In July, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza, and several other education officials announced the launch of CareerReady NYC, a program that will help New York City students prepare for the workplace beginning this school year. Kids will be able to develop the education, work experience, and personal attributes that will put them on a path to career success and financial security. CareerReady aims to align all the components of the “public talent pipeline” to create a network of support.
The public talent pipeline in NYC includes kindergarten through 12th grade public schools, publicly administered workforce programs, and the CUNY system. These institutions will work within a coordinated system of academics, work-based learning experiences, and comprehensive supports, according to the mayor’s office, to help students beginning at a young age. The office hopes preparing students for economic success will also help economically bolster the city’s future–especially students can go into programs that focus on the city’s high-demand sectors.
“The highest priority of my Administration has been to end the ‘tale of two cities’ and build a city with equal opportunities,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio in a press release. Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives Phil Thompson added that CareerNYC will help prepare all city students for the lives they want.
“CareerReady NYC will enhance our CUNY Career Success program, a comprehensive system that is preparing our students for careers that tap their talents and aspirations and enable them to provide for their families and serve their communities,” CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez also said in the release.
Changes to the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program, which began in 1963, are one of the main components of CareerReady. SYEP will now include more project-based learning and career exploration, a school-based SYEP option in all five boroughs, will serve kids residing in select New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments, and expand services for highly vulnerable student populations such as kids in foster care, runaway/homeless kids, and kids involved in the justice system.
CareerReady will also include initiatives to ensure CUNY students are on career tracks that will earn living wages after graduation. According to the mayor’s office, the Civil Service Pathways Fellowship (CSP) offers qualified CUNY seniors and graduates a paid fellowship of up to two years, with a pathway into the permanent civil service.
