NEW YORK — Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled Friday the expansion of New York State’s Highly Skilled Immigrant Career Pathways program to help new Americans find jobs that match their skills and experience.
As part of the program expansion, a total of $4.38 million in state-funded grants will be awarded to community providers to support career training and job placement efforts for a greater number of highly-skilled immigrants in New York.
The grants will be awarded for three years and are administered by the New York State Office for New Americans.
The expansion of the Professional Pathways program builds on Governor Hochul’s commitment to strengthen the state’s workforce development programming for immigrants, which was first highlighted in the 2022 State of the State.
“For generations, the hard work and determination of immigrants who have come to New York to build a better life for themselves and their families have shaped our state into what it is today,” said Governor Hochul. “By expanding the Professional Pathways for High-Skilled Immigrants program, we are strengthening our support for new Americans to our state and connecting immigrants with the tools they need to enter the workforce and pursue the New York Dream.”
First launched in 2021, the NYS Professional Pathways program helps highly-skilled immigrants overcome career development barriers by assessing, training, and/or re-accrediting candidates and identifying job placement opportunities for low-income immigrants in regions of high need statewide.
The program is specifically designed for fields that currently need highly-skilled workers in New York State, including architecture, engineering, information technology, education, social work, economics, business administration, and journalism.
As of January 31, 2023, according to leading career pathways agency Upwardly Global, 282 job applicants have been accepted into the program and have received training and job readiness in the US. Participants in this program must be authorized to work in the United States.
Under these new expanded grants administered by the Office for New Americans (ONA), Upwardly Global will receive funding to continue to serve as the Lead Agency for Career Pathways, providing program leadership and technical assistance across the state to a network of Job Coaches from the ONA.
“In New York, we recognize the importance of immigrants and all they bring to our state and country,” said New York State Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez. “Still, far too many new Americans face countless obstacles that make it difficult to build a better life for themselves and their families. Through the expansion of the Office for New Americans’ Professional Pathways program, we are empowering and encouraging New York immigrants and providing the skills and resources they need to succeed and thrive in today’s job market.
For any immigrant who needs assistance, or to connect with ONA programs, call the New Americans Hotline at 1-800-566-7636 from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
