File #: Res 0768-2005    Version: * Name: Supporting Fast-Track Training Programs.
Type: Resolution Status: Filed
Committee: Committee on Higher Education
On agenda: 1/19/2005
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution supporting Fast-Track Training Programs and recognizing the important role such programs have in helping people move into the workforce.
Sponsors: Letitia James, Charles Barron, Lewis A. Fidler, Robert Jackson, Allan W. Jennings, Jr., Miguel Martinez, Annabel Palma, Christine C. Quinn, James Sanders, Jr.
Council Member Sponsors: 9

Res. No. 768

 

Resolution supporting Fast-Track Training Programs and recognizing the important role such programs have in helping people move into the workforce.

 

By Council Members James, Barron, Fidler, Jackson, Jennings, Martinez, Palma, Quinn and Sanders Jr.

 

                     Whereas, The United States is still recovering from the effects of a national recession that, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research's Business Cycle Dating Committee, lasted from March 2001 to November 2001; and

Whereas, According to an October 2004 report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, the national economy lost more than one million jobs in the 21 months subsequent to the end of the recession; and

Whereas, According to the New York State Department of Labor, the State unemployment rate is currently at 4.8% after reaching a peak of 7.2% in January of 2004, with the City’s unemployment rate currently standing at 5.4%; and 

Whereas, During times of economic contraction and ensuing recovery period, many people go back to school to enhance their work skills and improve their chances of retaining or finding employment during an uncertain labor market; and

Whereas, According to the American Association of Community Colleges, Fast-Track Training Programs have become increasingly common in the United States over the last few years because they allow participants to complete their training in approximately three to seven months, thereby accelerating their movement back into the workforce; and

Whereas, Fast-Track Training Programs are primarily aimed at laid-off workers who want to retrain for new jobs, employees interested in improving their skills in their current line of work and individuals with minimal work experience seeking specific qualifications for entry level positions; and

Whereas, Classes in Fast-Track Training Programs are usually highly specialized and prepare participants for a specific job within a specialized field that they can obtain upon completion of the program; and

Whereas, The City University of New York is the largest municipal university system in the United States and the third largest public university system in terms of student numbers in the country and is comprised of eleven senior colleges, six community colleges, a doctoral-granting graduate school, a law school, a School of Biomedical Education and several affiliated medical schools; and

Whereas, The City University of New York currently offers numerous Fast-Track Training Programs under Adult and Continuing Education Programs throughout the University that help participants earn certificates in various fields; and

Whereas, The Fast-Track Training Programs offered at CUNY differ from school to school and must be paid for by participants in such programs, who are usually unemployed, receiving public assistance or come from low-income families; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York supports Fast-Track Training Programs and recognizes the important role such programs have in helping people move into the workforce.

LS#963

RA

1/13/2005

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