RESOURCES

Poughkeepsie: A Place with a Plan (Upstate House)

"On any given day, there’s a whole lot going on in the five square miles of the Queen City. Poughkeepsie is home to the Bardavon, the oldest operating theater in the United States; and to Vassar College, the nation’s second-ever women’s college and the site of IBM’s Poughkeepsie Lab, which gave the world the mainframe computer. Scores of Poughkeepsie natives have become boldface names in art and sport, in aviation and jurisprudence... "New buildings are going up, old favorites are getting renovated, partnerships are strengthening, and long overdue public investments are being made,” writes Director of Development Joe Donat in a draft document shared with Upstate House, mentioning citywide parks improvements, a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, and “completed streetscape and parking lot beautification improvements downtown”..."

Opinion | I went to trade school during law school. It left me stunned. (The Washington Post)

"My graduating class at Yale seemed poised to produce dozens of “Big Law” attorneys, while Lincoln Tech would graduate just two machinists. I was stunned. Although I love the law, both as a profession and as a tool for social change, I also know that lawyers are better at billing clients than building and maintaining our nation’s critical infrastructure. My Yale-to-Lincoln Tech path has reaffirmed my belief in the untapped potential of skilled trades. It has shown me that the future of American prosperity depends not only on lawyers and executives but also on machinists, welders and all skilled tradespeople who are the backbone of our economy. But we must reshape the narrative around skilled trades and foster a cultural appreciation for these essential careers...."

New Owners Reveal Ambitious Plans For The Chance in Poughkeepsie (101.5 WPDH)

"The Chance Theater is closing, but what happens next may completely transform the entire City of Poughkeepsie. There are no blueprints, no solid plans. But if Chai Developers have their way, the City of Poughkeepsie will be almost unrecognizable in a few years. The company, led by Berry Kohn, has been purchasing buildings throughout the city. Their most recent acquisition is the legendary Chance Theater, which the company believes is the key to turning around the city. Jay Blumenfeld, who runs the day-to-day operations, says that Chai Developers is dedicated to revitalizing the City of Poughkeepsie..."

Follow the Data Podcast: How Can We Support Student Success at All Stages? (Bloomberg)

"From supporting the growth of charter schools to investing in programs that help young people get the specialized training they need, our Education program works alongside partners to implement initiatives that will make a significant difference for the children most in need of a great education and chart a path to a successful future. On this episode, Katherine Oliver sits down with two colleagues from Bloomberg’s Education team...to discuss the challenges facing public education in America, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ comprehensive education reform work, and how we are expanding post-secondary opportunities for students through school-based and work-based programs..."

Upstate's Creative Spark - How the Arts is Catalyzing Economic Vitality Across Upstate New York (Center for an Urban Future)

"The Hudson Valley, by the numbers:
-The resident artist and design worker population grew 16.5 percent between 2011 and 2021, from 5,232 to 6,094, compared to 4.2 percent growth in the total population.
-Employment in the arts and culture sector grew 47.7 percent between 2009 and 2019, from 3,030 to 4,473, compared to 8.5 percent growth in total employment.
-Since the pandemic low in 2020, employment in the arts and culture sector has rebounded by 6.3 percent, faster than New York City..."
-The average annual earnings in the arts and culture sector was $48,786 in 2021.
-The Hudson Valley received $8,049,680 in NYSCA funding in FY22, 7.8 percent of the state’s total of $103,257,146."

When Your Technical Skills Are Eclipsed, Your Humanity Will Matter More Than Ever (New York Times)

"There have been just a handful of moments over the centuries when we have experienced a huge shift in the skills our economy values most. We are entering one such moment now. Technical and data skills that have been highly sought after for decades appear to be among the most exposed to advances in artificial intelligence. But other skills, particularly the people skills that we have long undervalued as soft, will very likely remain the most durable. That is a hopeful sign that A.I. could usher in a world of work that is anchored more, not less, around human ability. A moment like this compels us to think differently about how we are training our workers, especially the heavy premium we have placed on skills like coding and data analysis that continue to reshape the fields of higher education and worker training..."

Could 2024 Be The Year We See The End Of The Paper Ceiling? (Forbes)

"Gartner predicted nine future of work trends for 2024. One is the collapse of common career assumptions. One assumption is “a bachelor’s degree is the only path to relevant skills.” The tight labor market and more college dropouts have forced most organizations to rethink their hiring. They are shifting to skills-based hiring instead of degree-based hiring. This means we will see the unpopular "paper ceiling" crumble. Millions of qualified workers, who were locked behind it, will finally be free to get well-paying jobs and promotions. According to Opportunity@work, an organization that helps skilled workers turn their learning into earning through research, there are over 70 million such workers in the U.S. They are STARs—Skilled Through Alternative Routes, such as military service, training programs, community college, or most commonly, on-the-job experience. They did not get their skills through a bachelor’s degree. These “STARs” workers show valuable skills on the job better. It’s odd they’re missing from traditional talent pipelines."

How High School Graduates Can Improve Their Earnings Potential (NYTimes)

"For decades, economic mobility in America has been declining. And those most likely to be left behind are workers without four-year college degrees. Yet one in five workers with only a high school diploma defied the odds, according to a new study by Burning Glass Institute, an independent nonprofit research center. Those workers earned more than $70,000 a year -- above the median income of college graduates -- by the age of 40. And nearly two million, or 5 percent of them, pulled down six-figure salaries. Those overachievers often began in jobs that open a door to career paths and help workers acquire a mix of vocational expertise and communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills, according to the report, which was published on Thursday. The researchers identified 73 such promising starter jobs, including bank teller, pharmacy aide and restaurant host..."

Get your tickets now for The Dirty Dutchess, an evening of vaudeville, burlesque and Broadway at The Chance Theater on March 15!

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