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Education Solutions Priorities

The Purpose of JobsFirst NYC’s Education Solutions is to build equitable pathways to postsecondary education, skills training and career opportunities through our Education Solutions Strategies. Collaborating across academic institutions, employers, learning communities, and young adults, we strive for accessible and supportive educational opportunities.

JobsFirst NYC Education Solutions achieve this goal through:

Connecting students to career pathways

in the K-12 and public college systems, and enabling on-ramps to postsecondary education, career training, and employment.

Intervening early,

while young adults are still connected to school, to ensure young adults have a plan and do not ever become out of school and out of work. This will stem the inflow into the out-of-school and out-of work population.

Reconnecting young adults

to educational programs, both degree tracks and non-degree that lead to industry certifications and/or employment.

Bringing together staff and leaders

from education and workforce institutions to collaborate in order to effectively guide young adults between these two siloed systems.

Transforming systems – policies, practices, and all available resources

to decrease the number of young adults who are out of school and out of work, increase the number of young adults who have postsecondary plans, and provide young adults the support they need to successfully complete educational programs and participate in NYC’s economy.

The Challenge

When JobsFirst NYC launched our Education Solution portfolio in 2018…

75%

of young adults who were out of school and out of work had no college experience

30%

of NYC high school students graduated without a postsecondary plan

17%

postsecondary enrollment rate of students who were overage and under-credited

12%

unemployment rate for young adults, were a 10-year high

Impact Framework

People

  • Connecting students to career pathways.
  • Removing barriers to supportive services and economic opportunity.
  • Increasing awareness of and access to postsecondary education and training.

Partnerships

  • Convening leadership across sectors in Learning Communities.
  • Building common language and mission/purpose between education and workforce.
  • Creating shared data systems and metrics for partner accountability.

Institutions

  • Infusing career development and postsecondary planning into the fabric of K-12 schools.
  • Adapting college systems to embed career development.
  • Supporting institutions in developing practices of workforce organizations and employers engaging young adults.

Systems

  • Reimagine education systems to reduce out-of-school, out-of-work rates.
  • Advancing equity and eliminating educational and economic gaps by race and socioeconomic status.
  • Advocating for ongoing, targeted investment in reconnecting out-of-school, out-of-work young adults to high school and college, career training, and/or employment.

JobsFirst NYC Education Partnerships

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