school, and fewer students were finishing their degrees
70%
of all jobs would require postsecondary education by 2027
Approach
JobsFirst NYC’s Young Adult Sectoral Employment Project supported the development of 11 partnerships between workforce development organizations and employers. Each partnership is focused on a specific sector (such as healthcare, technology, transportation) and carries out employer-driven training for unemployed and underemployed young adults.
These programs offer young adults enough time and preparation to master the competencies necessary for success in the workplace while also integrating sufficient employer input to ensure that participants who complete training programs are ready to contribute from their first day on the job.
Benchmarking for YASEP – JobsFirst NYC is partnering with the Workforce Field Building Hub at the Workforce Professionals Training Institute and a group of JobsFirst NYC’s YASEP member organizations and CareerLift partner, Seedco to baseline, test and strengthen their capacity to engage employers, using the Success Drivers developed through the Workforce Benchmarking Network.
SectorBOOST for YASEP – Change Machine (formerly The Financial Clinic) partnered with a cohort of JobsFirst NYC’s YASEP member agencies to bring financial coaching services to young adult jobseekers and to build the capacity of participating organizations to deliver similar coaching services in the future. You can learn more here at SectorBOOST.
Eleven partnerships have been established under YASEP’s framework, and ten launched industry-based training programs. Each partnership is focused on a specific sector and carries out employer-driven training for unemployed and underemployed young adults.
Ten new partnerships were developed and sustained their partnership structures throughout the duration of the project. These included:
Comprehensive Youth Development and the Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY prepare students for careers in healthcare while earning a Certified Medical Assistant credential.
Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation partners with transportation and logistics employers to offer a career pathway into the transportation sector with a robust career ladder, living wages, and union protections.
Green City Force partners with Con Edison, L+M Development Partners, C+C Management, and NYCHA’s REES offer career pathways for young adults into the sustainability sector.
The Knowledge House, partnering on the Bronx Digital Pipeline with Hostos Community College and Per Scholas, is developing pathways into cutting edge technology jobs.
Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute partners with the Cooperative Home Care Associates to train young adults for jobs in the healthcare sector.
Per Scholas and The Door created TechBridge to offer young adults to expand access into the information technology sector.
Phipps Neighborhoods, in partnership with Hostos Community College and Montefiore Medical Center, prepare young people for careers in allied healthcare.
Queens Community House, Jacob Riis Neighborhood Settlement House, Ocean Bay Community Development Corp, and Sunnyside Community Services — together as Queens Connect — prepare young adults for success in the food industry.
Roundabout Theatre Company in partnership with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and The Door provide training for access to careers in technical theatre.
Stanley Isaacs Neighborhood Center partners with employers to train young adults for careers in hospitality and food service. Isaacs Center also offers training in community health and education and child development.
The traditional way of acquiring tech skills—expensive and time-consuming—is out of reach for many New Yorkers, preventing them from embarking on lucrative tech careers. There is no unified strategy to prepare New York City’s workforce for in-demand tech jobs, despite rapid growth and an overwhelming need for tech workers. It is therefore vital to establish an innovative approach that aligns supply and demand, equipping jobseekers with the necessary skills and resources to thrive in this dynamic environment.
When JobsFirst NYC launched the Tech Sector Network in 2021:
only
1 in 5
tech sector jobs were held by Black and Hispanic workers despite this population making up 43% of NYC’s overall workforce
only
19%
of tech training programs equipped grads for advanced-skill tech jobs, not meeting the market demand
tech industry was the
3rd-largest
employment sector for younger New Yorkers
Approach
The Tech Sector Network promotes skills-based hiring to meet labor demand in partnership with employers, and organizes and expands skilling and upskilling opportunities to increase New Yorkers’ access to high-wage jobs and advance their economic mobility.
By enabling employers to tell trainers what skills workers need today and in the future, collaborating on customized training to meet labor market demands, and providing a steady pipeline of qualified talent, the Network aims to forge an inclusive and thriving tech industry with accessible and market-driven training that leads to economic opportunity. The Tech Sector Network is committed to:
Organizing and expanding customized training and upskilling across tech skills training providers.
