{"id":38029,"date":"2025-08-27T16:36:47","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T16:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/?p=38029"},"modified":"2025-08-27T16:36:47","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T16:36:47","slug":"mayor-adams-announces-major-expansion-of-big-rig-training-program-for-justice-involved-new-yorkers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/archives\/38029","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Adams announces major expansion of big-rig training program for justice-involved New Yorkers"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEWYORK: New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Mayor\u2019s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) Director Deanna Logan today announced a massive expansion of its successful commercial driver\u2019s license (CDL) training program for justice-involved individuals.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The multi-million-dollar investment with reentry workforce development partner Emerge Career\u00a0will ensure hundreds of New Yorkers will benefit from the life-changing training, personalized coaching, and job placement offered through the program next year \u2014 a dramatic increase from 2025\u2019s initial pilot program.<\/p>\n

The innovative program addresses two critical needs: financial stability for individuals with a history of criminal justice involvement and filling workforce gaps in an industry facing significant labor shortages. The average unemployment rate for Americans getting out of incarceration is 60 percent \u2014\u00a012 times the overall national average.<\/p>\n

However, every single graduate of the 2025 program secured a full-time CDL job offer, with starting salaries ranging from $78,000.00 to $124,800, demonstrating both the program\u2019s life-changing impact and its cost-effectiveness for the city\u2019s workforce pipeline.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne mistake should not destroy a person\u2019s life because a bend in the road should not be the end of a road,\u201d said\u00a0Mayor Adams.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we are driving second chances in New York City by expanding our Commercial Driver\u2019s License training program. This innovative program provides formerly justice-involved New Yorkers with the skills they need to earn a CDL and connects them with meaningful employment opportunities in an industry facing significant labor shortages.\u00a0By providing upstream solutions to downstream problems, we are shifting up a gear to prevent recidivism, keep our city safe, and put justice-involved New Yorkers on a path to build their American Dream in the greatest city in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch has taught us that one of the easiest ways to improve community safety is to help New Yorkers find financial stability,\u201d said\u00a0MOCJ Director Logan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe data is also showing us that our investments in Emerge Career are paying immense dividends, in real second chances and wealth creation for some of our city\u2019s most disadvantaged communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis partnership with the City of New York shows what\u2019s possible when government embraces bold, human-centered technology to truly uplift its people,\u201d said\u00a0Zo Orchingwa, co-founder and co-CEO, Emerge Career.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re deeply grateful for the city\u2019s trust in our vision and its commitment to those too often left behind. While this expansion marks a significant milestone, it\u2019s only the start \u2014 our goal is to create lasting high-wage careers for every disadvantaged New Yorker and to transform reentry workforce development \u2014 establishing New York City as a leader in innovative, data-backed reentry workforce solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat sets Emerge apart is our deep collaboration with the broader community,\u201d said\u00a0Gabriel Saruhashi, co-founder and co-CEO, Emerge Career.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur all-in-one workforce development platform gives case workers, emergency shelters, transitional housing programs, and supervision agencies real-time visibility into participants\u2019 journeys \u2014 which is how our participants succeed at rates 50 percent higher than national averages and earn nearly twice as much as the typical graduate. This expansion will bring in $24 million in new wealth for their communities and the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the American Trucking Association, the U.S. is facing a shortage of more than 60,000 drivers. CDL training provides a fast, accessible path to high-wage, stable employment in a critical industry that urgently needs talent \u2014 making it especially well-suited for ideal justice-impacted individuals who are often excluded from licensed professions.<\/p>\n

After providing tuition-free training to 20 participants in 2025, MOCJ will expand the program to 300 participants in 2026, with additional expansions planned in the future.\u00a0 The announcement builds on the Adams administration\u2019s broader commitment to investing in upstream solutions to public safety and economic mobility.<\/p>\n

MOCJ \u2014 and its Community Innovations team \u2014 relies on data to guide its outreach efforts. Research consistently shows that poverty and limited access to vocational training and education are major contributors to incarceration and recidivism.<\/p>\n

According to a 2018 Brookings study, more than 80 percent of incarcerated men were jobless and had no income in the year prior to their incarceration.<\/p>\n

After release, only 20 percent reported earning at least $15,000 in their first year back in the community.\u202fBy contrast, newly employed graduates of the city\u2019s CDL program have secured positions with starting salaries ranging from $78,000 to $124,800.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a job is the pillar of living a productive life \u2013 and an essential component of rehabilitation and re-entry into society after a prison term,\u201d said\u00a0Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe expansion of this training program will afford this foundational opportunity to many more people returning from incarceration. This is exactly the type of intervention that helps reduce crime by offering people a better path, so I commend Mayor Adams and the Mayor\u2019s Office of Criminal Justice for this promising initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cProviding justice-involved individuals stable, good-paying jobs can help them get back on their feet and on the pathway to success, and I thank the mayor and his administration for their commitment to expanding this important initiative,\u201d said\u00a0Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis program can be life changing for New Yorkers who are re-entering into their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSecuring a job is key to avoiding recidivism,\u201d said\u00a0Queens\u00a0District Attorney Melinda Katz.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city\u2019s commercial driver\u2019s license training program has proven to be a success in providing employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals. I thank Mayor Adams for expanding this valuable program that will provide gainful employment opportunities for those reentering the workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEWYORK: New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Mayor\u2019s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) Director Deanna Logan today announced a massive expansion of its successful commercial driver\u2019s license (CDL) training program for justice-involved individuals. The multi-million-dollar investment with reentry workforce development partner Emerge Career\u00a0will ensure hundreds of New Yorkers will benefit from the life-changing training, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":38031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1469,31,1378],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-york","category-news","category-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38029"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38032,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38029\/revisions\/38032"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}