New York’s real estate industry is backing a a new city program aimed at creating 500 paid internship opportunities for high school and undergraduate college students for summer 2016.
First Lady Chirlane McCray, the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and leaders from real estate, hospitality, business services, media and entertainment, and fashion industries are supporting the effort to provide unique work experiences for young people and build a pipeline of talent for companies that is homegrown and diverse.
The partnerships will bring together industry stakeholders, including companies, trade associations and related City agencies, in unprecedented collaboration with the NYC Center for Youth Employment, a Mayor’s Fund initiative that is dedicated to increasing and improving New York City’s youth employment services.
The goal of the partnerships is to address private sector workforce needs, starting first with creating quality internship experiences and opening a dialogue on the employee skills valued by each sector.
So far, the Mayor’s Fund has signed on 126 companies in every borough and of all sizes to either host 500 students in paid, specialized internships this summer or sponsor those opportunities.
These opportunities will all be privately funded with the support of founding partners: Time Warner, Hearst, Discovery Communications, Pearson, CBS Corporation, Citi Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, RBC Capital Markets, Guardian, the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), NYC & Company, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME).
This announcement was made at the headquarters of founding partner Time Warner by First Lady McCray along with representatives from supporting firms.
“Great careers are often traced back to a first job as a lifeguard, a grocery store cashier, a pizza parlor dishwasher, or a summer camp counselor. We all start somewhere. But our young people are not the only ones who benefit from summer work experiences – our business community is in dire need of more qualified workers,” said McCray.
“If New York City wants to remain the opportunity capital of the world, we need to bridge the gap between employer needs and employee skills. We need to bring business, government and nonprofits together to develop talent and channel it to our 21st century workplaces. That’s why we are building a jobs pipeline with our Center for Youth Employment and the five industry partnerships that we are so proud to launch today.”
“By connecting students to New York City’s leading employers for summer internships, we are equipping our next generation of leaders with the tools, experiences and exposure they need to flourish in the future,” said Bill Rudin, Vice Chairman & CEO of Rudin Management Company and Chairman of the Association for a Better New York.
“The real estate industry is proud to partner with the Mayor’s Fund on this important program, which provides public high school students with invaluable work experience while also exposing them to a range of exciting career opportunities,” said Tishman Speyer President and CEO Rob Speyer, who also serves as Chair of both the Board of Advisors for the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and REBNY.
“Tishman Speyer is a long-time partner with the City on its internship initiatives, and we are excited to welcome a new group of exceptional young adults again this summer.”
REBNY president John Banks was also on hand. “We are committed to furthering the expansion of quality internships being offered through this initiative and investing in students seeking opportunities to kick-start their careers.”
The 500 students who will participate in the internships will be selected from the NYC Ladders for Leaders program, a program administered by the NYC Department for Youth and Community Development,.
The Mayor’s Fund is collaborating with REBNY to identify employers in the real estate industry that can bprovide 100 paid internships this summer. So far, the following real estate companies have signed on:
Brodsky Organization; Cushman & Wakefield; Douglaston Development; Durst Organization; Resnick & Sons; Jamestown; Rockrose; Rudin; SL Green; Tishman Speyer; Two Trees Management; Vornado.