Strengthening collective mechanisms to negotiate with employers.
Systematizing a Network referral system to bolster the talent pipeline.
Advancing a skills-based (vs. degree-based) hiring approach as a more efficient, inclusive, and effective recruitment process.
Impact
The Network has completed the investigate, imagine, and incubate phases of JobsFirst NYC’s partnership development process and is currently in the implementation phase, which will impact technical career pathways and job quality, ultimately benefiting jobseekers and employers alike.
The healthcare industry remains an indispensable pillar of New York City’s workforce, with increasing demand at all levels. However, the industry’s need for more qualified workers, improved job quality, and increased investment in advancement persists.
Addressing these challenges through a unified strategy is critical. In particular, fostering collaborative approaches with employers and investing in the development of healthcare workers will establish a thriving healthcare infrastructure.
The soaring demand for healthcare workers in New York City has catalyzed a renewed focus on innovative workforce development strategies, and we must meet the moment. When JobsFirst NYC launched the Healthcare Sector Network in 2022:
4%
healthcare sector growth rate in NYC 2020-2022, despite a drop in 2020
600,000
healthcare-related occupations expected to generate 600,000+ cumulative healthcare job openings through 2032
40%
of healthcare jobs were projected to require only a high school diploma
Approach
The Healthcare Network (HSN) strengthens workforce development and partners with employers to meet labor demand and increase access and opportunity within the healthcare sector to create family-sustaining career pathways.
By tailoring preparation to meet current employer needs, the HSN facilitates professional growth and expands long-term economic mobility for New Yorkers. The Network is committed to:
Partnering with employers and across the workforce development ecosystem to strengthen healthcare career pathways and create career advancement strategies.
Complementing one another’s training, services, and curricula and making cross-network referrals.
Designing and launching a marketing campaign to attract more applicants to the healthcare profession.
Sharing best practices to connect jobseekers with better-quality jobs and employers.
Impact
The Network has completed the investigate, imagine, and incubate phases of JobsFirst NYC’s partnership development process and is currently in the implementation phase, which will impact healthcare career pathways and job quality, ultimately benefiting jobseekers and employers alike.
The Green Economy Network is a coordinated, cross-sector partnership bringing together workforce organizations, postsecondary institutions, employers, public agencies, and philanthropy to build a strong green economy that creates good jobs, expands economic mobility, and improves quality of life through buildings, transportation, and other infrastructure.
The Challenge
In New York City, economic burdens and legacy pollutants leave under-resourced communities especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Efforts to mitigate this urgent challenge can potentially create high-quality, good-paying jobs. However, the communities most affected by climate change often face the greatest difficulty in accessing these jobs. New York City needs a collaborative, unified strategy to prepare the green workforce—with a focus on including those most affected—and to meet the city’s lofty climate goals by 2030.
At the time of the partnership’s first convening in 2020, stakeholders highlighted the following:
100,000
green economy workers in NYC 2009
40%
emissions-reduction goal by 2030 requiring the creation of new jobs and expanded workforce training
230,000
green jobs projected in NYC by 2030
Approach
The Green Economy Network (GEN) is a coordinated, cross-sector partnership bringing together workforce organizations, postsecondary institutions, employers, public agencies, and philanthropy to build a strong green economy—one that creates good jobs, expands economic mobility, and improves quality of life through investments in buildings, transportation, and infrastructure.
As New York City and State implement plans for climate and equity, the Green Economy Network aligns data, policy, practice, workforce, and economic development. It has built a community of practice among organizations and people working in this space.
The network brings together hundreds of nonprofits, public agencies, and employers to assess the green economy, strengthen understanding of challenges and opportunities in the sector, connect workforce organizations with employers, and support progress toward decarbonization goals. The Network is committed to:
Advancing public investment strategies that support clean energy workforce development at scale.
Building and strengthening employer partnerships to define hiring needs, inform training, and align partners across the ecosystem.
