Best practices are intended to provide summaries of selected programming from the New York City Workforce System.  The best practices are designed to provide an overview of how New York City, New Yorkers and our communities are solving critical workforce development problems that might be replicated in other cities across the country. For more information on any of these best practices, please contact the NYC Workforce Investment Board directly.

System Transformation

Transforming New York City’s Workforce Development System
On November 5, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) launched its Case Study Series in Global Public Policy program by releasing its pioneer case study which was focused on the NYC workforce development system.  The case study, Innovations in City Government: The Case of New York City’s Workforce Development System, examines the transformation of the public workforce system under the leadership of Mayor Bloomberg and the key challenges that the system faces in the future.  The case study was authored by WIB Member and Columbia professor, Ester R. Fuchs, and two research assistants.  The case study is an excellent resource for promoting our demand-driven system of workforce development and we anticipate that the study will be taught in universities around the country.

Innovative Workforce Strategies

New York City Hosts International Summit on Job Creation and Workforce Development
Bringing together twenty-seven of the world’s leading cities to share best practices on workforce development, the WIB was proud to be a partner in hosting the global summit on Job Creation and Workforce Development at Columbia University from June 24 to 26.  Organized by the New York City Global Partners, the event partners also included the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), Columbia University and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Local Economic and Employment Development Programme (OECD LEED).  The summit provided an opportunity for government officials and policymakers to address the important role of cities in responding to the recession through job training and business development policies for adults.

"We've put workforce development at the heart of our strategy for spurring New York's recovery from the recession," said Mayor Bloomberg in his keynote address. "We are confident that our Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan  will fuel a strong economic recovery, but in the short term, the pain created by this recession is very real. That's why the exchange of information and ideas at this summit is so helpful."  A video of the Mayor’s full keynote address can be found here.

WIB Member Ester R. Fuchs, Professor of Public Affairs and Political Science at Columbia University, was an integral member of the summit organizing team and hosted a panel discussion  that included SBS Commissioner Robert W. Walsh and experts from Barcelona, Santiago, and Shanghai on how local government policy is transforming adult workforce systems.  The WIB was represented at the conference by sixteen members participating in the events.  In addition to this WIB member participation, delegates from SBS and the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) represented New York City. The SBS staff conducted a workshop  about the transformation of workforce development in New York City.  Delegate workshops can be found here.

The summit ended with a tour of the Queens Workforce1 Career Center, where Commissioner Marjorie Tiven of the New York City Commission for the United Nations, Consular Corps and Protocol, and Dale Grant of Grant Associates spoke to the delegates about the importance of the Workforce1 Career Center system to New York City’s workforce strategy and showcasing innovative workforce strategies linking economic and business development.

Integrating Workforce and Economic Development
In the spring of 2008 New York City launched the Targeted Hiring and Workforce Development Program (THWDP).  In creating this program, the City’s aim was to directly link workforce and economic development initiatives, creating a new mechanism to support employment, business growth and community development.  In this vein, THWDP provides business assistance and hiring services to New York City businesses that are connected with City development projects, ensuring a connection for New Yorkers to these New York City employment opportunities.  Learn more about the partnership between the Department of Small Business Services (SBS) and the NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) in spearheading this program.