New Action Plan Charts Path to Expand Economic Opportunity on Long Island and Strengthen the Region’s Workforce

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Action Plan Charts Path to Expand Economic Opportunity on Long Island and Strengthen the Region’s Workforce

The report builds off existing workforce programs across Long Island and calls for greater regional coordination, accessible career pathways, and skills-based workforce strategies

LONG ISLAND, NY — [OCTOBER 27, 2026] Regional Plan Association (RPA), James Lima Planning + Development (JLP+D), the Long Island Association (LIA), and the Institute for Workforce Advancement (IWA), today launched a new Action Plan outlining nine strategies to strengthen Long Island’s workforce development system, create clearer pathways to quality jobs, and help employers meet the region’s evolving workforce needs.

The Long Island Workforce Development Action Plan builds on Long Island’s extensive network of workforce initiatives with practical steps to better connect existing resources, make opportunities easier to navigate and expand access to training and career pathways. The Action Plan identifies nine actions designed to address gaps across the workforce development ecosystem, from career awareness and training to employer participation and barriers that can prevent residents from completing programs.

The nine actions include:

• Developing a new Internship Toolkit would provide reusable tools and guidance to help employers – particularly smaller firms – offer paid, high-quality internships.
• Creating a Training Blueprint with reusable, employer-informed templates that combine shared foundational skills with instruction tailored to specific roles.
• Launching a Digital Knowledge Exchange that pairs educators with employers to bring current digital tools, artificial intelligence applications, and workplace practices into schools.
• Establishing a Workforce Program Inventory that gives residents, employers, and providers a searchable database for identifying training and career opportunities.
• Creating a Training Accessibility Fund to help cover transportation, childcare, technology, lost wages, and other costs that can prevent participants from completing training.
• Developing an Employability Standard that provides a common, employer-validated framework for teaching and assessing essential workplace skills.
• Launching Career Advantage to use worker stories, career maps, and compensation information to help students and new workers better understand local career pathways.
• Expanding Workplace Immersion through paid, hands-on experiences that prepare participants for internships, apprenticeships, CTE, or further training.
• Piloting Trades Career Awareness and Readiness through a credit-bearing high school elective that introduces students to skilled trades and technical careers. 

The plan officially launched today at an event bringing together partners and stakeholders from across Long Island as the region confronts workforce challenges that will shape its long-term economic competitiveness. While Long Island is home to approximately 2.9 million residents, 1.3 million jobs and $269.2 billion in annual economic output, from 2019 to 2024 its real GDP grew at less than half the rate of the broader metropolitan region and less than one-third the national rate.    

The Action Plan was developed through the Long Island Workforce Development Roundtable, established in 2024 by RPA and JLP+D with support from JPMorganChase and New York Community Trust. Co-chaired by LIA and IWA, the Roundtable convened leaders from across Long Island whose input helped shape the plan alongside market analysis and skills mapping. 

“Creating a publicly available workforce training template that connects workers to employment opportunities is an important new initiative,” said Phil Rugile, President, Institute for Workforce Advancement. “Focusing on transferable skills across industries will have a positive impact on the regional economy and help keep Long Island competitive not only locally, but nationally.”

“Long Island’s long-term economic competitiveness depends on our ability to develop, attract and retain a workforce that meets the needs of our businesses,” said Stacey Sikes, Acting President and CEO of the Long Island Association. “This Action Plan offers practical solutions to strengthen our workforce pipeline, remove barriers to training and better align education with the needs of employers. By working collaboratively, we can expand pathways to good-paying jobs and position Long Island for continued economic growth.”

“A good job is one of the most powerful pathways to economic mobility. It can open doors to career advancement, higher earnings and long-term financial security for job seekers and their families,” said Alan Petrilli, Vice Chair of the Long Island Market Leadership Team at JPMorganChase. “We’re proud to support the Long Island Workforce Development Roundtable in connecting Long Islanders with the skills, training and opportunities they need to build rewarding careers and keep our region competitive.”

“Creating pathways to good jobs is one of the most important investments we can make in Long Island’s future,” said Sol Marie Alfonso-Jones, Senior Program Director, Long Island, at The New York Community Trust. “This Action Plan offers a practical roadmap for connecting people to opportunity, supporting employers, and strengthening the regional workforce ecosystem. We are proud to support the partnerships that made this work possible and look forward to seeing these ideas translated into meaningful outcomes for Long Islanders.”

“A region’s greatest asset is its people, and Long Island’s competitiveness depends on how well it prepares them for quality, in-demand careers,” said James Lima, President of James Lima Planning + Development. “JLP+D is delighted to once again collaborate with RPA and Long Island partners, first to help design this program and now to guide its implementation. Together, we brought employers, labor, educators, and community partners to the table and built consensus around pragmatic, actionable steps. The Training Blueprint pilot is where that work becomes real, producing open tools any organization on Long Island can use to widen access to jobs and strengthen its talent pipeline.”

“For Long Island to thrive in the years ahead, economic growth has to translate into opportunity for the people who live here,” said Maulin Mehta, New York Director at Regional Plan Association. “This Action Plan takes a practical look at what stands in the way and how we can make better use of the resources already at our disposal. Reducing barriers and improving coordination will result in a more accessible workforce ecosystem that helps people build lasting careers and drives the local economy forward.”

Roundtable members and the Project Team selected the Training Blueprint to move into a pilot phase beginning this fall. Beyond putting one of the Action Plan’s proposals into practice, the pilot will test a repeatable model for regional collaboration that can be evaluated and refined over time, with resulting resources made publicly available at no cost. The pilot will also be a funding opportunity for training providers, community-based organizations, and employers. Learn more about the pilot program here.

To read the full Action Plan, please visit here.

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About the Long Island Association

The Long Island Association (LIA) is celebrating its Centennial in 2026, and 100 years of advocating for the region’s business community and economic growth as a non-partisan, non-profit organization. The LIA’s regional leadership has played a direct role in shepherding progress by urging for government policies and securing funding that created jobs for people who sought the suburban way of life. The LIA is the voice for businesses in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and has introduced unparalleled opportunities for businesses to network and build relationships to accelerate their growth. For more information, visit longislandassociation.org. 

About JPMorganChase

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorganChase had $5.1 trillion in assets and $372 billion in stockholders’ equity as of September 30, 2026. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

About The New York Community Trust

The New York Community Trust is New York’s largest community foundation, serving New York City, Long Island, and Westchester. For more than 100 years, The Trust has brought together the local knowledge and diverse expertise of its team and nonprofit and philanthropic partners to support thriving and equitable communities and help donors champion our region and the causes they love. The Trust makes approximately $200 million in grants each year from its charitable funds set up by individuals, families, foundations, and corporations.    

About JLP+D

JLP+D is an industry leader in urban strategy consulting. JLP+D has worked extensively with Long Island Communities and nationally on major development, policy, and program initiatives, ranging from housing affordability, access to economic opportunity, and downtown revitalization to public realm strategies and climate resilience. JLP+D’s expertise helps identify and generate untapped market demand, unlock a location’s unique potential to better attract talent and investment, and devise the governance and financing mechanisms to capture the value created, with an aim to maximize public benefits for communities. For more information, please visit https://jlpd.com/.

About Regional Plan Association

Regional Plan Association (RPA) is an independent non-profit organization that conducts research, planning and advocacy to expand economic opportunity, environmental resiliency, improved health, and better quality of life in the New York metropolitan area. Since the 1920s, RPA has produced four landmark plans for the region. The most recent was released in November 2017. For more information, please visit www.rpa.org.