Thanks to our partnership with Emerge Career, our public-private partner in the wildly successful Next Mile NYC program, we saw a room filled to the brim this week with recent program graduates — and companies anxious to hire them.
Next Mile NYC helps helps formerly justice-involved New Yorkers to get their Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs), then assists with placing them in full-time jobs with starting salaries upwards of $75,000 per year.
“Access to lucrative career opportunities changes the entire trajectory of an individual’s life and benefits their community,” said Deanna Logan, Director of MOCJ. “We’re proud to partner with Emerge Career to give more New Yorkers the chance to succeed. Next Mile NYC gives individuals the ability to garner skills that lead to lasting careers, creating a path forward for the individual, their families, and strengthens our city.”
Emerge Career hosted the Next Mile NYC Economic Opportunity Summit at the Brooklyn Community Pride Center, convening elected officials, city agency leaders, major employers, and justice-involved New Yorkers to showcase how the city can deliver economic opportunity and expand access to skilled trades careers for underserved New Yorkers. Graduates were hired or offered pre-hire letters on the spot while hundreds were connected with employers.
“We were thrilled to bring together our partners across the city to show the power of our work. Next Mile NYC is bringing real, tangible second chances – rooted in careers, not just credentials – to New Yorkers. Each agency partner showed how tremendous the impact can be when we work together. Emerge is delivering outcomes by the hundreds across the city and solving critical workforce challenges.” said Zo Orchingwa, Emerge Career Co-CEO.
You can learn more about Next Mile NYC here.
For more on the Emerge Career Economic Opportunity Summit, visit here.