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Mayor Adams Unveils Ambitious Plan to Make New York City Leader in 'Green-Collar' Jobs | City of New York

February 28, 2024

State of the City Commitment Will Grow City’s Green Economy, Train and Position New Yorkers to Benefit from Nearly 400,000 Green-Collar Jobs by 2040


NYC Mayor’s Office of Talent and Workforce Development Makes Significant Achievements to Better Position All New Yorkers to Thrive in the Jobs of the 21st Century

January 10, 2024

NYC Mayor’s Office of Talent and Workforce Development Will Build on this Momentum in 2024 to Strengthen the Impact and Effectiveness City’s Talent and Workforce Development System


NY Daily News Op-ed: New Opportunities for NYC Youth

December 27, 2023

By Abby Jo Sigal

The world economy is changing — and New York City needs to change with it. Today’s employers hire talent for jobs that don’t yet exist, to use technologies that haven’t yet been invented, and to solve problems that have yet to be identified. At the same time, many young people who could fill those needs have difficulty getting the right credentials or training, and are often overlooked by traditional hiring strategies.

Too many young people end up out of school and out of work, and employers and our economy miss out on huge pools of talent. Moreover, the Georgetown Center for Education and Workforce projects 72% of all jobs in the U.S. will require a post-secondary credential by 2031, and in New York City that percentage will likely be higher.

That is why Mayor Adams released “Pathways to an Inclusive Economy: An Action Plan for Young Adult Career Success,” a bold vision for our city’s young people to discover their interests and receive the hands-on, interactive career exposure and work-based learning opportunities needed to start their careers. The plan reflects a whole of government approach, leveraging more than $600 million in funding and partnerships across federal and state governments and countless city agencies to best serve our young people, employers, and our dynamic economy.

We also know that government is not enough. That’s why we continue to work closely with industry associations, unions, nonprofit, philanthropic, and corporate partners from across the city to strengthen our public private partnerships and industry engagement to provide young people with work opportunities and employers with in-demand talent. By bringing everyone to the table, the city is using its power to create inclusive career pathways for our youth.

The action plan recognizes that while traditional classroom learning plays an essential role, young people have much to gain from real-world, hands-on experience. To best help them discover their interests, build professional networks, and start careers we must leverage New York itself as a classroom, with its diversity of people, employers, and industries.

That’s why for the first time in our history we have convened the city’s teams responsible for public education — Department of Education, City University and publicly-funded youth workforce programs via the Department of Youth and Community Development — to fundamentally change a young person’s educational path from when they first attend public school and throughout their lifelong learning journey.

Starting as early as middle school, the Adams administration has introduced hands-on learning in after-school programs to gain career exposure and inform postsecondary pathways, redesigned our high schools to focus on student career success, funded CUNY to build out industry engagement, and expanded the Summer Youth Employment Program to support a record 100,000 summer job opportunities for young people across the city.

This set of policies, practices, and programs gives young people a critical head start, real work experience, and professional connections, as well as money in their pocket.

We are also ensuring that young people leave high school with a postsecondary plan, which is why we are investing additional resources to help high schoolers enroll in for-credit college courses to jump-start their degree, connect to apprenticeships or paid internships, and enroll in critical digital and business skills training programs through their local school, nearby CUNY campus, or community-based program.

This includes expanding to five schools — including community colleges for the first time — with a $10 million commitment to CUNY 2x Tech, a proven program that doubles the number of CUNY computer science graduates and launches them into tech careers.

These strategies are only effective when we meet the needs of young people, as every individual has a unique career trajectory and not all remain in school. According to American Community Survey data, one in six New Yorkers ages 16 to 24 are out of school and out of work, so this plan targets this demographic to create rewarding career pathways for them. This includes a $300,000 pilot program to guide at-risk students to postsecondary pathways, and $5.8 million for CUNY Reconnect to re-enroll and support students into college.

New York’s next chapter depends on the choices we make today for our talent development system. Our future workforce is being built right now — in the halls of public schools, in CUNY community college classrooms, in our after-school and summer programs, and in the offices of employers — as we increase access for youth from communities who for too long were overlooked by government, educational institutions, and the private sector.

This action plan makes clear our collective responsibility to provide the next generation of New Yorkers with every tool possible to thrive in the dynamic 21st century economy.

Sigal is executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Talent and Workforce Development. 


Mayor Adams Announces Citywide Action Plan to Build Inclusive Career Pathways for Young People

December 11, 2023

Pathways to an Inclusive Economy: An Action Plan for Young Adult Career Success" Outlines Over $600 Million Citywide Plan to Prepare 250,000 Youth for Workforce


Mayor Adams Announces Creation of Office of Community Hiring, Doug Lipari as Executive Director

July 27, 2023

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the formation of the Office of Community Hiring and the appointment of Doug Lipari as its executive director. 


Mayor Adams Announces New Investment to Support Career Advancement for People With Disabilities

July 26, 2023

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced a new, two-part investment to support career advancement for people with disabilities and expand access to internships, training seminars, jobs, future careers, and financial counseling.


Mayor Adams Announces Major Investment in NYC Workers and Employers, new Approach to Talent and Workforce Development with $18.6 Million Federal Grant

Mayor Signs Executive Order to Further Empower Mayor’s Office of Talent and Workforce Development, Convene Future of Workers Task Force   NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the launch of New York City ...