May 23, 2014
By Stephanie West
New York, NY — Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced the 30 members of Jobs for New Yorkers’ that will develop real-time strategies to strengthen the city’s workforce and help workers develop the skills needed to secure good paying jobs in fast-growing careers. The task force will help shift the City’s approach to focus on employment for New Yorkers in skill-building, higher-wage jobs that offer opportunities for advancement.
“Jobs for New Yorkers’ will play a key role in furthering the administration’s efforts to create more opportunity and fundamentally shift our workforce and education system to focus on quality, well-paying jobs that support families,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “With this task force, we are going to harness the experience, knowledge and expertise from this diverse group of business, education and community leaders to expand opportunity for more hardworking New Yorkers.”
The task force’leadership team includes: Vincent Alvarez, President, NYCCLC; Jennifer Jones Austin, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies; Carlo Frappolli, Head of Talent, JPMorgan Chase; Kyle Kimball, President, NYC Economic Development Corporation; John Mogulescu, Senior University Dean for Academic Affairs, CUNY; among many other distinguished New Yorkers.
The task force has been charged with delivering recommendations on how the City can:
· Better integrate the $500 million investment in workforce programs and education resources to serve the unemployed and under-employed;
· Combine economic development strategies with workforce development initiatives to allow more New Yorkers access to quality employment in industries where the City makes investments;
· Address the skill gaps for low-wage workers by creating training programs that teach skills specifically geared to what today’s companies need. This will create a pipeline of homegrown workers who can fill the new opportunities being created by the City’s growing businesses; and
· Ensure our local employers seek, find and hire talent from the five boroughs.
“The labor movement will continue to help provide working men and women with the training and support necessary to secure good jobs paying family-sustaining wages,” said Vincent Alvarez, President of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. “I applaud the de Blasio administration for initiating this task force, and I look forward to working with other city stakeholders to help reduce the crippling income disparities that have plagued hard working New Yorkers for far too long.”
