Posted on August 11, 2015

To support the CDI Career Academy, a sectoral-based employment program for out-of-school, out-of-work youth, many of whom are alumni of one of CDI’s three partner high schools. The Academy, launched as part of a pilot initiated by JobsFirstNYC and currently in the first year of a two-year pilot, offers an eight-week Essential Skills training program to address the needs identified by healthcare employers, including intensive training in Workplace Readiness, Customer Service and Introduction to Healthcare and Care Coordination, as well as targeted tutoring and individual case management services. This is followed by a nationally-recognized Medical Assistant Certificate program at Borough of Manhattan Community College, and results in the participants being placed in sustainable, high-quality employment. The critical innovation lies in leveraging the powerful relationships that CDI has formed with students while they are attending one of their three partner high schools.