Dear Friends and Colleagues,
We are pleased to present JobsFirstNYC’s Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2023, a year in which we strengthened our commitment to advancing economic mobility for young adults and their communities in New York City.
JobsFirstNYC has continued to build and strengthen impactful partnerships to drive positive change in the lives of young people. Our partnerships this past year were even more diverse as we explored a range of collaborations focused on improving employment outcomes through local impact sourcing, the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to shrink the time between job searching and obtaining a job, and the implementation of sector-based networks. In addition, our community solutions partnerships showed the strength of place-based investment and maturity in the progress they made this year in launching entrepreneurial, internship, and employment initiatives.
Key highlights include the following:
Download the 2022-2023 Annual Report
Employment Partnerships
Local impact sourcing with PeopleShores: In early 2023, we saw great progress in our partnership with PeopleShores aimed at creating jobs in five communities in New York City with high youth unemployment rates. The results from the opening of the first site in Brooklyn and the first cohort of jobseekers completing their onboarding and being employed by PeopleShores and its anchor employer partner Morgan Stanley strongly support our initial assessment that partnering with a local impact sourcing company could not only create jobs in communities that need greater economic productivity but also improve the financial wellness of people from these communities, which tend to have high levels of lower-wage jobs.
Skills mapping using generative AI with SkyHive: Our commitment to harnessing cutting-edge technology for social and economic impact continued to inform our partnerships this year. In collaboration with SkyHive, we launched a first-of-its-kind Skills Mapping Academy focused on utilizing generative AI to unlock opportunities, shrink the distance between job searching and finding a job, and revolutionize skills-based hiring. The Skills Mapping Academy enables workforcedevelopment and education practitioners to support and accelerate labor market-responsive training, reskilling, and upskilling for New York City jobseekers.
Skills-first hiring with OneTen: We continued our partnership with OneTen, a national coalition of leading chief executives and their companies aimed at closing the opportunity gap for Black individuals and others by upskilling, hiring, and promoting one million people who do not yet have a four-year degree into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement over ten years. This partnership aligns with our commitment to uncovering new pathways to economic mobility and increasing equitable access to good jobs.
Increasing employer partnerships to support the expansion of New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program: We partnered with the New York City Mayor’s Office to support the increase in the number of young people served in the Summer Youth Employment Program from 75,000 to 100,000. This initiative focused on improving systemic partnerships with private sector employers and laying the foundation for a long-term strategy to enhance year-round work-based learning experiences for young people.
Effective partnership across sectoral employment programs: We launched sector networks in three of the fastest-growing sectors in New York City: the green economy, technology, and healthcare. These networks organize and expand high-quality skills training, strengthen collective mechanisms to negotiate with employers, customize training to meet targeted hiring demands, and increase employment opportunities for young adults and their communities.
Community Solutions
Internship program—Jerome Avenue Revitalization Corporation (JARC): As our partnerships grow and mature, they begin to develop solutions that further strengthen their mission to improve economic opportunities for young people and residents of their communities. JARC, one of JobsFirstNY Community Solutions partnerships, partnered with Bronx Community College and a subset of its 99 small business partners to launch its first internship program in the west Bronx.
Entrepreneurship—Brownsville Hub Cooperative: In partnership with Medgar Evers College, Babson College, Howard University, Metropolitan College of New York, and Brooklyn Legal Services, the Brownsville Hub Cooperative developed a robust curriculum to build the capacity of Brownsville/East New York entrepreneurs to partner with industry to operate and effectively manage a business.
Finally, this year we continued to focus on strengthening collaboration across all JobsFirstNYC partnerships through the development of biannual Partnership Forums, and were pleased to launch a Policy Committee composed of New York City workforce development and education stakeholders focused on improving access and equity in the workplace.
As we reflect on the achievements of Fiscal Year 2023, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the entire JobsFirstNYC community—our dedicated team, visionary board members, and and invaluable partners and investors. Together, we have made significant strides toward creating a more inclusive and prosperous future for the young adults we serve.
Thank you for your unwavering support and commitment to our mission.
Sincerely,
Alan Momeyer, Chairman of the Board, and Marjorie D. Parker, President and CEO
