Tag Archives: job training

A farewell to Design Works

From January 2021 to December 2022, DesignWorks served 78 students in three cohorts. Connecting underrepresented and low-income New Yorkers to the growing opportunities in New York City’s thriving tech sector, DesignWorks offered no-cost, applied skills education and training. Focused on developing real-world technical skills and competencies, DesignWorks combined classroom instruction, project-based learning, and industry expertise to better prepare people for careers as UX Designers, whether they are working as independent contractors or as employees within larger companies.

Classes included Human-Centered Design, Visual Design, Coding for Designers, UX Entrepreneurship and Capstone, where students used their technical UX Design knowledge to develop solutions to real-world problems identified by a client.

In addition to workshops and networking events, DesignWorks students received individual, job search and college enrollment support.

Program graduates now work at companies like FCB Health, JPMorgan Chase, CUNY and Skillsoft. 

New York Jobs CEO Council Microcredential Program

The UX Design Microcredential program at Kingsborough is part of the New York Jobs CEO Council, a coalition of CEOs from some of the region’s largest companies whose goal is to create a talent pipeline, linking underrepresented and underserved New Yorkers to gainful jobs. Partners include accenture, amazon, Goldman Sachs, Google, New York-Presbyterian, the New York Times, and others. The Jobs Council’s goal is to hire 100,000 underrepresented New Yorkers, with at least 25,000 of whom being CUNY students.

Take a look at the video below to hear about the impact this program has had New Yorkers.

CLICK HERE to learn more about our program.
You can also contact Christian Finch, Program Coordinator christian.finch@kbcc.cuny.edu * (347) 470-9837

A First-hand Look at CUNY TechWorks

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably heard about CUNY TechWorks and want to learn more. Dena Friedman is a recent graduate of the program. She wanted to tell her story about her time in CTW and how it changed her life. It’s a long article, but worth every word!

How I Learned to Redefine and Redesign My Future Through the CUNY TechWorks User Experience Design Program
By Dena H. Friedman

For those of us who are content within our comfort zones, professional change may seem daunting, so we don’t seek out new paths or even know that we need to. Sometimes, if we’re fortunate, an opportunity finds us – one that dares to whisk away the entanglements of risk-taking. Such was the case for me in early spring 2018. I was perusing Kingsborough Community College’s website in search of new career opportunities. What caught my eye first, though, was a colorful call-out promoting the CUNY TechWorks User Experience Design Program.

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