City Pushes for Better Job Outcomes in For-Profit and Non-Profit Tech Training Programs

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 21, 2017

City’s Tech Talent Pipeline Initiative Pushes for Better Job Outcomes in For-Profit and Non-Profit Tech Training Programs

New Report And Partnership With Providers Aims To Affect Change In Tech Training Industry

NEW YORK – NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner Gregg Bishop today announced that New York City’s Tech Talent Pipeline (TTP) is equipping more for-profit and non-profit tech training organizations to deliver better job outcomes for New Yorkers. By issuing a key practices report and partnering with local training providers, the City is helping ensure that New Yorkers graduate from trainings with the essential skills needed to succeed in quality tech jobs.

“To grow our city’s tech sector, we need a well-trained, qualified workforce with in-demand skills,” said Gregg Bishop, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “We are taking new steps to better ensure that students have a reliable pathway to good jobs that companies need to fill. Training needs to be laser focused on this objective in order to deliver the best results for New Yorkers and our city’s economy.”

The New York City tech ecosystem is thriving and supports more than 320,000 jobs and $30 billion in wages annually. However, many companies in New York City cannot find enough qualified candidates to keep up with their demand for talent. Businesses rely on technical talent to help their companies start, grow, and succeed. Educational institutions and tech bootcamps – non-degree granting organizations that offer accelerated tech education in in-demand fields – have grown dramatically in size and popularity to help meet this demand. There were nine providers in New York City in 2015 and that number has now grown to 22.

Accelerated training has shown potential for delivering qualified candidates for jobs across the NYC tech ecosystem. Through its employer-informed training programs, TTP has already delivered hundreds of New Yorkers – including individuals without four-year degrees and foreign-born residents – into positions at companies like Spotify, Viacom, and Foursquare.

Today, a new report issued by TTP, the City’s tech industry partnership that is part of the SBS, offers key practices to improve job outcomes for tech training graduates and attract and support a more inclusive student body. These key practices are based TTP’s experience launching six training programs. Through these practices, many of which have been integrated into TTP’s Web Development Fellowship offered by Fullstack Academy, NY Code and Design Academy, and General Assembly, the City hopes to support providers in delivering better job outcomes across the tech training industry.

The 12 best practices outline how providers can build industry-informed programs that promote post-graduation employment success. The practices include how to improve transparency and accessibility, how to better engage industry, and how to meet the varying needs of participants. The key practices, explained within the report, include the following:

Engage employers through multiple channels to improve alignment between skills that are taught and skills that are in demand;

Proactively connect students to jobs through a dedicated employment team;

Provide non-technical coaching and coordinate student support through dedicated staff or partnerships with qualified organizations;

Expand student pool through community-based recruitment partners;

Provide clear, up-front information on the time commitment and cost of training, prerequisites, outcomes, and the bootcamp’s role in connecting graduates to jobs; and

Help students gain experience, including through paid internships.

TTP looks forward to highlighting NYC training providers that embrace these practices and invites training programs to share what steps they already take and would like to adopt in the future. Interested providers should visit the link below by December 15, 2017, to submit their input.

To view the full report, visit techtalentpipeline.nyc/industry-insights.

About NYC Department of Small Business Services Industry Partnerships

The NYC Tech Talent Pipeline is one of SBS's five industry partnerships that work with employers, industry and trade organizations, organized labor, non-profits, training providers and educational institutions, private philanthropy, and workforce organizations to build a sustainable and robust pipeline of local talent to fill New York City's jobs, create formal career paths to good jobs, reduce barriers to employment and sustain or increase middle-class jobs. Other industry partnerships include the construction, healthcare, hospitality, and industrial fields.

About the NYC Tech Talent Pipeline

Launched by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2014, the NYC Tech Talent Pipeline is the City’s tech Industry Partnership, designed to support the inclusive growth of the NYC tech sector and prepare New Yorkers for 21st century jobs. Incubated and supported by the NYC Department of Small Business Services, the NYC Tech Talent Pipeline works with 225 companies, 16 local colleges, and additional public and private partners to define employer needs, develop training and education models to meet these needs, and scale solutions throughout the City, delivering quality talent for the City’s businesses and quality jobs for New Yorkers. The NYC Tech Talent Pipeline is a public-private partnership between the NYC Department of Small Business Services, the Workforce Funders, and JPMorgan Chase Foundation.

About NYC Small Business Services (SBS)

SBS helps unlock economic potential and create economic security for all New Yorkers by connecting New Yorkers to good jobs, creating stronger businesses, and building vibrant neighborhoods across the five boroughs. For more information on all SBS services, go to nyc.gov/sbs, call 311, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.