Young Adult Sectoral Employment Project

The Challenge

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.

Visit the YASEP Website

Impact

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.