In response to the growing demand for highly trained Computer Support Technicians and Community Health Workers in New York City, Hostos Community College’s Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development (CEWD) launched two new Registered Apprenticeship (RA) programs with the New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL). Hostos becomes the first college to register apprenticeship programs in New York State.
Traditionally sponsored by employers or labor unions, RA programs are an “earn and learn” model that provide paid on-the-job training coupled with classroom instruction in various occupational sectors. To both help employers obtain a skilled workforce and provide our students, who often have limited work experience, with on-the-job training (OJT), Hostos registered two NYS DOL Apprenticeship Programs.
“To be the first college in New York State to launch a Registered Apprenticeship is a great display of Hostos’ commitment to our community and our eagerness to go above and beyond what is expected,” said President David Gómez.
The Hostos Computer Support Technician RA Program is the first Information Technology (IT) title registered as an apprenticeship program with NYS DOL. Computer Support Technicians are members of New York City’s District Council (DC) 37’s public employee union. DC 37 has signed on as one of the employer partners. With grant funding from The City University of New York’s (CUNY) Workforce Development Initiative, Hostos was able to pilot its first Computer Support Technician RA Program with 20 participants. In addition to OJT, students receive classroom instruction which results in two IT certifications—CompTIA and CCENT. The first Hostos cohort of Computer Support Technician apprentices have completed classroom instruction and are currently receiving OJT. The second cohort is expected to start in January 2017.
"Our new partnership with Hostos Community College is the latest DC 37 collaboration with CUNY colleges and reflects our on-going commitment to helping members further their education, creating paths toward career advancement and upward mobility," said DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido.
The Hostos Community Health Worker (CHW) RA Program will begin in Spring 2017 through the College’s Allied Health Career Pipeline Program, which provides training for in-demand healthcare occupations to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other low-income individuals. CHW RA apprentices will obtain a Community Health Worker Certificate, which was developed by Hostos faculty, and earn nine academic credits towards an A.S. degree in Community Health at Hostos.
“These two new RA programs at Hostos are unique because they will align to college credit,” said CEWD’s Vice President Carlos Molina. “Our goal is to help create a pipeline of highly skilled and motivated degree students, who will be competitive in today’s job market.”
Hostos received a $146,500 grant from the Capital One Foundation to support various initiatives that align workforce development efforts with college credit, including developing a credit pathway for the College’s Computer Support Technician RA Program and establishing a CUNY-wide committee that will propose a university-wide policy for creating RA programs that align to credit.
Funding from the Capital One Foundation will prepare Hostos to join a national effort to align RA programs to Associate’s and Bachelor’s Degrees, which is currently being spearheaded by the US Department of Labor and the US Department of Education’s Registered Apprenticeship-College Consortium (RACC), a national network of postsecondary institutions, employers, unions, and associations.
About Hostos Community College
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College is an educational agent for change that has been transforming and improving the quality of life in the South Bronx and neighboring communities for nearly half a century. Since 1968, Hostos has been a gateway to intellectual growth and socioeconomic mobility, as well as a point of departure for lifelong learning, success in professional careers, and transfer to advanced higher education programs.
Hostos offers 28 associate degree programs and two certificate programs that facilitate easy transfer to The City University of New York’s (CUNY) four-year colleges or baccalaureate studies at other institutions. The College has an award-winning Division of Continuing Education & Workforce Development that offers professional development courses and certificate-bearing workforce training programs. Hostos is part of CUNY, the nation’s leading urban public university, which serves more than 500,000 students at 24 colleges.