Friday, February 27, 2026, 11 a.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 3
Committee: Committee on Workforce Development
This was a joint hearing of the Committee on Higher Education (Chair Rita C. Joseph) and the newly established Committee on Workforce Development (Chair Julie Won) on aligning higher education with workforce demand. CUNY and the NYC Office of Talent and Workforce Development testified on joint initiatives such as CUNY Beyond, the CUNY Inclusive Economy Initiative, CUNY 2X Tech, Future Ready, CUNY Reconnect, community hiring, and apprenticeships. Council members questioned the agencies on curriculum alignment with labor market data (including AI), advising ratios, funding models, the $600 million green economy investment, adjunct faculty conditions, and the Center for an Urban Future's five workforce recommendations. Public testimony was heard from the Center for an Urban Future, CUNY University Student Senate student leaders, Saint Francis College, the NYC Employment and Training Coalition, and COOP Careers, largely urging investment in paid internships, free OMNY cards for CUNY students, and scaling career-success programs. No votes were taken; the hearing was described by the chairs as the start of an ongoing conversation.
0:20 Thank you good morning good
0:20 morning welcome to the New
0:22 York City Council hearing on
0:23 the committee on higher
0:25 education joint with workforce
0:27 development at this time
0:29 please sounds old electronics
0:30 and do not approach the dais
0:31 again do not approach the dais
0:32 if you need to fill out a slip
0:34 and are testifying please see
0:35 you sergeant at arms thank you
0:36 for your cooperation chairs
0:37 you begin good morning I'm
0:47 councilmember Rita Rita Joseph n
0:51 higher education welcome t
0:51 oour joint hearing with the
0:53 committee on workforce
0:55 development chaired by council
0:56 member with Julie wan two days
0:58 hearing is aligning higher
1:01 education with workforce
1:01 demand let me offer some
1:04 background cooney and the New
1:05 York City office of talent and
1:08 workforce development worked
1:08 together in a variety of ways
1:10 to ensure that students of all
1:12 backgrounds leave cuny with
1:13 the skills they need to enter
1:15 and succeed in the workplace
1:17 to ensure that all New yorkers
1:19 can access good paying careers
1:21 and that employers can access
1:23 New York city's talent so they
1:25 can thrive today and in the
1:27 . Future cuny in New York City
1:29 talent have cooperated on two
1:30 initiatives in the past couple
1:31 of years
1:32 . The center for youth
1:34 employment path to an
1:35 exclusive economy and action
1:37 plan for young adult career
1:39 success.
1:39 And the green economy action
1:42 plan both action plans laid
1:45 out specific goals for
1:46 achieving them these
1:48 strategies include planning
1:49 for the establishing career
1:50 related academics in.
1:53 Advising korea exploration
1:55 work based learning internship d
1:57 transitional programming from
1:59 college into the workforce for
2:01 cuny students and recent
2:04 graduates.
2:05 In partnership that makeok a
2:10 everything else possible
2:11 . Our comedy are looking
2:12 forward to hearing how cuny
2:13 and New York City talent have
2:15 been working together t
2:16 oachieve the goals set in both
2:18 of these action plans now this
2:20 month the center for urban
2:23 future published a report
2:24 entitled five ideas for how
2:25 the Mayor mamdani can bolster
2:28 work force which points out
2:29 New York City is facing a two
2:33 sided affordability crisis the
2:34 report notes that rising costs
2:36 are making life difficult for
2:37 New York City residents but
2:39 just as consequential in
2:41 breakdown on the income side
2:42 of the equation meaning that
2:44 too many New yorkers are on
2:47 unemployed or stuck in low
2:49 wage work with little
2:51 opportunity for advancement
2:51 the report notes that despite
2:53 New York city's many excellent
2:55 career training organizations
2:57 and cuny's relevant.
2:57 Career preparation programs
3:00 City investments in workforce
3:01 development has lagged far
3:02 behind the need the committees
3:04 are looking forward t
3:05 olearning about the reports
3:07 five ideas for boosting
3:09 workforce development and we
3:10 are pleased to have eli barkin s
3:15 here to discuss those ideas
3:15 with us yeah these are the
3:18 . Center for futures fiv
3:20 eideas.
3:21 Making a bold in faith
3:22 investment in workforce
3:23 development through New York
3:25 City talent development fund a
3:28 career impact bond a workforce
3:30 a our readiness fund or buy
3:32 tapping funds from rezoning
3:35 significantly increasing
3:37 flexible outcomes driven City
3:38 funding and create New
3:39 mechanisms to scale that work.
3:42 To establish an economic
3:42 mobility cabinet and work for
3:44 czar and City Hall to elevate
3:47 workforce inside City
3:49 government coordinate
3:49 workforce policies across
3:51 agencies and hold the systems
3:52 accountable for results
3:55 provide free omni card and day
3:57 one child care support for
3:59 cuny students and workforce
4:01 training participants to boost
4:04 completion rates accelerate
4:05 credential attainment and
4:06 maximize returns on public
4:09 investment for launch a major
4:09 effort to recruit the next
4:12 hundred employers to partner
4:13 on building pathways into good
4:15 jobs by expanding skill based
4:18 learning hiring scaling
4:19 employers engagement
4:22 strengthening connection
4:22 between cuny not for profit
4:24 providers and industry.
