Fill the technological gap for young New Yorkers

For many New Yorkers who sail on the difficult labor market today, a secure role with a clever salary and an opportunity for growth looks like a unicorn. But after almost seven years at Brooklyn WorkForce Innovations (BWI)I can tell you that these jobs exist, and you do not need a sophisticated academic diploma or tons of experience to become a solid candidate.

As a program director for BWIs Work customer experienceI help fill the gap between young New Yorkers with obstacles to employment and local technology industry rapidly growing. Launched in 2019, the scholarship offers a free seven -week -old hybrid training program designed to prepare young adults to succeed in mobile careers up in the technological customer experience thanks to a combination of complete training and general skills and enveloping placement support.

Over the past five years, the program has scored 271 scholarship holders and maintained a coherent post-program employment rate for graduates over 80%. The key to his success is that he prepares students for careers throughout life, not just their next job.

Young New Yorkers in the working class are historically among the first to be affected by economic instability. More recently, the Lycée and the Covid -19 college have interrupted the school and the college for many young adults, therefore an overwhelming number of people in their twenties now lacks the experience and the confidence necessary to make a career pivot – in particular the one who feels as intimidating as going from the services or retail industry in a career in technology.

Take Jose Cervantes, from Brooklyn, 24, who could not finish his university degree due to the financial challenges of the Pandemic. He worked like Barista and was overwhelmed by competition for technological roles in the city. By targeting a career in customer service in technology that does not require STEM education, the work of the scholarship presented Cervantes a more accessible path to an industry which he once thought out of reach.

To prepare new technological arrivals for life career success, the program goes beyond technical skills and references. He also teaches general skills, provides a global context to guide and inform the responses of the application and the interviews of graduates during the job search; And, once hired, facilitates the transition of integration by establishing a base of terminology of the industry, basic concepts and regulatory considerations.

College graduates often have lightness regarding technological landing jobs, for reasons that go beyond the diploma. Many have access to generational knowledge or a peer and professional network that prepares them for the job search process. Kindwork seeks to recreate this for people without traditional educational environments or for those who are often under-represented in technology, with 90% of participants in the program identifying themselves as people of color.

Investigators and mentors with industry experience meet trainees where they find themselves and create a culture of empowerment and care when sailing in job search. The scholarship also provides a peer support network, allowing trainees to rely on others who have career objectives and similar trajectories. We encourage them to feed this network by maintaining links with the counterparts of the old ones via Slack, LinkedIn and in person meetings – creating industry connections for life.

Above all, the range does not disappear after the trainees graduated or found a role – we remain a long -term resource. We firmly believe that skills development programs do not work, which is all the more true given the volatility of the technological job market today. The coaches offer real -time support to graduates who are navigating in career transitions or continuing promotions, providing meetings to provide job transition advice, such as how to keep their professional stories fresh, or connect them with former students or industry events.

Help young New Yorkers to make career changes has impacts beyond the individual. It allows whole families to break the cycles of poverty, to cultivate the economic growth of the district, to keep local talents and to make technological industry more accessible. This work is not only important but essential in an increasingly digital world, so we can maintain the essence of our local communities and open doors to a better future.

Shani Watler, from Brooklyn, is the program director at Kindwork.