Workforce Professionals Training Institute (WPTI) is delighted to announce the appointment of Colin Mincy, Chief People Officer at Human Rights Watch, as our new Board Chair. Colin is a global HR, talent and work culture thought leader who became Human Rights Watch’s inaugural Chief People Officer in 2019, when the organization elevated the role to demonstrate its commitment to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies and to ensure a resilient and thriving staff that reflect the organization’s global role, identity, and mandate.

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 is pleased to announce the launch of the 2021-22 cohort of the Workforce Systems Leadership Program (WSLP), the third cohort of WPTI’s signature leadership development program, operated in partnership with Coro New York. WSLP recruits a diverse group of emerging senior leaders and change makers from across the field, representing government, community-based organizations, secondary and post-secondary educational institutions, and the private sector.

The COVID downturn set off alarm bells among job developers.  WPTI responded with a BELL of its own.

With the support of the Pinkerton Foundation, WPTI launched the first cohort of the Business Engagement Learning Lab (BELL) in April 2021.  Successor to WPTI’s longstanding Job Developer Learning Group, the four-month BELL initiative sharpened the focus on employer engagement at a time of significantly heightened competition for jobs.