The College of Staten Island’s Office of Workforce Development and Innovation (WDI) announced receipt of a $750,000 award from The New York Community Trust as part of a new Workforce Recovery Hub program supplying scholarships for 200 students enrolled in its Healthcare, Technology, Social Services, and Sustainable Energy programs, spanning the Spring 2023 to Fall 2024 semesters.

“Our partnership with The New York Community Trust will provide access to a wide variety of in-demand workforce training programs through scholarships, helping Staten Islanders advance into good jobs that will also positively impact our community,” said Robert Wallace, Vice President for Economic Development and Community Partnerships. Eligible students, with an emphasis on Richmond County residents, will receive training preparation for industry-recognized certification credentials through national agencies like the National Healthcare Association, the American Society of Clinical Pathology, Amazon, and the PMI Institute. In addition, students selected to take part will receive student support, employment aid, and retention services for six months post-completion.

“Our goal was to make it easy for people to get workforce training as the City recovers from the loss of over one million jobs during COVID,” said Roderick Jenkins, program director for Promising Futures at The New York Community Trust. “We’re honored to give jobseekers the chance to acquire the skills in growing fields that offer good, livable wages. This is one way to help the City recover from the pandemic-induced recession.”

The College of Staten Island will contribute 25 percent of tuition coverage for students who meet the eligibility criteria from the CSI Foundation’s Workforce Development Initiative Agreement. The CSI Foundation supports Workforce Development’s continuing educational programming by supporting student scholarships, stipends, education-related program expenditures, and program development to better meet the needs of the Staten Island community and New York City.

As the only public institution of higher education on Staten Island, the College of Staten Island is uniquely positioned to serve the Staten Island community, supplying access to excellence in higher education since 1956. The College’s WDI Office has comprehensively educated 106,000 students throughout New York City over the past 15 years through workforce and academic preparation. WDI is the only public higher education provider for workforce development on Staten Island that directly employs industry experts who create sophisticated, refined curricula, infused with current employer feedback, providing students with a trusted CUNY workforce certificate.

For more information, contact or visit: Website: csi.cuny.edu/continue

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By: Shanette Gantt