Empire State Development Announces Cognizant and Per Scholas to Launch Free IT Training Program to Create Employment Pipeline for In-Demand Technology Jobs

Intensive program is designed to develop necessary skills for today’s digital technology careers; Cognizant to hire at least 350 of the trainees to fill current positions to increase operations in NY State

June 16, 2017

Empire State Development (ESD) today announced that Cognizant, a Fortune 500 global provider of business and technology services, will partner with Per Scholas to create a New York City-based job training program to help New Yorkers access career opportunities in the growing IT, digital, and tech sectors. The South Bronx-based training program will provide no-cost technology skills training and career development resources for as many as 650 New Yorkers over the next 18 months.

Per Scholas is a national non-profit dedicated to collaborating with business to design industry- and job specific courses based on employers’ tech talent needs for individuals in lower-income communities.

Cognizant, a global leader in business, digital and technology services, and one of the largest STEM recruiters in the United States, intends to hire as many as 350 of the training program’s initial graduates for Cognizant’s client sites in the five boroughs. Cognizant’s rigorous training program, supported by Empire State Development and operated by Per Scholas, includes industry- and job-specific courses based on employers’ IT needs and is to connect individuals in overlooked talent pools with job opportunities.

“This project is not only an economic win for New York – it’s a project that gives back to the people and communities that make New York great. As our tech sector flourishes, we need to make sure our workforce is trained to meet this demand and be part of the incredible growth. This training partnership between Cognizant and Per Scholas is an important part of that effort,” said ESD President, CEO, and Commissioner Howard Zemsky. 

Empire State Development is supporting the $6 million Cognizant program, based in the Urban Development Center in the South Bronx, with $2 million in performance-based tax credits through the Excelsior Jobs Program. The funding will support the recruitment and training of the students who will be able to apply for jobs at Cognizant and elsewhere in the industry. In addition to the planned 350 technology jobs to be filled by graduates of the training program, Cognizant currently employs more than 2,300 associates across New York State. The new Cognizant New York Training Center will also be utilized for training programs for current these and other Cognizant associates in the region.

“We’re pleased to be working with Empire State Development to expand in New York City and increase the base of trained IT and digital technology professionals in the broader New York community,” said Jim Lennox, Chief People Officer, Cognizant.  “The U.S. needs more qualified IT talent and this partnership is just one example of how we continue to invest in our communities to train American workers for next generation digital opportunities.” 

“Per Scholas is thrilled to leverage our twenty years of experience partnering with business to support Cognizant’s efforts to train local and hire local. Across the country, Per Scholas has trained over 6,500 adults, individuals from overlooked communities, who lack the resources but not the creativity and determination to succeed in tech,” says Plinio Ayala, President and CEO of Per Scholas. “The increased demand for local talent, along with the rising number of technology jobs available, means that companies are exploring strategies to access talent outside of their traditional pipelines. These public/private partnerships will build the workforce of the future and we hope this can be a model that others will replicate, both supporting employer demand and strengthening the communities we serve.”

To learn more about these upcoming training opportunities or details about Cognizant’s partnership with Per Scholas, please email CognizantTraining@perscholas.org. 

Cognizant is the latest example of the Governor’s successful efforts to attract and retain tech and digital companies in New York State. This year, United Technologies Corporation announced that it would open a digital accelerator at 55 Water Street in DUMBO, creating 250 new high-tech jobs. In January 2017, Spotify announced it will establish its U.S. headquarters at 4 World Trade Center and create over 1,000 new jobs. Last year, Snapchat reached an agreement with ESD for performance-based Excelsior Jobs Program refundable tax credits, in exchange for creating nearly 400 jobs and retaining 118 jobs in Manhattan. Also in 2016, designer eyewear maker Warby Parker announced that it would create 128 jobs in a new Rockland County optical lab and retain more than 250 jobs in New York City. Thanks to support from ESD, in the past few years alone, Cognizant and the aforementioned companies – along with BuzzFeed, Etsy and others – have committed to creating over 2,500 jobs and retaining nearly 4,000 jobs in New York State.

