CUNY can drive NYC’s resurgence

The economy is reopening, and New Yorkers are eager to get back to work. But many are finding that their jobs have disap- peared, in some cases, permanently. And even those who still have work are discovering it looks different than it did before the virus struck.

Some sectors may never bounce back entirely. Others will grow. The pandemic is hastening the arrival of what was once called the “future of work” — a quantum leap toward a more automated workplace. And workers across a range of sectors, white- and blue-collar, will need new skills to keep up with the changing job market.

Where will New Yorkers find the fast, job-focused upskilling they need? No institution is better positioned to provide this essential training — safety training, technical training, IT training and more — than the city’s seven community colleges.

But the challenges ahead are as big as the opportunity.

City University community colleges are spread across the five boroughs, from lower Manhattan to the North Bronx and the outer reaches of Queens. They serve more than 200,000 students a year and have a long history of helping less advantaged New Yorkers make the leap into the middle class.

But job-focused education and training has traditionally been a second-tier priority, and far too few New York employers see CUNY as a go-to training partner. That old approach will not work to drive post-COVID economic recovery.

Few learners reskilling for new jobs will have time for a two-year associate degree. Most will be significantly older than traditional college-age CUNY students. They’ll want shorter, applied courses — just the skills they need to succeed on the job.

The best programs will be offered in partnership with employers, tailored to prepare learners for existing jobs open to students who complete the course successfully.

Programs should be designed to employers’ specifications. Enrollments should be closely geared to the number of jobs available; there’s no point in training more telemedicine techs than the city is likely to need in years ahead.

Companies should commit to hiring out of the programs they partner with. And educators should be held accountable for learners’ employment outcomes. Funding should be dependent on the share of graduates who get jobs.

CUNY community colleges need not abandon their traditional academic mission: preparing students to transfer to a four-year college or university. There’s a place for that too as the city recovers. And many adults reskilling for a new job will want some grounding in academic skills — critical thinking, problem-solving, communication and basic research techniques.

This will require the two sides of the college — academic educators and the job-focused, nondegree division — to work more closely together. And learners who come to campus now for postCOVID training should be able to leverage this learning later in life if they return to college to pursue a degree.

None of this will be easy. But the biggest challenge will be funding.

Few students will be in a position to pay out of pocket. Employers can and must help, but they too are likely to be strapped. And as a rule, neither state nor federal student aid can be used to pay for the kinds of programs most adult learners will be looking for — nondegree courses shorter than a semester.

Albany will be cutting funding, probably dramatically. But even without new spending, the state could make the Tuition Assistance Program and Excelsior scholarships more flexible to accommodate part-time students and learners enrolled in nondegree programs.

Other money will flow from Washington: the next stimulus package is all but sure to include job training dollars. The challenge for Albany will be to spend it wisely.

State programs must ensure that as much federal money as possible goes directly to learners, not bureaucracy. And all workforce funding should come with a requirement for robust employer engagement.

Can CUNY emerge as an engine of a New York economic recovery? There’s no institution better positioned to take on the job.

Jacoby is president of Opportunity America, a nonprofit devoted to advancing economic mobility.