4:25 Help scale up cuny is
4:27 promising but small but still
4:29 small scale korea's success
4:31 programs including cuny beyond
4:34 the inclusive economy
4:35 initiative and cuny to extract
4:37 to ensure that q and e
4:38 students doesn't just earn a
4:40 degree but also have strong
4:42 career outcomes.
4:42 The committee is or are
4:44 interested in learning cuny in
4:46 New York city's talent
4:47 reaction to cuffs ideas and
4:49 their thoughts on whether and
4:51 how they might be implemented
4:54 now I'd like to acknowledge my
4:55 colleagues on the committee on
4:56 higher education who are
4:57 present who's here council
5:00 member dina witz council
5:02 member Hanif councilmember
5:05 Epstein recognized council
5:07 arriola councilmember lewis on
5:10 zone now I would like to thank
5:12 to thank giovanni piquant my
5:13 chief of staff julia goldman
5:16 pickman pick them committees
5:17 senior legislative counsel
5:18 regina paul the committee
5:20 senior legislative policy
5:22 analysis and alli stouffer for
5:24 committee's final financial
5:26 . Analysis now I'd like t
5:27 oinvite she wants to give her
5:29 opening statement thank you
5:30 chair Joseph for your
5:31 partnership on this important
5:33 hearing my name is Julie one
5:34 and I have the privilege of
5:35 cherry and committee on
5:38 workforce development I want
5:39 to note that this is the first
5:40 hearing of this newly
5:40 established committee and I'm
5:42 honored to leave the work and
5:44 this space as shirk Joseph
5:46 noted today's hearing examines
5:47 how we are aligning higher
5:53 education.
5:53 As chair Joseph noted today
5:56 hearing examines how we are
5:57 aligning higher education with
5:58 the demands of New York city's
6:00 work force cooney 23700
6:03 0students across 26 campuses
6:04 for many of those students
6:06 cuny is the single most
6:08 important pathway to economic
6:09 mobility it's mission is t
6:10 oserve as a vehicle for the
6:12 upward mobility of the
6:14 disadvantaged that mission is
6:17 one this committee takes
6:19 seriously a recent report from
6:21 from the center of urban
6:22 future found that roughly
6:24 working age New yorkers are
6:27 unemployed underemployed or
6:28 earning minimum wage the
6:30 market for entry level jobs
6:31 has dropped 37% since 200
6:34 01022 and the rise of
6:35 artificial intelligence is
6:37 beginning to reshape entire
6:38 industries which raises
6:40 serious questions about
6:41 whether the skills our
6:41 students are learning today
6:43 will still be in demand
6:44 tomorrow behind each of these
6:46 statistics is a New yorker
6:47 trying to build a career and
6:50 support a family in one of the
6:52 most expensive cities in the
6:53 world this committee exists t
6:55 omake sure that the city's of
6:57 workforce development
6:57 infrastructure is working for
6:58 them we know that there are
7:00 areas of real opportunity the
7:04 cities green economy action
7:06 plan projects hundreds of
7:07 thousands of green collar jobs
7:09 like 20 40 and construction
7:11 engineering management and
7:12 business the center of youth
7:13 employment action plan laid
7:15 out 15 strategies for
7:17 connecting young New yorkers
7:19 to career pathways these are
7:21 promising frameworks but these
7:22 are only as good as their
7:23 implementation and today we
7:25 want to understand what
7:26 concrete progress has been
7:27 made so far I also recognize
7:30 that for students to be
7:32 appropriately prepared they
7:33 need to have professors who
7:34 are adequately paid and
7:35 receiving benefits as full
7:37 time employees specifically
7:38 this committee wants to hear
7:39 from cuny and New York City
7:40 talent about how they are
7:42 working together to translate
7:43 labor market data into
7:45 curriculum changes and how
7:45 they are measuring whether
7:47 career learning programs are
7:48 actually leading to goo
7:49 dpaying jobs.
