Since the pandemic hit, new research reveals that New York City employers have posted more openings for tech roles than any other job category—over 67,000 in all. In total, nearly one in five (18%) jobs posted from April to November 2020 was for a tech position. That’s greater than the demand for healthcare jobs, more than double that of finance positions, and almost five times larger than hospitality or education. But far too few of the most economically vulnerable New Yorkers and their families—from young children to out-of-work adults—have access to high quality computing education or in-depth training for tech careers. As a result, many of these good jobs remain out of reach for New Yorkers with the most to gain.

In this op-ed for Gotham Gazette, CUF Editorial and Policy Director Eli Dvorkin and Robin Hood Learning + Technology Fund Managing Director Amber Oliver urge the city's next mayor to take several steps to tap into this powerful opportunity to ensure that every New Yorker is equipped with the skills, tools, and opportunities they need to thrive in a digital world. These recommendations include launching a long-term plan to expand and improve the tech skills-building ecosystem, commit to a new level of investment in K-12 computing education, focus on expanding computing education in grades K-5, invest in professional development and pre-service training in computing education, scale up the effective tech training programs already in the city to reach their full potential, build new infrastructure of bridge programs, and step up its support for the many non-tuition roadblocks to career advancement.

You can read the op-ed here.

This op-ed builds on the Center's ongoing research on expanding access to tech careers, including the recent report Preparing New Yorkers for the Tech Jobs Driving NYC’s Pandemic Economy, and Plugging In: Building NYC's Tech Education & Training Ecosystem, which was written in partnership with Tech:NYC.