Summer 2021 is rapidly approaching, and with it comes the launch of New York City’s annual Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), a staple of the city since 1963, funded by the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD).

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on SYEP, leading to funding cuts, a shift to virtual programming, and a dramatically-altered calendar with minimal time for providers to prepare for the program’s implementation.

On Tuesday, January 26, WPTI hosted the second briefing in connection with the Voices from the Frontline report series focused on the experiences, perspectives, and needs of frontline workers in the workforce development field. The series is based on responses to the Workforce Field Building Hub (The Hub) at WPTI’s January-February 2020 Survey of New York City Frontline Workforce Professionals, which was completed by 362 respondents – all New York City-based workforce development professionals working as job developers, case managers, job coaches, retention specialists, and in other client-facing roles.

On Tuesday, January 19, more than 100 stakeholders from across New York City’s workforce development system and beyond joined WPTI and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) for our Healthcare Employer Symposium, the third in our series of sector-focused symposiums examining employer needs in light of COVID-19, the economic downturn, and a rapidly-changing, increasingly digital labor market.