Following a competitive national search, the Board of Directors is thrilled to announce the hiring of Sherazade Langlade-Hunter as the new Chief Executive Officer for Workforce Professionals Training Institute (WPTI), effective August 28, 2023.

Colin H. Mincy, Board Chair for WPTI, shared his great enthusiasm that Sherazade Langlade-Hunter is the right leader at the right time to lead WPTI, saying, “The Board and I could not be more confident in the future of WPTI given the dedicated and talented team of practitioners already assembled and Sherazade as our new leader.

WPTI is partnering with Grow with Google to help our community learn digital skills and support digital skill building of job seekers. To introduce workforce development organizations to Grow with Google, we will be hosting a session at 9AM on Thursday, January 6th to provide information on becoming a Grow with Google partner.

On Thursday, December 9, WPTI hosted a briefing in conjunction with the release of our most recent Voices from the Frontline repot, Navigating Uncertain Waters: NYC Workforce Professionals in the Age of COVID-19. The session featured an exploration of the report’s findings, as well as a panel discussion with leaders and practitioners from across New York City’s workforce development community, and a presentation by, Evelyn Ortiz, Deputy Director of the New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals (NYATEP) on the Statewide Workforce Equity Analysis Tool (SWEAT), NYATEP’s brand new survey of workforce development boards and other workforce leaders focused on issues of racial equity and inclusion at the highest levels of workforce organizations across the state.

WPTI is pleased to announce the official release of our new report, Navigating Uncertain Waters: NYC Workforce Professionals in the Age of COVID-19, the most recent publication in our Voices from the Frontline series, focused on the experiences, concerns, and needs of New York City frontline workforce development professionals.

WPTI invites subject matter experts (SME) interested in delivering interactive, live Virtual Instructor-Led Training sessions via WPTI’s Public Calendar platform to submit proposals for single or multiple 90-120 minute online sessions. These sessions will be delivered on a 50/50 revenue-share model.

“Revolutions bring disruptions and disruptions bring opportunities.”

― Nicky Verd, author of Disrupt Yourself Or Be Disrupted
The Fourth Industrial Revolution – sped up by 18 months of roiling labor markets and COVID restrictions that have forced wholescale rethinking of how companies operate – has arrived with a vengeance.

On Tuesday, September 21, 2021, following the release of our most recent report, Post-Covid Workforce Development: A Digital Transformation and What It Means for Workforce Professionals, Workforce Professionals Training Institute (WPTI) hosted a briefing on digital transformation in the workforce development field, including findings from our recent report and updates and perspectives from the field, both locally and nationally.

As part of our series of conversations with members of the WPTI team regarding their career development and areas of expertise, we are pleased to share reflections from an interview with Yanni Deconescu, WPTI’s Director of Project Management, who joined WPTI in Fall 2020 and who brings years of experience in workforce development, project management, and leading teams and projects across multiple industries.

WPTI kicked off the first of four sessions of its Business Engagement Learning Lab (BELL) on Tuesday, May 11th.  This year’s diverse cohort includes 33 practitioners from 11 organizations across New York City that serve a wide variety of job seekers.

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in New York City and left an economic crisis in its wake, which will impact our economy and the labor market for at least the next five years. The economic devastation impacted numerous industries in a range of ways.