About Cognizant

Cognizant (NASDAQ-100: CTSH) is one of the world’s leading professional services companies, transforming clients’ business, operating and technology models for the digital era. Our unique industry-based, consultative approach helps clients envision, build and run more innovative and efficient businesses. Headquartered in the U.S., Cognizant is ranked 205 on the Fortune 500 and is consistently listed among the most admired companies in the world. Learn how Cognizant helps clients lead with digital at www.cognizant.com or follow us @Cognizant.

About Per Scholas

Per Scholas is a national nonprofit that drives positive and proven social change in communities across the country. Through rigorous and tuition-free technology training and professional development, we prepare motivated and curious adults who are un- or underemployed for life-changing careers as IT professionals, and we create onramps to businesses in need of their talents. Today we provide our solutions in six cities across the country: Atlanta, Georgia; Greater Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; the National Capital Region, and New York, New York. To date, Per Scholas has trained over 6,500 individuals, helping them build lasting, life-changing careers in technology. To learn more, visit www.perscholas.org.

About Empire State Development

Empire State Development (ESD) is New York’s chief economic development agency (www.esd.ny.gov). The mission of ESD is to promote a vigorous and growing economy, encourage the creation of new job and economic opportunities, increase revenues to the State and its municipalities, and achieve stable and diversified local economies. Through the use of loans, grants, tax credits and other forms of financial assistance, ESD strives to enhance private business investment and growth to spur job creation and support prosperous communities across New York State. ESD is also the primary administrative agency overseeing Governor Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Councils and the marketing of “I Love NY,” the State’s iconic tourism brand. For more information on Regional Councils and Empire State Development, please visit www.regionalcouncils.ny.gov and www.esd.ny.gov.

JPMorgan Chase Announces $6 Million to Prepare South Bronx Youth for High-Demand Jobs

Initiative will create a system for aligning career and technical education programs with in-demand jobs in growing New York City industries.

New York, NY (May 5, 2017) – JPMorgan Chase & Co. today announced a $6 million commitment to expand young people’s access to economic opportunity in the South Bronx. As growing industries in the city require a more skilled workforce, this initiative will establish an innovative system that connects career and technical education schools in the South Bronx to key employers in New York City. The investment will help drive change and is designed to increase dramatically the number of young people graduating from South Bronx high schools with opportunities to secure well-paying, high-demand jobs.

While the unemployment rate in the Bronx is below six percent for the first time, more than four in 10 South Bronx residents do not have a high school diploma and 23 percent of young people are out of school and out of work. This has pushed half of employed young people into low-paying jobs that limit their financial futures.

With JPMorgan Chase’s investment from its New Skills for Youth initiative, more young people in the South Bronx will be able to secure the necessary education and training to secure middle skill jobs in three growing industries: transportation, distribution and logistics; healthcare; and information technology. Middle skills jobs require more education and training than a high school diploma but less than a four-year college degree. Whether they go right into a job or onto post-secondary education or training, young people who enter these pathways will be prepared for success in today’s economy.

“The lack of economic opportunity for young people in the South Bronx is a moral and economic crisis,” said Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase. “Our investment supports the missing link between a successful education and career: businesses and educators working together to help students succeed. This investment will give young people access to jobs that offer good wages and the chance to move up the economic ladder.”

“We have to make sure our young people are leaving school with the skills they need to enter the workforce, so that they can get a good job that offers a solid foundation for building a career and future in The Bronx,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “The number of skilled workers we’ll need is only going to grow, and this investment from JPMorgan Chase is going to significantly help bridge the gap between schools and the in-demand workforce.”

Well-Paying, High Demand Jobs are Available

In New York City, there are an estimated 26,000 well-paying jobs in the transportation, distribution and logistics sector that are attainable by people without a bachelor’s degree but who have received some education or training beyond a high school diploma. Jobs in this sector, such as engine repairers, sales and services positions and drivers at the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, MTA Operations and Maintenance Facilities and private sector bus and truck depots, are projected to grow by 10 percent by 2022, including about 3,500 positions in the Bronx. Entry level workers can start at $45,000 and move up to over $100,000 after a few years of experience.

