NYATEP'S ADVOCACY AGENDA

Work with Employers to Invest in Digital Skills for Jobseekers and Incumbent Workers

From healthcare workers inputting patient medications at a terminal to delivery drivers getting route information from a tablet or restaurant managers tracking inventory on a spreadsheet, digital skills–the ability to use computers and related technologies to complete tasks in a work setting–have become as necessary for workers, and as valued and expected by employers, as basic literacy. A 2023 report from the National Skills Coalition and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta reviewing millions of job postings found that 92 percent of postings required digital skills, with demand holding across all sectors of the economy. In New York, a recent State Department of Labor survey found that 35 percent of jobseekers identified “a lack of modern digital skills” as a barrier to employment, while employers cited the quality of the available talent pool, including digital skills mastery, as a leading challenge in hiring.

Governor Hochul has shown her commitment to digital equity with the welcome announcement in July 2025 that the state would invest in broadband access after the federal government slashed funding. NYATEP is calling for the Governor and legislature to extend that commitment by investing in New York’s workers and businesses with a $25 million commitment to support digital skills training. Of this total, $15 million should be awarded competitively to workforce development training providers that can effectively deliver demand-aligned digital skills training for jobseekers. An additional $10 million should be made available for employers that have identified digital skills training programs for incumbent workers who will gain wage increases upon successfully completing that training, and are willing to match public dollars.

Recommendation: 

$25 million in state funding to deliver high quality digital skills training for jobseekers seeking employment and incumbent workers to get a raise and promotion.

Invest in English Language Upskilling

Foreign-born workers comprise more than a quarter of New York’s labor force, a larger percentage than their share of the overall population. Of those workers, 43 percent–nearly 1.1 million workers–are Limited English Proficient (LEP). Their challenges in speaking and understanding the language are a barrier to economic mobility and a limitation on how much they can contribute in the workplace. Unfortunately, just 4 percent of adult English learners statewide are currently able to access instruction.

Supporting these workers to improve their English language skills yields a wide range of benefits for workers themselves, the businesses that employ them, and the communities in which they live. One recent study found that 79 percent of (LEP) workers who received English upskilling subsequently earned a pay raise or promotion, while even larger majorities of participants expressed greater loyalty to their employers who offered upskilling as a benefit and reported gains on their specific job skills. A larger economic impact study found that every dollar invested in English upskilling produces a return of $6 for local economies.

Recommendation 1: 

$10 million in state funding to provide English upskilling for un- or under-employed LEP workers in New York, with a share to match employers willing to support upskilling of incumbent workers. 

Recommendation 2:

Expand access to high quality English language instruction through common access points by removing anachronistic requirements such as disallowing proxy hours for distance learning.

Systematize Career Readiness for Youth

Early exposure to the world of work, especially paid employment, confers a broad range of benefits on participating youth. Work experience helps young people determine their strengths and preferences with respect to potential employment and career paths, develop basic skills that employers value, begin to learn the norms of the workplace, and build professional networks of peers and supportive adults. Participation in summer employment as a teen has been found to correlate with stronger education outcomes as well as higher subsequent earnings and fewer periods of unemployment as an adult.

New York has shown its commitment to early paid work experience through a $56.6 million investment in the statewide Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). As of now, however, policymakers lack information about SYEP that could be used to recruit more employers, leverage more funds, and more effectively connect the program to K-12 education, college-level training, and year-round work opportunities. Given demographic trends and declining rates of new immigration, the state should seize on this opportunity to drive a larger return on its current investment through closer tracking and more intentional policy.

Recommendation:

Publish an annual report on statewide SYEP investments, including total number of participants with breakdown by geography, demographics (age, race/ethnicity, household income), type of job placement, and other pertinent criteria.