NEW YORK (Feb. 1, 2023) — Gregory J. Morris, CEO of the New York City Employment and Training Coalition, released the following statement on Mayor Adams’ State of the City Address:
“What Mayor Adams said at his State of the City about jobs in New York is 100 percent true — our city needs a strong working class for it not only to survive but to thrive. The New York City Employment and Training Coalition applauds the Adams administration for recognizing the need to connect workers to good-paying, family-sustaining jobs, and many of our more than 200 members already play essential roles in delivering on that promise.
The mayor outlined a series of priorities that will certainly strengthen the city’s workforce while also recognizing the historical inequities that have left too many New Yorkers — women, people of color, older workers, and others — out of the competitive labor market. Most notably, those include:
- Launching a new Apprenticeship Accelerator to connect 30,000 New Yorkers to apprenticeships by 2030 and tracking all forms of apprenticeship, from youth to adults in the workforce.
- Create a new Nursing Education Initiative, in partnership with CUNY, to support 30,000 current and aspiring nurses to enter, stay and grow within the healthcare workforce,
- Double the city’s current rate of contracting with Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs) by awarding $25 billion in contracts to M/WBEs over the next 4 years and $60 billion over the next 8 years;
- Expand the CUNY2x Tech program to more campuses – including community colleges – with a focus on institutions serving first-generation college students and communities of color;
These are promising commitments to New Yorkers that can result in real change, but they will require 1) A fully-funded workforce development system that is set up to track and deliver these commitments in support of job seekers and the steady and sustainable partnerships between providers, educators, and employers necessary to keep New York talent on track, and 2) The on-going support for “all in” state-wide legislative efforts to empower New York City to require companies with city contracts to hire local community members, raise the minimum wage, and reduce the barriers to employment for recipients of public benefits.
Our coalition stands ready to partner with the mayor to meet the moment on behalf of our talented workforce (especially our most vulnerable communities who have been historically and systemically excluded) and set up every worker to succeed for generations to come.“