Benchmarking for YASEP, an Initiative of JobsFirstNYC

The Workforce Field Building Hub, JobsFirstNYC, and a select group of Young Adult Sectoral Employment Project (YASEP) member organizations are partnering to baseline, test and strengthen their capacity to engage employers, using the Success Drivers developed through the Workforce Benchmarking Network.

Workforce Benchmarking Network Success Drivers is a nationally recognized framework of four evidence-based guidelines—Adaptive Organization, Qualified Workforce, Engaged Businesses, and Funding Sustainability—developed with input from practitioners who are part of the Workforce Benchmarking Network and who represent “higher performers” among their peers. A selected cohort of organizations engaged in YASEP, an initiative of JobsFirstNYC, are assessing and strengthening their employer engagement practices through customized training, technical assistance, and learning community sessions designed to help organizations apply the Success Driver guidelines to their work. This two-year joint initiative will strengthen employer engagement standards of practice among and between young adult workforce development providers and the business community.

The partnerships selected to participate in this initiative include:

Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation partners with transportation and culinary employers to offer credentialing options for young people leading to a career pathway;

 

Green City Force, with partners Con Edison, C+C Apartment Management, and the New York City Housing Authority’s Office of Residential Economic Empowerment and Sustainability, focuses on career pathways in the sustainability sector;

 

The Knowledge House partners on the Bronx Digital Pipeline with Hostos Community College and Per Scholas to develop pathways into cutting-edge technology jobs by mobilizing pipeline partners who contribute to the Bronx tech ecosystem;

 

Roundabout Theatre Company, in partnership with the IATSE union and The Door, provide training and job placement for young people interested in technical theatre careers; and

 

Stanley Isaacs Neighborhood Center partners with employers to train for careers in hospitality and food service. Isaacs Center also offers trainings in community health and education and child development.

 

About YASEP: YASEP

is a first-of-its-kind effort to test whether sector strategies, previously established through research to directly benefit adult job seekers, can be specifically applied to organizations serving young adults who are out-of-school/work and the employers that may hire them. Click here for more information on the project, the participating collaborations, and related publications.

About the Workforce Benchmarking Network: The Workforce Benchmarking Network connects community-based organizations providing workforce development services around the country—along with public and private funders and other intermediaries—to support better results for job seekers, employers, and communities.

The Benchmarking for YASEP Project is made possible with the generous support of the following funders: Andrus Family Fund, Ira W. DeCamp Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Mizuho USA Foundation, and The Pinkerton Foundation.