By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday announced the launch of the New York City Workforce Development Council, a group of leaders from the business community, educational institutions, unions, and training providers who will help develop and sustain strategies that will aid New Yorkers in finding family-sustaining careers and help employers tap the talent they need to succeed.
Chaired by Rob Speyer, CEO of Tishman Speyer, the new advisory board will be comprised of over 30 external stakeholders committed to rebuilding and strengthening the city’s talent and workforce development system for a post-pandemic labor market. The Workforce Development Council will make recommendations to the Mayor’s Office of Talent and Workforce Development (NYC Talent) and the New York City Workforce Development Board, which is responsible for stewarding between $60 million and $100 million in annual federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funding.
Additionally, the Adams administration on Thursday released two Requests for Proposals to advance its moonshot goal of connecting 30,000 New Yorkers to apprenticeships by the year 2030. An initial investment of $3.5 million — from Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funding — will identify potential private-sector and non-profit partners that are interested in developing new apprenticeship programs and transforming existing talent development initiatives into structured apprenticeships.
“While our city has recovered all of the private-sector jobs lost during the pandemic, our recovery has not benefitted every New Yorker equitably. To change this, we need partners from every corner of our city to help build an economy with real pathways to family-sustaining careers,” said Adams. “The Workforce Development Council will tap expertise from business leaders, like Rob Speyer and dozens of others from across our city, to develop strategies and partnerships that will lead to real opportunities for New Yorkers. Additionally, our administration is investing millions in the nonprofits, unions, and other employers that will invest in our young people through apprenticeships.”
Speyer is the chairman of the advisory board of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, first appointed by Mayor Mike Bloomberg in 2006, reappointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2014, and most recently, reappointed by Mayor Adams. He is also co-chair of the Partnership for New York City and on the New York Jobs CEO Council.
“I am proud to serve as the inaugural chair of the New York City Workforce Development Council,” Speyer said. “The Workforce Development Council’s work will build on Mayor Adams’ remarkable track record for private-sector job creation. I look forward to collaborating with my fellow members on this council to identify the most promising career paths for New Yorkers today and tomorrow.”
Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven) added, “We recovered all the jobs lost in the pandemic a year earlier than projected, and now have the most jobs in city history. Today we take the next step in record job creation with the launch of the New York City Workforce Development Council, an innovative public-private partnership to provide New Yorkers with the skills they need in today’s workforce. This will put New Yorkers in family-sustaining jobs and allow them to stand on their own two feet, all without going into debt for an expensive education. This Workforce Development Council will be an engine of job growth, opening the door to economic opportunity for our fellow New Yorkers.”
