Understand NYC’s Workforce Development Field

To The Editor:

Workforce Professionals Training Institute (WPTI) invites guests to the New York Times building for a breakfast event about results from a survey of over 180 front line workforce development staff. This staff is often overlooked in the nonprofit arena, but the services they provide are key to helping thousands of NYC jobseekers find gainful employment and a pathway out of poverty. The survey of front line staff and additional interviews/focus groups with their managers were conducted by WPTI with the assistance of the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI), and the results are outlined in a report entitled Deep in the Trenches that will ignite an important conversation about implications for the future of the workforce development field and set the stage for WPTI’s new strategic direction. Highlights of what will be discussed include surprising demographic information about front line staff and insights about retention, professional development, and performance measures.

Sharon Sewell-Fairman, newly installed executive director at WPTI, will join Amy Landesman (formerly of WPTI) and James Parrot of FPI in a conversation facilitated by Sheila Maguire (formerly of Public/ Private Ventures) regarding the findings and recommendations from the report. The recommendations are geared towards creating the essential supports for professional development, retention and advancement, and performance management in the workforce development field.

Founded in 2004, WPTI (www.workforceprofessionals.com) is a high energy, cutting-edge, professional training and consulting organization that gives New York City workforce professionals the skills, confidence, and motivation to excel in every aspect of their work. WPTI is the first nonprofit training provider in New York State focused exclusively on professional development for the workforce development field. Each year, approximately 800 line- and managerial -staff from community-based organizations, community colleges and public workforce agencies benefit from WPTI’s rich interactive style, practical information and real-world workforce expertise to achieve outstanding results for low-income individuals and disadvantaged jobseekers struggling to achieve economic self-sufficiency.

The Fiscal Policy Institute (www.fiscalpolicy.org) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit research and education organization committed to improving public policies and private practices to better the economic and social conditions of all new Yorkers. Founded in 1991, FPI works to create a strong economy in which prosperity is broadly shared. FPI’s Immigration Research Initiative looks at immigration issues in New York State, and around the country.

Aaron J. Barnes

[email protected]

Research Intern, Workforce Professionals Training Institute 646-278-5687