![\"NICE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260122CityLimitsNICE-2242.jpg\")
Hildalyn Colon Hernandez, chief operations and strategic officer at NICE, leading a session about housing and tenants\u2019 rights on Jan. 22, 2026. (Adi Talwar\/City Limits)<\/p>\n\u201cFor people who migrate\u2014who feel lost\u2014all of this is new,\u201d said Luis Florez, a 37-year-old from Colombia who took part in the program in 2024, where he learned what a credit score is, how to open a local bank account and take the city\u2019s subways without getting lost. <\/p>\n
Hildalyn Colon Hernandez, chief operations and strategic officer at NICE, leading a session about housing and tenants\u2019 rights on Jan. 22, 2026. (Adi Talwar\/City Limits)<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no manual or crash course on how to live in New York City. And life in the Big Apple can be even more difficult for new immigrant arrivals and those who speak languages other than English.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), a nonprofit in Jackson Heights, has been working to deliver: a workforce training program to teach immigrant (as well as non-immigrant) New Yorkers not just how to get a job, but how to navigate life in the city.<\/p>\n
The NICE Pre-Apprenticeship for Life and Work <\/a>program provides tools for using and understanding New York\u2019s school, healthcare, housing, and transportation systems. It also prepares participants for jobs and trains them for today\u2019s digital world and labor market, and includes a know-your-rights session on immigration.<\/p>\n \u201cFor people who migrate\u2014who feel lost\u2014all of this is new: it\u2019s like being reborn because one doesn\u2019t even know the language,\u201d said Luis Florez, a 37-year-old from Colombia who took part in the program in 2024, where he learned what a credit score is, how to open a bank account, and how to use the city\u2019s buses and subways without getting lost.\u00a0<\/p>\n For years, organizations have seen that workforce training in a single subject\u2014such as Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) certification, required for construction jobs\u2014leaves out many other areas that affect people\u2019s lives and livelihoods. For new immigrants, even getting a coveted work permit<\/a> is no guarantee they\u2019ll find stable employment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have found that even people with the paperwork can still not get a job,\u201d said Hildalyn Colon Hernandez, NICE\u2019s chief operations and strategic officer.<\/p>\n NICE launched the Pre-Apprenticeship for Life and Work in 2024<\/a>, and has been quietly developing it and experimenting with different pilots for more than a year, Colon Hernandez said.\u00a0<\/p>\n More than 30 participants of various ages and backgrounds recently completed the three-week program in February. They include Marioxi,\u00a0who arrived in the city five months ago from Venezuela and preferred to withhold her last name.<\/p>\n \u201cI was blessed by God to enter in January,\u201d she said, part of the last group of people who entered the U.S. through the CBP One app<\/a>, which temporarily allowed migrants to book appointments at points of entry to claim asylum or request parole, until the Trump administration quickly removed the appointment-scheduling feature. \u201cBlessed with one of the last appointments,\u201d Marioxi said.<\/p>\n Like several other participants in the program, she learned about it through word of mouth. In her case, a relative who had known about NICE for over a decade advised her to enroll in an OSHA construction certification course.<\/p>\n There were no openings for these, she remembered being told, so NICE offered her a spot in the Life and Work course. Marioxi, 32, has been looking for work after finishing a seasonal Christmas job at a restaurant, and hopes the course will open doors for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n It helped her polish up her resume and prepare for a job interview, including through a mock interview. She is now taking NICE English classes in the afternoons.\u00a0\u201cI really enjoy interacting, talking, and getting to know people,\u201d Marioxi said. \u201cI really enjoy customer service and communication jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n In one of the sessions City Limits attended, Maria Ceballos, NICE\u2019s workforce counselor, conducted activities to build on \u201csoft\u201d skills, like problem-solving and critical thinking. She asked participants to navigate imaginary scenarios (such as surviving a zombie apocalypse or crossing a jungle) using random materials inside a box (a flashlight, tape, batteries, black bags, among others).<\/p>\n \u201cThat [activity] is the one we enjoy the most because they use all their skills,\u201d Ceballos said. \u201cWhat I have observed through my work experience is that we often believe we need a college degree to qualify for a job, but often the most important thing is the skills we have and being able to apply them. These can be technical skills and soft skills that are intertwined.\u201d<\/p>\n The course also seeks to inform participants about the rights and protections they\u2019re entitled to in New York City, since immigrants\u2014especially those who face language barriers\u2014can often be more vulnerable to scams or paying unnecessary fees<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n During another class City Limits attended on housing, for example, most participants still believed they had to pay fees for real estate brokers hired by landlords when leasing an apartment\u2014unaware of the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act,<\/a> which the city implemented last year banning that practice.<\/p>\n While the program doesn\u2019t guarantee job placement, several participants have found work, including as teaching assistants in city schools, NICE said. Health insurance provider Metro Plus Health, whose staff volunteered to do mock interviews with program participants in the most recent cohort, expressed interest and asked for the resumes of a few people, Colon Hernandez noted.<\/p>\n For some, it\u2019s the first formal job interview they\u2019ve ever had. \u201cThey [the participants] have said, \u2018You are the first [person] that actually has done an interview with me, and I\u2019ve been here in this country for 10 years,’\u201d Colon Hernandez recalled hearing one student share.<\/p>\n The organization also shares job offers via email and encourages former participants to apply. That\u2019s how Florez found out about a job at La Guardia Airport with full benefits.<\/p>\n He was originally looking for work in construction, but needed OSHA certification<\/a> to land one. NICE didn\u2019t have spots available for that training at the time, but there were still spots open in this new workshop, which lasted five weeks back then, ending with OSHA classes.<\/p>\n In the end, Florez said, he received his OSHA certification, but never used it. After finishing the course, he landed a dishwashing job at LaGuardia Airport, where he has been working since July.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite now having a stable job, he and his family\u2014his wife and daughter\u2014have not yet managed to leave the city\u2019s shelter system, where they arrived in 2024. He has recommended the NICE workshop to his wife, but she hasn\u2019t been able to commit because she needs to take care of their daughter after school.<\/p>\n \u201cRent is very high here,\u201d Lopez admitted.<\/p>\n Before moving to New York, Florez said he was a pharmacist for more than 10 years in Colombia. His situation is not uncommon<\/a>, says Macarena Moraga, NICE\u2019s grants, research, and evaluation director.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMany people have already built their careers in their home countries, but when they arrive, they have few opportunities to use their skills or show what they can do,\u201d Moraga said.<\/p>\n NICE is planning to hold four more sessions of the Pre-Apprenticeship for Life and Work<\/a> program. For those interested, the best way to sign up is to go to the organization in person, ask about the program, and bring the necessary documents (such as a photo ID and work permit, Green Card, or U.S. passport).<\/p>\n To reach the reporter behind this story, contact [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>. To reach the editor, contact [email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Marioxi\"](\"https:\/\/citylimits.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/trx_addons\/components\/lazy-load\/images\/placeholder.png\")
Marioxi, 32, took the program this winter, in the hopes it will open doors for her after her seasonal restaurant job ended. (Adi Talwar\/City Limits)<\/p>\nParticipants during a class in January that focus on the local housing market and tenants\u2019 rights. (Adi Talwar\/City Limits)<\/p>\nNew Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens. (Adi Talwar\/City Limits)<\/p>\n