GRANTEE:                   New York Workforce Investment Board

ADDRESS:                  c/o New York City Department of Employment

                             220 Church Street, 5th Floor

                             New York, NY 10013

AMOUNT:                    $2,974,175

DURATION:                April 1, 2003 – April 1, 2005 (24 months)

POPULATION SERVED:         A minimum of 579 workers will be trained using H-1B grant funds.  The project will target specific populations for each of the projects three levels of training.  The largest training cohort, over 500 people, will be in the Advanced level and will be recruited from incumbent workers with several years of experience in IT.  The target population for upgrade training, will draw on a broader pool of dislocated workers recruited through Community Based Organizations (CBOs).  Individuals targeted for upgrade training will included low income workers in Lower Manhattan who were displaced from their jobs by September 11 attacks.  The entry-level training target population will be comprised of unemployed and underemployed residents living in some of New York's underprivileged neighborhoods.  The entry level training will be paid for using non grant funds.  The project will also reach out to women and minorities through the use of CBOs. 

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:   The program uses a career ladder strategy: entry level trainees are moved in a step-by-step manner into the places where they are most needed in the high tech workforce, and where they best fit; more advanced trainees can enter the system at higher levels.  Employers and industry associations define local labor market needs and job competencies and will reach out to employers to target individuals who can benefit from advanced training.  They will also lead the placement effort.  Community colleges and other computer science programs within CUNY will provide all levels of training.  CBOs serve as a site for community college training and provide recruitment, assessment, and case management.  The workforce system provides sustaining funding and serves as an access point to training pathways.

KEY PARTICIPANTS: New York Software Industry Association, New York City Workforce Investment Board, Federal Reserve Bank, CUNY Institute for Software Design and Development, Workforce Strategy Center, Seedco, Gimbel Foundation, Deutsche Bank, Independence Community Foundation, NY Community Trust, NPower NY, IBM, Information Builders, Rational, Advantageware, Btldesign, KNOA Corporation, Hudson Williams, iLounge, intrasphere, Metamorphnet, Netlogic, Passlogix, Progressive Systems Consulting, Inc., Triplehop Technologies, Turing's Craft, Valtech.

MEDIA CONTACT:        Bruce Bernstein    212 475-4503