Learning Briefs: The Sector Networks

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. 

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.

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:

• The Abundance Mindset: Building Employer Relationships Across Networks
• More Than the Sum of Our Parts: Partnership Brokering in the Sector Networks
• No Wrong Door: Building a Connected Ecosystem of Opportunity

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Explore the Green Economy Network, Healthcare Sector Network, and Tech Sector Network and our partners at jobsfirstnyc.org 

Interested in connecting with the Sector Networks? Reach out to Malia Darby, Manager of Work Solutions, at mdarby@jobsfirstnyc.org