By any measure, New York City\u2019s recent graduates are struggling to land their first jobs. The local youth unemployment rate has yet to rebound since COVID-19 pandemic era highs. Thousands of entry-level jobs have been wiped out, coinciding with the rise of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
Against that backdrop, East Brooklyn Community \u2014 like more and more public schools across the five boroughs \u2014 is going a step further and teaming up with the City University of New York to connect students with paid job opportunities and college credits<\/a>. Education officials are focusing on six industries: business and finance, healthcare, technology, human and social services, HVAC and, at East Brooklyn Community, education.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more that we are aligned with industry, with new trends, and giving our students a leg up by having internships and apprenticeships, we hope that is an antidote to a slow market,\u201d CUNY Chancellor F\u00e9lix Matos Rodr\u00edguez told the Daily News during a recent visit to the Brooklyn school.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody hopes that at some point, [the market] will bounce back. But we need to navigate where we are,\u201d Matos Rodriguez said. \u201cThis is why I think the more that we are connecting the students to these career opportunities early, the better chance they\u2019re going to have to fight that. Because these are sobering numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n The numbers indeed are cause for concern.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s unemployment rate for young people ages 16 to 24 is 11.9%<\/a>, with some improvement over the last year but still higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 9.6%, according to a report this month by the state comptroller, Tom DiNapoli.<\/p>\n Like his counterpart in state government, Mark Levine, the city comptroller, also published a report in February sounding the alarm about a \u201cweak labor market for new grads.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Levine offered some theories depending on whether a young person is college-educated or not, but most defied simple narratives. Those without a college degree could have been impacted by what the comptroller called a \u201csluggish recovery\u201d after the COVID-19 pandemic in youth-dominated sectors, such as retail and hospitality. For recent college graduates, the arrival, or even just the prospect, of artificial intelligence could be having an impact.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a particular concern for entry-level jobs in high-paying fields that require at least a bachelor\u2019s degree, but that may be most vulnerable to automation.<\/p>\n Between 2022 and 2024, entry-level job postings across the five boroughs plummeted from nearly 72,500 to 45,400<\/a>, a 37.4 percent drop, according to a recent Center for an Urban Future report. Internship postings fell at a similar rate.<\/p>\n \u201cAI is part of that,\u201d Matos Rodr\u00edguez said. \u201cI don\u2019t think anybody really knows how much it is, if I can be very candid. But I think that\u2019s been part of the equation. I think there\u2019s also anticipation about what AI might do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIndependently of what is causing it, we need to do everything we can to get our students to the front of the room. And that\u2019s going to be better in better economic times, and that\u2019s going to shelter them better in downturns \u2014 like the one we\u2019re facing.\u201d<\/p>\n East Brooklyn Community takes part in two citywide programs: College Now<\/a>, which allows students to earn college credits through CUNY\u2019s Brooklyn College, and FutureReadyNYC<\/a>, which also has a college credit component but with more of a focus on careers.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it\u2019s the students taking the Brooklyn College Now class, whether it\u2019s a student who\u2019s in job training,\u201d said Patrick McGillicuddy, the school\u2019s founding principal. \u201cWhether it\u2019s the student who comes to us and is like, \u2018I don\u2019t even want to talk about post-secondary planning. I just want to graduate. I\u2019ve already been to multiple high schools. I just want to get out.’\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think regardless of where students are at, the staff here give them the same attention, the same energy, and really the same love.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFuture Ready is not just for the students who are in the most competitive schools. It\u2019s for all of our students,\u201d said Jane Martinez Dowling, chief of the Office of Student Pathways at New York City Public Schools. \u201cToday was a real proof point of that.\u201d<\/p>\n More than two dozen EBC students interned last summer with the public schools as teacher aides. Now, five graduates are employed this school year as paraprofessionals<\/a>, laying the groundwork for more young people to become teacher aides, a shortage area, and get a foot in the door of the city\u2019s sprawling school system.<\/p>\n Hannah Aaron, a recent graduate, was in her final semester last spring when she was asked if she wanted to participate in a program for aspiring paraprofessionals. She applied for the summer.<\/p>\n \u201cI was still stuck on what I wanted to do,\u201d Aaron said. \u201cSo each opportunity that came to me, I made sure that I would take part in it. Because you never know what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Through the program, she landed an internship and participated in workshops: \u201cThat\u2019s how I got my certification and into the DOE in general,\u201d she said, referring to the city Department of Education.<\/p>\n![\"CUNY](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/matos-rodriguez-CUNY_Marcus-Beasley.jpg\")
CUNY Chancellor F\u00e9lix Matos Rodr\u00edguez visits East Brooklyn Community High School in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, on April 16, 2026. (Photo by Marcus Beasley \/ CUNY)<\/p>\n![\"NYCPS](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/samuels-CUNY_Marcus-Beasley.jpg\")
NYCPS Chancellor Kamar Samuels visits East Brooklyn Community High School in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, on April 16, 2026. (Photo by Marcus Beasley \/ CUNY)<\/p>\n![\"East](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/EBCHS-CUNY_Marcus-Beasley.jpg\")
East Brooklyn Community High School in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, is pictured on April 16, 2026. (Photo by Marcus Beasley \/ CUNY)<\/p>\n![\"Students](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/para-CUNYMarcus-Beasley.jpg\")
Students and recent graduates at East Brooklyn Community High School in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, explore careers in education. (Photo by Marcus Beasley \/ CUNY)<\/p>\n