Establishing clear, scalable pathways for jobseekers to enter and advance in green economy careers.
The Network has completed the investigate, imagine, and incubate phases of JobsFirst NYC’s partnership development process and is currently in the implementation phase, which will impact green career pathways, ultimately benefiting jobseekers and employers alike.
This is a space dedicated to sharing updates from the Green Economy, Healthcare, and Tech Networks; reporting on goals and insights, relaying program openings and recruitment opportunities, and fostering cross-network collaboration.
The JPI Group greeting a Green City Force ServiceCorps Member
Clean Energy Connect in Motion ✨
The second annual Clean Energy Connect: Workforce and Resource Expo proved to be an effective bridge to New York’s growing green economy, equipping participants with the direct employer connections and educational resources needed to launch and advance their careers in the green workforce.
Thank you to all of our training and employer partners, GEN members, Fordham University staff, and participants for a wonderful day at Fordham University.
Employer Partners
Brooklyn Navy Yard
Con Edison
Energy Training Solutions
Hallen Construction
The JPI Group
Kelvin
LIFE3
NYC Department of Buildings
Steven Winters Associates
The Doe Fund
Training and Education Partners
Bronx Green Jobs Center
CUNY Building Performance Lab
Forward Connect
Green City Force
Kingsborough Community College
LaGuardia Community College
Per Scholas
RETI Center
Solar One
Soulful Synergy
St. Nicks Alliance
Stacks + Joules/Henry Street
Staten Island JCC
The Hort
WE ACT
Willdan Clean Energy Academy
Highlights from the day
Travis Proulx, Vice President, Community Affairs, Fordham University, kicked off the expo with a powerful message on the importance of green jobs for NYC residents.
Angela Son, Founder, The Green Launchpad, and Antuan Cannon, Vice President, Talent Development and Innovation, Willdan, delivered an informative workshop on certifications, roles, and career pathways in energy efficiency—the room was buzzing with inspiration!
The Youth Advisory Council of Solar One educated participants on climate advocacy and environmental justice, demonstrating the impact of green jobs on our communities.
150 participants learned about new career pathways, signed up for training, and applied for open clean energy roles at Clean Energy Connect!
The excitement at Clean Energy Connect makes one thing clear: New Yorkers are ready and eager to lead the city’s transition to a clean energy future! ✨
Angela Son, the Green Launchpad, assisting a learner during the Demystifying Green Careers workshop.
Participants line up to create herbal sachets with The Horticultural Society of New York. Plants are medicine!
Green Economy Network
Mobilizing our Policy Recommendations
The Aligning NYC Investment with Workforce Opportunitystrategic briefingwas a critical start to a day curated for New Yorkers to learn about and advance in the green workforce. The morning started with JobsFirst NYC and Green Economy Network leaders presenting GEN’s 2026 Policy Recommendations to Mayor Mamdani. The policy recommendations outline a roadmap for the administration to deliver on a core promise: 500 NYC schools retrofitted. To ensure this massive climate initiative achieves sustained success, the GEN’s strategy focuses on transforming public investment into a streamlined pipeline for local hiring, work-based learning, and long-term career retention.
Immediately following the policy briefing, leaders from workforce and climate sectors joined for a panel discussing what it takes to move insight to action.
Key Takeaways:
Workforce training, apprenticeship pathways, and local hiring can be embedded directly into infrastructure and capital projects instead of being funded separately through short-term workforce programs.
The proposed 500-school retrofit initiative provides a scalable model for connecting climate infrastructure, public education, paid work-based learning, and union career pathways.
Updates to building codes, zoning reform, and electrification policy are already driving demand for green infrastructure work across New York City.
Procurement and capital planning can be used to better align public investment, workforce systems, employers, and labor around shared hiring goals.
Existing climate and infrastructure funding streams can support workforce recruitment, training, and retention as part of long-term project delivery.
Read more about the briefing and recommendations here.
