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Sectors Initiative Charts New Course for Job Training

Sergeo Guilbaud (middle), Director of the Long Island College Hospital School of Radiologic Technology, instructing two students as part of the New York City Sectors Initiative training grant.

April 1, 2007 – More than 300 New Yorkers are receiving training for jobs in growing industries thanks to a new partnership between SBS and the Workforce Development Funders Group, a group of foundations which pool their expertise and occasionally their funds to address workforce development issues. Through a three year, $2.5 million pilot program, the partnership has combined public and private resources to launch the New York City Sectors Initiative, a program which will provide longer periods of training to prepare New Yorkers for jobs in high-demand and high-growth industries by engaging these businesses in the planning and implementation.

"Thanks to the support we have received from the Workforce Development Funders Group, this pilot program is offering New Yorkers some of the longest periods of training that the City has ever been able to provide," said Rob Walsh, Commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services. "We hope to use this innovative initiative as a model for future programs, to prepare New Yorkers for the jobs that our City’s employers need to fill and ensure that our City remains competitive in viable sectors such as biotechnology."

Through the program, 131 New York City residents are participating in a 12-month training program for paramedics, or a 4–month training program for Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), or an 18-month training program for radiation technicians -- all areas in which there are a high demand for labor and strong starting salaries. The training programs, along with intensive pre-training courses to help prepare candidates academically, are being administered by the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty and high-performing training providers. An entry level position as a paramedic (which requires a year of EMT experience) or as a radiation technician pays about $50,000 annually.

The program is also providing industry-specific training and internships in biotechnology to 180 New Yorkers who are enrolled in Hunter College’s biology courses. By increasing the capacity of the school’s training program, the New York City Sectors Initiative will not only better prepare New Yorkers for high demand, high paying jobs, but also make New York City more competitive in the valuable biotechnology sector.

The members of the Workforce Development Funders Group who have invested in a pooled fund to support the New York City Sectors Initiative include the Altman Foundation, the Clark Foundation, the Ira W. De Camp Foundation, Deutsche Bank, Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation, Independence Community Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, New York Community Trust, Rockefeller Foundation, Tiger Foundation, and United Way of New York City.