NYS Department of Labor

IT February 11, 2020

Boot camp rewrites the workforce development code

By GREGORY ZELLER // They’re connecting important new dots at the Nebula Academy, where an innovative approach to software development is answering a 21st century workforce challenge. You don’t need an Excel spreadsheet to know coders, programmers and other software specialists are in high demand; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook projects a 21 percent surge in software-development jobs between 2018 and 2028, easily outpacing national averages. And developers bring home the…

Economics December 5, 2019

Pay up, LI employers: Minimum wage is rising again

By GREGORY ZELLER // Going up? You bet – minimum wages on Long Island and around New York State are set to rise again. As part of a Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s phased-in master plan, which ultimately targets a statewide $15 minimum wage, Westchester-, Nassau- and Suffolk-based employers are required to pay a $13 hourly minimum as of Dec. 31, with the $15 minimum scheduled to arrive in 2021. In New York City, where the minimum…

Government January 2, 2019

With $15 per hour in sight, minimum wages tick up

By GREGORY ZELLER // The New Year brings new minimum wages across New York State, including a $15-per-hour top tier that bests any state-sanctioned minimum wage in the country. Not every minimum-wage New Yorker will earn that premier paycheck, thanks to Albany’s sliding-scale approach to wage hikes, a wonder wheel of wages that, as of 2019, extends that $15 rate to employees of small firms (10 employees or fewer) in New York City. Big NYC…

Workforce September 6, 2018

State pumps $15M into SUNY’s clean-energy programs

By GREGORY ZELLER // The state university system’s clean-energy workforce-development efforts have received an eight-digit shot in the arm. A $15 million state investment will bolster SUNY’s clean-energy workforce and training programs, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office, with $6 million heading to specific campus-based efforts – including several on Long Island – and an additional $9 million earmarked for colleges and universities planning apprenticeships and internships with industry partners. The funding is part of…

Workforce May 29, 2018

Albany stakes $3M statewide apprenticeship effort

By GREGORY ZELLER // A chunky state investment will focus the State University of New York system on the specific needs of employers in cutting-edge fields, part of Albany’s plan to help train New York’s 21st century workforce. The state will sink $3 million into programs that put together SUNY, the NYS Department of Labor and statewide employers – specifically those in the healthcare and advanced-manufacturing industries – to create registered apprenticeships “that directly answer…

Startups November 1, 2017

At Port Jeff comics shop, doing the time warp, again

By GREGORY ZELLER // Holy old school! In a digital era decidedly defined by screens large and small, a forward-thinking entrepreneur is turning back the clock by inviting customers to turn actual pages. At a minimum, un-caped crusader Joshua Darbee is turning heads at Red Shirt Comics, a relative newcomer that’s already feeling right at home in downtown Port Jefferson. Since opening in May, the friendly neighborhood industrialist has made plenty of fans, attracted precisely…