The Long Island Regional Economic Development Council plans to pivot its goals to help downtowns recover from the pandemic, while trying to get 66,000 Long Islanders who are unemployed back into the workforce.
Roger Clayman, the executive director of the Long Island Federation of Labor, said there’s an opportunity to invest in solar and wind energy companies to become a big job creator.
“There are really hundreds and maybe even thousands of jobs that will follow over the next 10 years from the development of wind farms,” Clayman said. “So it's important that we have a trained workforce. It's important that we have good, family sustaining jobs.”
The council proposed investing in job training programs that would educate the workforce in offshore wind, as well as transferable skills in other sectors.
The programs would target veterans, the formerly incarcerated and people with disabilities, as well as people of color who were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Jennifer Marino Rojas, who heads the Child Care Council of Suffolk, said investing in childcare is key to filling lost jobs.
“We learned that parents really need child care — it's really hard to work when you don't have child care,” she said. “We saw that really come to light during the pandemic. And so I think people now really recognize and understand the importance of reliable childcare. And we have a great opportunity right now to do something about it.”
The average cost of child care on Long Island is $17,000 a year or 30% of the average family's income. She said the cost has made parents drop out of the workforce.
The council proposed using $100 million in federal funding to create new facilities for the 64% of New Yorkers that live in childcare deserts.The Long Island Regional Economic Development Council plans to pivot its goals to help downtowns recover from the pandemic, while trying to get 66,000 Long Islanders who are unemployed back into the workforce.
Roger Clayman, the executive director of the Long Island Federation of Labor, said there’s an opportunity to invest in solar and wind energy companies to become a big job creator.
“There are really hundreds and maybe even thousands of jobs that will follow over the next 10 years from the development of wind farms,” Clayman said. “So it's important that we have a trained workforce. It's important that we have good, family sustaining jobs.”
The council proposed investing in job training programs that would educate the workforce in offshore wind, as well as transferable skills in other sectors.
The programs would target veterans, the formerly incarcerated and people with disabilities, as well as people of color who were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Jennifer Marino Rojas, who heads the Child Care Council of Suffolk, said investing in childcare is key to filling lost jobs.
“We learned that parents really need child care — it's really hard to work when you don't have child care,” she said. “We saw that really come to light during the pandemic. And so I think people now really recognize and understand the importance of reliable childcare. And we have a great opportunity right now to do something about it.”
The average cost of child care on Long Island is $17,000 a year or 30% of the average family's income. She said the cost has made parents drop out of the workforce.
The council proposed using $100 million in federal funding to create new facilities for the 64% of New Yorkers that live in childcare deserts.