7:50 We also want to understand
7:51 what happened with the $600
7:53 million investment from the
7:54 green economy action plan I
7:55 look forward to hearing from
7:56 cuny New York City talent and
7:57 each of our witnesses today
7:59 and to a productive discussion
8:01 about how the council can
8:01 support this critical work
8:04 before we I weigh in begin I
8:05 would like to thank the
8:07 committee staff senior counsel
8:09 alex polan ofthe senior policy
8:10 out analyst william honeck and
8:13 financial analyst spencer kuhn
8:14 for their hard work on putting
8:16 this
8:16 . Hearing together I also want
8:17 to acknowledge that we've been
8:18 joined by Council Member zoom
8:21 and Council Member Virginia
8:23 Maloney I'll now turn it over
8:27 to chair Joseph thank you
8:28 chair juan I'd like to remind
8:30 everyone who wishes to testify
8:32 in person today that you must
8:33 fill out a witness slip which
8:35 is located on the desk of the
8:36 sergeant at arms near the
8:37 entrance of this room please
8:39 fill out the slip even if
8:41 you're already registered in
8:42 advance that you'll be
8:43 testifying in person today
8:45 . To allow as many people as
8:47 possible to testify testimony
8:48 will be limited to thre
8:49 eminutes per person whether
8:51 you're testifying in person on
8:53 his own I'm going to ask my
8:55 colleagues to limit their
8:56 questions and comments to five
8:58 minutes please note that
8:59 witnesses who are here in
9:01 person will testify before
9:02 those who have signed in on
9:03 zoom webinar we acknowledged
9:07 the committee counsel from the
9:11 committee on workforce
9:13 development administer the
9:15 affirmation to witness
9:16 witnesses from the City
9:18 university and New York city's
9:18 office of talent and were
9:19 across the port development
9:21 thank you chair alex bolan off
9:24 senior council well all
9:25 members of the administration
9:26 today please raise your right
9:27 hands do you swear or affirm
9:29 to tell the truth the whole
9:30 truth and nothing but the
9:31 truth in your testimony today
9:32 and to respond honestly t
9:33 ocouncilmember member questionsn
9:39 ready
9:39 . Good morning honorable
9:40 chairpersons Joseph and juan
9:41 and members of the committee
9:42 on higher education and
9:44 workforce development
9:44 . Thank you for the invitation
9:45 to testify today on the City
9:46 university of New York ce
9:48 commitment to boosting the
9:49 career success of graduates
9:51 and delivering the workforce
9:52 our City economy needs in
9:53 order to grow inclusively my
9:55 name is lauren anderson and I
9:56 have the honor of serving as
9:57 the vice chancellor for career
9:59 engagement and industry
10:00 partnerships at cuny in this
10:02 capacity I report to the
10:03 chancellor and the university
10:05 provost our chief academic
10:07 officer and shepard kinney's
10:08 work too boost career outcomes
10:09 of all students into great
10:12 career connections including
10:13 paid internships into degree
10:15 paths expand effective non
10:16 degree workforce training
10:17 focused on in demand
10:18 occupations and help fuel the
10:19 growth of public and private
10:21 organizations across the City
10:23 through connections security
10:24 talent expertise and assets
10:26 this role is a relatively New
10:29 one for cuny it reflects
10:30 chancellor felix matos
10:31 rodriguez and the kinney board
10:32 of trustees deep commitment t
10:34 oelevating and prioritizing
10:36 career success and workforce
10:37 development at the highest
10:37 levels of leadership.
10:39 However cuny's mission t
10:39 oserve as an engine of economic
10:41 mobility goes all the way back
10:43 to our founding in 18 49 the
10:45 free academy of New York later
10:46 known as City college opened
10:47 its doors for the purpose of
10:49 providing a first rate
10:50 education to all regardless of
10:51 means or background at its
10:53 opening founders noted that
10:53 future students would come t
10:55 ocuny seeking an education
10:57 quote.
10:58 For the purpose of applying
10:59 it to some useful vocation and
11:02 not as a mere matter of
11:03 curious information or process
11:04 of intellectual discipline
11:06 . In short the committee the
11:08 commitment to propelling our
11:09 students into rewarding
11:10 professions that they and the
11:10 City seek is in our last year
11:13 cuny campuses secured seven of
11:15 the top 10 spots on wall
11:16 street journals best value
11:17 colleges which takes into
11:20 account alumni outcomes and
11:20 student return on investment
11:23 similarly forbes released
11:24 their list of 25 colleges with
11:25 the highest payoff where
11:26 brooklyn college took the top
11:27 spot for the first time and
11:29 cuny had eight colleges total
11:30 more than any other university
11:32 system yet despite our
11:34 successes we recognize that
11:35 cuny is not yet living up t
11:36 oits full potential as an
11:38 engine of inclusive economic
11:40 mobility more can be done t
11:41 oensure our degree and non
11:43 degree programs are seamless
11:44 pathways into the jobs that
11:45 employers are looking to fill
11:47 to address this the 20 23 cuny
11:48 lifting New york's strategic
11:50 plan set out bold goals t
11:51 oboost the employability of
11:53 cuny graduates they include by
11:57 20 30 75% of our associate
11:58 applied science or a degrees
12:00 and bachelor's recipients will
12:01 have a job offer at graduation
12:04 with 80% consistently employed
12:06 after one year.
12:06 It also charges cuny with
12:08 tripling our paid internship
12:09 participation rates to 30
12:11 %meeting this goal will require
12:13 exponential acceleration not
12:14 just tinkering around the
12:16 edges fortunately though many
12:18 universities across the nation
12:19 struggle to find ways t
12:20 oensure students transition t
12:22 othe workforce we have kenny r
12:23 lucky we've seen what works
12:25 for instance we know that
12:26 students who participate in
12:27 paid internships are three
12:28 times more likely to have a
12:29 job offer at graduation
12:32 students who meet with an
12:33 integrated adviser or enroll
12:34 in courses developed with
12:35 industry are two times more
12:37 likely to have a job offer at
12:38 graduation
12:39 . In academic departments that
12:40 utilize career infused degree
12:41 maps we see and up to a
12:44 hundred 44% bump in graduate