New York's workforce system is a complicated entity that engages nearly a dozen state agencies and myriad funding streams originating at the federal and state levels, and operates on the ground in ten economic development regions, 33 designated workforce investment areas, community-based organizations, labor unions and 62 counties. This report…

While public attention remains focused on the highest unemployment numbers in a generation, New York City is drifting toward a structural crisis with which policy makers could be grappling long after the recession fades to a bad memory. Even as the concerns about financial capital that spurred the downturn begin to subside, public officials must…

This report lays out the case for career and technical education (CTE) in New York City. It examines 21 dedicated CTE high schools, the interests and needs of a business community eager to support career-oriented education, and the performance, problems and promise of a vein of educational programming whose time might finally be at hand. The…

The inauguration of a new president is a typically a time of great hope, and this year is certainly no exception. But the advent of the Obama administration offers residents of New York and other city-dwellers special grounds for optimism: that the period of years, if not decades, when the federal government all but turned its back on the needs of…

This report finds that now more than ever, New York needs a strong workforce development system--but declining funds and uncoordinated programs are obstacles to progress. In December 2003, the Center for an Urban Future and the New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals released a report, "Seeking a Workforce System,"…

There is broad consensus about what kind of economy and society New Yorkers would like to see over the decades to come: plentiful and remunerative jobs, reinvigorated communities from New York City to Oswego, and a safety net strong enough to facilitate upward mobility but infused with the values of work and family. Unfortunately, indications are…