The New York City Workforce Investment Board

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The Workforce Investment Board has become a dynamic leadership body that showcases the City's accomplishments in serving businesses and jobseekers.

Workforce Investment Board and Mayor’s Office of Adult Education were Consolidated
In 2012, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg created the NYC Office of Human Capital Development (OHCD), a new entity housed in the Office of the Mayor, to oversee, support, and strengthen the City's range of workforce development, skills training, and adult education activities.

NYC Workforce Investment Board (WIB) and former Mayor’s Office of Adult Education (MOAE) were consolidated and placed under the umbrella of OHCD, and the vision and goals are broader than both combined. OHCD strives to help businesses meet their labor needs and help NYC jobseekers find stable jobs with advancement potential.

An Innovative Contributor to New York City's Economic Growth
New York City is home to 8.2 million people, of whom approximately 3.9 million people make up the City’s labor force. Through a variety of federal, state and local funding sources, the City of New York offers a wide range of job placement, training and educational services to employers, jobseekers and incumbent workers across the five boroughs, The New York City Workforce Investment Board (WIB) oversees federally funded workforce development programs, which assist City businesses by helping to ensure them access to qualified workers and serve workers and jobseekers by helping them find job openings and bolster their earning power through skills training. The New York City Workforce Investment Area, the largest in the country, includes New York City’s five boroughs: the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. The NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) currently operates federally funded programs for adults, and the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) operates programs for youth.

The WIB is made up of volunteer members, appointed by the Mayor, including representatives of local businesses, institutions of higher education, labor unions, community-based organizations, and government agencies. The Board conducts oversight and sets broad priorities around workforce issues helping to ensure that workforce initiatives successfully fulfill the Mayor's vision of a strong workforce development system. This vision includes three key components:

1. A strong linkage to economic development projects in all five boroughs
2. A tight connection with businesses to ensure their needs are met
3. Services that effectively and efficiently connect New Yorkers to jobs in demand

Through the focused efforts of the WIB and its workforce partners, New York City has made remarkable progress, in transforming the City's workforce programming into an effective system that connects qualified jobseekers with employers, and makes it easier for businesses to thrive in an increasingly competitive economy. The City’s workforce programs have become highly effective economic development tools, saving businesses time and money and enhancing the vitality of the New York City job market.

In 2003, the City's adult workforce development programs were merged into the Department of Small Business Services. At the heart of this strategy is the understanding that economic development initiatives both large and small depend on access to a skilled and qualified workforce.

New York City's innovative business-driven programs have led to dramatic growth in the number of workers and businesses benefiting from the workforce system and in the number of business, government, and academic leaders becoming involved in the WIB.