Investment Overview

To build a new system that connects employers and South Bronx career and technical education programs, JPMorgan Chase’s $6 million investment will focus on three key innovations including:

• Support intermediaries in growing industries vital to the NYC economy to increase employer engagement and commitments to career education, support school and system level capacity and pathway development in three sectors: healthcare; information technology; and transportation, distribution and logistics.
• Build a new apprenticeship model that will lead to more registered apprenticeship opportunities in the South Bronx with a “leave behind” sustainable apprenticeship pathway in transportation distribution and logistics.
• Support the development of a high quality data system to measure and track the expansion of services and opportunities for work based learning, internships and community based efforts that match young people to career pathways.

These innovations will be led by several local organizations including:

• New Visions for Public Schools, an organization dedicated to ensuring that all New York City public school students, regardless of race or economic class, have access to a high-quality education that prepares them for the rigors of college and the workforce.
• New York Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (NYACH), one of the NYC Department of Small Business Services’ five Industry Partnerships. NYACH works to build an effective healthcare workforce development system in New York City by collaborating with healthcare employers; helping education and training organizations adapt their approach to better meet the industry’s needs; and ensuring low income and unemployed New Yorkers have access to viable career opportunities in healthcare.
• The Consortium for Worker Education, which works to advance knowledge and critical thinking, and foster research, creativity, and innovation across academic, artistic, and professional disciplines.
• Per Scholas, aiming to open doors to transformative technology careers for individuals from often overlooked communities by creating opportunity, closing the skills divide, and achieving diversity.

Through several targeted philanthropic initiatives, the firm is investing over $325 million in skills development around the world. New Skills for Youth is a $75 million, five-year effort to address the youth unemployment crisis by increasing dramatically the number of young people who complete career pathways that begin in high school and end with postsecondary degrees or credentials aligned with good-paying, high-demand jobs. New Skills at Work is a five-year, $250 million global initiative to help inform and accelerate efforts to address the mismatch between the needs of employers and the skills of job seekers. The firm also invests an additional $5.8 million effort to support summer youth employment programs around the country.

Notable Statements of Support

“In order to successfully prepare students for 21st century jobs, public schools need to cultivate strong industry and civic partnerships. JPMorgan Chase’s New Skills for Youth initiative does just that, providing skill-building opportunities for students who will most benefit from them,” said New Visions President Mark Dunetz. “At New Visions, we’re committed to designing strategies and tools that strengthen schools’ partnerships with industry and ensure students get the preparation they need for bright futures in the communities where they live.”

“The Department of Small Business Services is thrilled to expand its partnership with JPMorgan Chase,” said Small Business Services Commissioner Gregg Bishop. “It has been a strong supporter of our work in healthcare through our New York Alliance for Careers in Healthcare. Today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce and the key to a strong economy in New York City. Our businesses have an important role to play in making sure our workers have the skills and practical experience they need. This pioneering initiative will create an impactful opportunity for our students, our healthcare employers, and our communities.”

“Through our job training programs and apprenticeships we’re not only providing the type of in-demand job skills people need, we’re building the talent base employers need to grow and thrive,” said John K. McDermott, Director of Special Projects, The Consortium for Worker Education. “We’re proud to partner with JPMorgan Chase to boost workforce training and development in the South Bronx.”

“We do this work to make sure the host of talented youth in the South Bronx aren’t overlooked as a competitive workforce resource,” said Plinio Ayala, President and CEO, Per Scholas. “With support and investment from partners like JPMorgan Chase we are working to build equitable, accessible career pathways in New York’s thriving tech scene.”

The initiative is supported by funding from JPMorgan Chase and the JPMorgan Chase Fund in The New York Community Trust. As the community foundation for New York City, Westchester, and Long Island, The New York Community Trust works with individuals, families, and corporations to improve our region through strategic grant-making, civic engagement, and smart giving.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

Media Contact:
Stephanie Bosh, (202) 585-1382

Caitlyn Brazill brings more than 15 years of public and non-profit experience to our national organization

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