Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment Celebrates 15th Anniversary of "Made in NY" Training Program

One Thousand Graduates and Counting have found work on productions for companies including Disney, HBO, Showtime and CBS

NEW YORK, NY – The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) is proud to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the "Made in NY" Production Assistant (PA) Training Program which, since 2006, has prepared underemployed and diverse New Yorkers for entry-level positions in film and television production. The program provides access to employment opportunities in the industry and trains production assistants to work collaboratively with local communities when they shoot on location throughout the five boroughs. This anniversary also marks a milestone moment for the program as the number of graduates placed in jobs passes 1,000. For more information on MOME's signature workforce development program, and to learn more about the additional programs available to New Yorkers, please visit https://on.nyc.gov/MadeinNYPATraining.

"Over the last 15 years, New York City's signature "Made in NY" Production Assistant Training Program has become a national model for creating local talent pipelines for employment in the media and entertainment industry," said NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment Commissioner, Anne del Castillo. "The success of the program has inspired our office to expand our workforce training program offerings to other areas of film production, theatre, music and animation to cultivate a strong talent base of New Yorkers and ensure our city's role as a global creative capital."

The "Made in NY" PA Program serves a combination of trainees that is as diverse as New York City itself. 95% of its participants are people of color, 51% are female-identified, 8% are veterans, 10% are NYCHA residents, and 26% were unemployed 12 months prior to enrollment. The program has a 97% placement rate with graduates moving into advanced positions including Assistant Production Office Coordinator, Camera Assistant, Assistant Locations Manager, Grip, Field Producer, Set Decorator, Technical Operator and more.

The success of the "Made in NY" PA Training Program spurred the creation of additional training and workforce programs under the de Blasio administration. Since 2014, MOME more than doubled the number of job and internship placements in the media and entertainment industry through these programs:

• "Made in NY" Post-Production Training Program prepares New Yorkers for entry-level positions in editing, graphic design, motion graphics, and visual effects in partnership with the NYC Department of Small Business Services. The program provides New York City residents with an overview of the post-production industry, and five weeks of hands-on training in four commonly-used software applications for video editing and visual effects. Upon completion, graduates receive two years of job placement assistance.


• "Made in NY" Animation Project offers NYC youth, ages 12-24, the opportunity to gain technical skills in 3D computer animation and qualify for paid internships in the field.


• "Made in NY" Writers Room is a fellowship program for TV writers from diverse backgrounds in partnership with the NYC Department of Small Business Services. The program pairs emerging writers with experienced showrunners in a six-month fellowship program to propel their careers forward and prepare their pilot scripts for pitch. In partnership with the Writers Guild of America East, this program is helping to diversify New York City writers' rooms.


• "Made in NY" Talks is a series of free career panels featuring industry leaders in conversation about their careers in NYC creative industries.


• "Made in NY" Podcast Certificate Program trains participants in the most popular technologies used to create podcasts, as well as the fundamental techniques of long-form, narrative audio storytelling with the goal of teaching how to tell compelling stories through writing, interviews, and sound.


• "Made in NY" Stagecraft Boot Camp, the first step in the three-year Theatrical Workforce Development Program, offers training for New Yorkers aged 18–24 in backstage theatre skills and two years of job placement assistance into entry-level stagehand positions. This program is a partnership with Roundabout Theatre Company and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (I.A.T.S.E.).

MOME also licenses the "Made in NY" logo to various entertainment, technology and fashion industries, signifying a mark of distinction for work created in New York City. All housed under the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, the term "Made in NY" encapsulates multiple programs and initiatives that seek to unify the city's entertainment industries, ensure the diverse population of NY is represented in its creative output, and support the local economy.