Governor David A. Paterson—introduced by BMCC President Antonio Pérez and joined by New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, New York State Senator Daniel L. Squadron, and New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Patricia Smith—held a press conference in BMCC’s Richard Harris Terrace to announce the availability of federal funding to retrain New Yorkers who lost their jobs in the recent collapse of the financial services sector.
A new strategy for getting back in the workforce
“More than ever before, community colleges are places where individuals can return to acquire and update the skills they need to function and thrive in a rapidly changing world,” said President Pérez in his opening remarks.
Typically, this kind of assistance helps people re-enter the field from which they’ve been displaced; in this case, it makes sense to find a different career ladder altogether. “This funding will be merged in the areas where we feel employment will flourish,” Paterson said, “in the new, emerging fields such as green jobs, health care, teaching and information technology.”
An estimated 1,400 workers are expected to receive NEG funding. Staff from the New York State Department of Labor has already interviewed over 1,100 potential NEG workers in the New York City area, helping them develop a training plan matching their transferable skills and goals with viable jobs.
Going where the jobs are
“The important question,” said BMCC’s Continuing Education Dean, Sunil Gupta in an interview with a WNYC reporter after the press conference, “is whether the number of people seeking jobs matches the number of jobs out there. If they go into healthcare, if they go into certain other fields – yes, there are jobs. So we’re seeing people target themselves to the high-demand areas the Department of Labor is focusing on – health care, technology, and the service industry.”
What about green jobs?
Referring to one highly visible, emerging employment sector, Paterson repeated what many have heard in the news lately: “Green jobs are the jobs of the future.” Does that mean they don’t exist today?
“Green collar jobs for now are weatherization and energy auditing,” explained Dean Gupta, later. “We’re retraining people already in the field. There is a trickle of new green jobs coming out, but right now, the focus is on retraining people so they can maintain their current employment in a construction area or building trade that is increasingly green-focused. To stay employed, workers have to make sure they’re certified in these new trends – which have compliancy factors.”
BMCC students are the workforce of today – and tomorrow
In degree as well as certificate programs, serving students from over 155 countries, BMCC has long been dedicated to building on what Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver referred to as one of New York City’s greatest assets – a diverse and changing workforce.
Last year, over 10,000 people took advantage of the certificate and skills-training programs provided through BMCC’s Department of Continuing Education and Workforce Development. “We enable individuals to upgrade their job skills,” said President Pérez, “to earn general equivalency diplomas, transform their lives and achieve economic stability.”
That stability was challenged in the nation’s economic downturn of the last year, with 43,000 people losing their jobs in the financial services industry alone – a low that the City and State of New York had not seen since the recession of 1982.
“It’s going to be tough sledding for at least another year,” cautioned Paterson, reminding the audience that in other major recessions, New York has lagged behind in its recovery—compared to other states—by 11 to 20 months. NEG-funded training, along with Continuing Education and other programs already in place, give BMCC students an advantage in facing that reality.