Healthcare Sector Network
Collecting responses for Voices from the Healthcare Frontline
Calling all healthcare workforce training providers! Answer our short survey to win a free Adapting to the Future of Work: Movement by Design ticket. Your voice is crucial to telling on the ground stories of the sector that cares for the city. Answer Here!
Tech Sector Network
Collecting responses for Voices from the Tech Frontline
Calling all tech workforce training providers! Answer our short survey to win a free Adapting to the Future of Work: Movement by Design ticket. Your voice is crucial to telling on the ground stories of a consistently evolving tech landscape. Answer Here!
For more about Sector Networks, contact Malia Darby, Manager of Work Solutions at JobsFirst NYC via email at mdarby@jobsfirstnyc.org.
JobsFirst NYC, Fordham University, and The Green Economy Network’s Strategic Briefing to Advance A Policy Roadmap That Connects Green Investments to Local Talent
Aligning New York City’s infrastructure investments and decarbonization goals with a sustainable workforce requires an urgent, unified approach. Delivering on these ambitious climate goals demands a coordinated policy framework that turns historic funding into career opportunities for New Yorkers; because life is only affordable when good jobs are accessible.
Moving from recommendations to reality, JobsFirst NYC, and its Green Economy Network, in partnership with Fordham University convened key city officials, philanthropists, labor leaders, and industry giants on May 29, 2026 at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus. This strategic briefing was designed to turn blueprints into action, unifying leaders to deploy the framework laid out in Building a Workforce Infrastructure for the Green Transition and connect New Yorkers to the green economy.
Featured Speakers
Nathan Berger, Program and Policy Officer, Robin Hood
Chris Collins, Founding Executive Director, Solar One; Co-chair of GEN’s Policy & Development Work Group
Melissa Enoch, Assistant Commissioner, NYC Department of Environmental Protection
Vanessa Fajans-Turner, Executive Director, Environmental Advocates NY
Tonya Gayle, Executive Director, Green City Force
Jennifer Mitchell, President & CEO, The Doe Fund; Treasurer of GEN’s Executive Committee
Travis Proulx, Vice President, External Affairs, Fordham University
Ahmed Tigani, Commissioner, NYC Department of Buildings
Julie Tighe, President at New York League of Conservation Voters and New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
We gathered to map out the workforce and investment strategy to address the challenges of a fragmented system. With NYC targeting 230,000 green jobs by 2030, we must bridge the workforce development gap between multi-billion-dollar capital investments and local talent pipelines. As JobsFirst and JobsFirst NYC CEO Marjorie Parker noted in her opening remarks, “Young adults move ahead when systems move together.”
From Action Plan to Implementation
Taking to the stage to bridge the gap between policy goals and real-world execution, leaders from government, labor, and climate sectors unpacked the key frameworks needed to connect fragmented agencies, leverage statewide funding, and establish local procurement standards.
Key Insights
Workforce training, apprenticeship pathways, and local hiring can be embedded directly into infrastructure and capital projects instead of funded separately through short-term workforce programs.
The proposed 500-school retrofit initiative provides a scalable model for connecting climate infrastructure, public education, paid work-based learning, and union career pathways.
Updates to building codes, zoning reform, and electrification policy are already driving demand for green infrastructure work across New York City.
Procurement and capital planning can be used to better align public investment, workforce systems, employers, and labor around shared hiring goals.
Existing climate and infrastructure funding streams can support workforce recruitment, training, and retention as part of long-term project delivery.
Thank you to everyone who joined us to move beyond theory towards operationalizing real solutions for New York’s green economy. The Green Economy Network has built a citywide partnership infrastructure capable of transforming practice, policy, and investment. With our proposals now before the Mamdani Administration, we must maintain this momentum.
To learn more about the Green Economy Network, please reach out to Malia Darby at mdarby@jobsfirstnyc.org.
Thank you for showing up, not just for the green economy, but for the New Yorkers who are ready to build it.
Watch this space for further information and insights from the briefing.
Participants line up to create herbal sachets with The Horticultural Society of New York. Plants are medicine!
