EXPANDING THE TECH SECTOR

Since 2000, innovations in science, technology and digital media have been among the leading drivers of economic growth in New York City. To maintain the growth of these sectors and to ensure that all young New Yorkers have access to the full range of opportunities that a growing economy provides, the City needs to help its young adults acquire the knowledge, skills and experience required for careers in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math).

CCNY and SAENY’s Harlem Gallery of Science address the digital, social and racial divides that restrict underrepresented youth from educational and career opportunities in the STEM fields. In 2016, New York’s tech sector set a new employment record of 128,600 jobs, and the number of tech firms in the city reached 7,600, an increase of 23 percent since 2010. Already a high-paying industry, total wages paid to workers in the tech sector doubled since 2010 to reach a record $18.9 billion in 2016. However, according to the paper City Limits “The Black and Latinx population – 31% of the nation’s population – represent 28% of private sector employees, but only 5% of tech employees and 15% of tech executives.” New York City’s tech companies need to hire qualified, skilled, diverse workers. But currently employers are largely unaware of the depth of CCNY/CUNY’s talent pool of well-educated and qualified students.

HGS and CCNY are working to increase the number and diversity of students admitted to CCNY’s academic programs in STEM. Graduates of a four-year college program in STEM fields typically earn starting salaries of $60,000 – 75,000/year.

The HGS currently operates out of CCNY and other location throughout Harlem. Planning is in progress for a permanent home for HGS on the ground and first floors of the high tech Taystee Lab Building at 450 W. 126th Street, Manhattan now nearing completion – a pioneering effort by Janus Properties to revitalize Harlem’s Factory District as a 21st century innovation center. This permanent home will permit HGS to expand it programming and add a valuable new dimension to the cluster of STEM facilities and programs that has already begun to develop in the West 125th Street corridor.

HSG programs and facilities provide the Harlem, Washington Heights and South Bronx communities with free access to exhibitions and other STEM programs such as webinars, mentoring, conferences and science themed plays, dance and music.