White Plains has launched a program called Project Digital JumpStart (PDJ) that is designed to enhance digital skills training and employment opportunities for young people in underserved communities. The PDJ effort builds upon an existing collaboration between the city’s Youth Bureau and the College of Westchester. White Plains received a $75,000 grant from a program established by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Comcast that will be put toward PDJ.
“The City of White Plains Youth Bureau plays a pivotal role in our community by providing essential services and opportunities for our youth,” Mayor Tom Roach said. “Project Digital JumpStart represents our commitment to ensuring that every young person in White Plains has access to the skills and resources they need to succeed in the digital age.”
The PDJ program calls for of 50 high school juniors and seniors in White Plains to undergo about 125 hours of digital and life skills training during Fall 2024, Winter 2024, and Summer 2025 semesters. The training will include cybersecurity, network security, artificial intelligence, coding, resume writing/interviewing, time management, goal setting, and financial literacy. According to the city, the students will earn six college credits and badges toward a digital skills passport that will help unlock job opportunities as they transition to college or enter the job market.
Erica Schacht; Frank Williams; Pedro Villa, College of Westchester Jumpstart Program alumn; Matt Curtis, College of Westchester vice president of enrollment management.
“The PDJ partnership with the College of Westchester underscores our commitment to providing inclusive development opportunities that prepare our youth for the future of work and meaningful high-growth careers in the technology, health, and/or finance sectors that eagerly await them,” said Elizabeth Almonte, the White Plains Youth Bureau’s deputy director.
The bureau’s executive director Frank Williams said, “Together, we are dedicated to fostering an environment where every young person, regardless of background, can thrive and succeed.”
According to Erica Schacht, vice president of academic affairs and dean of faculty at the College of Westchester, “The Youth Bureau and the College of Westchester share a strong commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging actively fostering a welcoming environment where youth from various backgrounds are empowered. This commitment is the cornerstone of PDJ, aimed at removing identified barriers to participation for youth from historically disadvantage communities in the existing JumpStart program, which aids high school students in their transition to college and careers.”
The award to White Plains was part of $1.5 million in awards from the Conference of Mayors and Comcast Corporation in their Talent for Tomorrow: Digital Equity Challenge program. A total of 10 cities received grants from the program this year.
“America’s mayors know well that closing the digital divide is intrinsically connected to the economic competitiveness of our cities and towns,” said Dalila Wilson-Scott, Comcast’s chief diversity officer and president of the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation. She said that the grants “will help ensure that more people, especially those most often left out of the digital economy, can take advantage of the opportunities that come with acquiring digital skills” while also “expanding workforce and job training programs for ten winning cities.”
