Opinion: NYC Is Spending Millions on Workforce Development — But Not on the Workers Who Need It Most

Funding for adult workforce programs has fallen despite clear evidence that investments in adult upskilling credentialing and job placement deliver faster returns in wages productivity and tax revenue A workforce progress training held at an NYCETC member site Grayson Dantzic Photography New York City spends over half a billion dollars a year on workforce evolution But if you re an adult trying to upskill change careers or get ahead you re largely on your own Our new overview at the New York City Employment and Training Coalition NYCETC Putting Our Dollars to Work shows that only percent of the city s million workforce budget reaches prime-age adults who fall outside traditional safety net programs Despite constituting the majority of the city s unemployed underemployed and low-wage workers this group is excluded from a workforce evolution system that contends to offer New Yorkers a pathway to post-pandemic labor industry success While middle-wage jobs have declined and high-income earners continue to see their wages rise the city s greater part relied-upon occupations from vitality care and child care to building services retail food system and delivery are stuck or falling farther behind in the affordability predicament These workers face stagnant wages limited mobility and no clear or coordinated commitment from the city s workforce system to assistance their advancement Merely put when New Yorkers try to position themselves and their families for better pay stronger benefits and access to growing industries or seek out the coaching credentials or flexible scheduling necessary to advance they find themselves shut out It s the exact opposite of what our city promises not only a betrayal of our ethos as a place where dreams are made of but a failure of our vision for shared economic success The city s approach to workforce financing has shifted dramatically in current years with youth-focused programs seeing unprecedented enhancement accounting for nearly half of all allocated workforce dollars in FY The Summer Youth Employment Initiative alone receives more than million a percent increase since That may sound like an commitment in the future but more critically it highlights a serious disinvestment in the current workforce especially for adults who are ready to fill in current times s jobs meet current labor region demands and lift their families out of poverty Funding for adult workforce programs at the Department of Social Services and the Department of Small Business Services has dropped by percent and percent respectively despite clear evidence that investments in adult upskilling credentialing and job placement deliver faster returns in wages productivity and tax revenue than longer-term youth pipelines That s a systemic neglect of working adults This isn t about pitting youth against adults Investments in young people are critical But we can t ignore the fact that our current approach is wildly out of balance More than working-age adults in New York City mostly Black Latino immigrant and outer-borough residents remain siloed in precarious jobs disconnected from the infrastructure that could sponsorship long-term rise and stability This failure weakens our financial market our tax base and our collective future Workforce advancement requirements to be central to the city s economic improvement strategy That means rebalancing our investments modernizing our training systems and creating real on-ramps to sustainable jobs for the adults who are trying to stay afloat The good news is that we know what works Across NYCETC s more than member organizations we see local dynamic and innovative job training and career growth programs helping adults build the skills and social capital required to connect with employers and we facilitate access to the services and supports necessary to retrain and retain talent But these programs can t scale without sustained equitable funding and a commitment from City Hall and the City Council to prioritize working New Yorkers Every New Yorker deserves a fair shot at economic safeguard no matter their starting point In a year with City Council and mayoral elections and with financial insecurity at the top of voters minds we have an opportunity to rebalance priorities It s easy to point to any number of broken or imbalanced city systems and ask where masses dollars could have the greatest impact But when it comes to workforce advancement continuing to underinvest in adult workers is economically self-defeating and short-sighted We need a workforce system built for the realities of the present day s New York one that meets workers where they are and invests in the people who keep this city running If we matched the level of funding we make in one season like the Summer Youth Employment Initiative across the full year and extended that same access to training opportunity and assistance to adult workers we could unlock economic mobility at scale This isn t just about equity it s about staying competitive strengthening our business environment and generating a multiplier effect that supports entire families fuels local economies and builds a stronger more resilient city With more than years of experience in teaching and workforce expansion Gregory J Morris as of now serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the New York City Employment and Training Coalition the largest city-based workforce rise association in the United States representing over member organizations The post Opinion NYC Is Spending Millions on Workforce Enhancement But Not on the Workers Who Need It Bulk appeared first on City Limits