IMMIGRANTS’ CONCERNS
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NYC Loses Jobs from page 5 Here to Here found that only 14% of locally born Black and Latino residents are in occupations that pay either middle or high wages although they make up half of the workforce. Meanwhile, 40% of Black and Hispanic New Yorkers with college degrees work in low-wage occupations — more than twice the figure for whites. “New York faces a labor market challenge that others don’t,” said Lazar Treschan, vice-president for policy and impact. “Most places have a problem with brain drain. We get so much talent from other places it is a challenge to compete with them.” To deal with that issue, Here to Here is championing an educational overhaul in city schools and especially the City University of New York that emphasizes hands-on learning and internships. The group joins a growing chorus for reform from many organizations, like the Center for an Urban Future and the New York City Employment and Training Coalition, both of which are loudly calling for a revamp of the city’s workforce development programs to help New Yorkers of color compete for the thousands of tech jobs being created here. “No college students have the handson skills to go into paying jobs,” said Gabe Forman of Duro UAS, a start-up company based in the South Bronx that
Francis Catalino-Rosario, 19, has an internship at The Bronx’ Montefiore Medical Center as a part of a program to get more young people of color in the jobs pipeline. Hiram Alejandro Durán/ THE CITY
is developing low-cost autonomous monitoring systems for water. “A lot of companies want hands-on experience, even for internships.” Forman has created a separate workforce unit that has helped 300 students go through programs that give them internships and skills to win higher paying jobs. All five of his engineers joined the company after internships with Duro. His company is also part of Here to Here’s Pathways to Prosperity NYC, an organization trying to build public support for job training reforms. Another member of Pathways, the Bronx-based Montefiore Health System, has created a series of programs to push students into higher paying jobs in health
care. One program, called Invest, offers paid internships, career counseling and help with everything from child care to clothing needs. Funded by City Council grants, all nine participants since 2016 have landed jobs in the system. Watching Vaccine Impact Francis Catalino-Rosario, a Hostos Community College student who has interned at Montefiore Medical Center since she was in high school, is working on the customer service desk this summer. “I’m the first person you see when you come to the hospital,” she said. The internships have helped her financially with college and given her crucial
experience, the 19-year-old added. “When I was in high school I wanted to be a doctor, but the internships have convinced me I am a people person and I hope to become a registered nurse,” she said. In the meantime, one key to the nearterm future may depend on the success of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s rule that only vaccinated people can enter restaurants, stores, museums and other indoor spaces. “We’re still more than 100,000 jobs short of pre-pandemic levels in the industry,” notes Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York Hospitality Alliance. “I’m waiting to see what, if any, meaningful impact the new vaccine requirement for restaurant workers and indoor dining will have on employment since you can argue that some people may return to work because they feel safer.” At the same time, the previously expected surge of workers returning to their offices after Labor Day is likely to be delayed until later in the fall. And the expiration of some unemployment benefits in early September could mean $500 million less flowing into the city every week. “August is not looking good,” Parrott warned.l This story was published on August 19, 2021 by THE CITY.
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