With affordability at the center of the political conversation in New York, we cannot overlook the New Yorkers who lack the skills needed to compete for even the most entry level jobs in our City. Literacy rates, particularly for adults, have reached all time lows in New York.
According to federal data, 24 percent of New York adults are at the lowest levels of literacy, defined by the advocacy organization Literacy New York as being either functionally illiterate (reading below a fifth grade level), lacking a high school diploma, or being unable to speak English.
That same data shows Brooklyn and Queens rates are roughly ten percent higher than the state average, and in the Bronx, a whopping 50 percent of adults do not have basic literacy skills. The situation is just as dire in arithmetic, where nearly half of all Brooklyn residents and two-thirds of Bronx residents can’t do basic math.
This is a citywide crisis. Simply put, millions of adult New Yorkers do not have the basic skills needed to get a job and stay employed.
We have seen firsthand how limiting this can be. Several years ago, BronxWorks partnered with a local community college to place residents in a free solar panel installation program, the first step towards a good paying career. We had tremendous interest in the program, but unfortunately our clients who signed up dropped out due to how challenging the course was. They could not keep up with the literacy or math skills required to complete the course, nor did we have the resources to get them up to speed.
The solution to this crisis needs to be addressed in the K-12 public school system. City and state leaders must put a renewed focus on trade and vocational education, expanding these valuable curriculums in schools across the five boroughs. Educators should partner with industry and labor leaders to fine tune curriculum to ensure that students have the correct skills for careers after graduation. Not everyone needs to go to college, and we should be identifying young people who would succeed in vocational programs and guiding them there.
However, for hundreds of thousands of adults all over the five boroughs, it is too late for our public school system to help them. A 30-something father of two living in East New York cannot go back to middle school.
We need more adult basic education programs, funded at levels that allow organizations such as ours to hire highly skilled instructors at competitive rates, provide classes in decent spaces, and purchase the technology needed to foster success. Additionally, we need more English as a Second Language (ESL) programs that allow adults to spend time learning how to read and write English. These should be free of charge, and available on nights and weekends, to avoid conflicts with work or childcare. The barriers to learning should be as low as possible. These classes, as well as the aforementioned vocational public schools, should also teach workplace etiquette. Let’s help everyone put their best foot forward in their new careers.
Employers should also consider lowering their requirements for college degrees, or even high school diplomas, where it is not necessarily applicable to the job. There is a wealth of talent in this city that is forced into lower wage jobs due to lack of arbitrary credentials.
Rather than focusing on short-term goals, we should be focused on long-term outcomes that address the educational barriers that impact an individual’s success in the job market. We should ensure that our clients have the appropriate education, training, and other skillsets that unlock well-paying jobs, allowing them to provide for their families with dignity.
We’ve seen this in action with the Champlain Hudson Power Express and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, who provided us with funding to support our first Energy Efficiency Tech/Weatherization Field Crew training in coordination with the Association for Energy Affordability. Together, we were able to truly serve people by taking the time needed to properly screen, assess, and match them to training that will pave the way for employment success.
New York City is one of the least affordable cities in the world. If you cannot earn a living wage, the pressures that come with that lack of income are almost indescribable. The constant threat of eviction, the inability to provide for your family, or save money for the future. Our education skills gap is, at least in part, forcing a massive population of adult New Yorkers to live with such uncertainty. To truly address the affordability gap we must provide our neighbors with an education system and adult education programs that work for them rather than against them.
Ms. Tamaisar is the Vice President of Workforce Development at the non-profit service organization BronxWorks.
