Housing Career Pathways (HCP) is a groundbreaking and scalable workforce development program that leverages the economic engine of the affordable housing industry to provide career opportunities to low-income New Yorkers, particularly those who live in affordable housing. Operated by Brooklyn Workforce Innovations (BWI), the program offers a four-week skills training curriculum, an 80-hour paid internship, and wraparound support services to empower residents with the skills, training, and connections they need to launch meaningful careers in the affordable housing industry, while also leveraging the value of their lived experience to enhance the capacity of affordable housing providers.
Enterprise New York began designing Housing Career Pathways in 2019 in collaboration with workforce development providers including BWI, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and with input from over a dozen affordable housing providers. Together, we recognized the need to create a systematic link between low-income New Yorkers with career opportunities in the affordable housing industry, while simultaneously supporting housing providers in finding a committed and skilled workforce.
Housing Career Pathways focuses on creating a bridge to administrative roles in the property management field, with graduates going on to become compliance coordinators, accountants, recertification specialists and more, fostering upward mobility and other positive outcomes for participants and their families.
HCP had significant impact over the course of its pilot phase, with six cohorts graduating between early 2022 and summer 2024. Since the beginning, Brooklyn Workforce Innovations has led the day-to-day operations of the program, spearheading the application process, refining the curriculum, conducting trainings, fostering relationships with employer partners, and providing wraparound support to participants. With the conclusion of the pilot phase, BWI is continuing to operate the program, with Enterprise, city agencies and other stakeholders serving in advisory roles.
Now that eight cohorts and over 100 trainees have graduated from the program, we look back on the impact of this innovative program.
Key Accomplishments to Date
While the data reflects the program’s success as a whole, they do not fully convey the impact that Housing Career Pathways has made individually in the lives of over one hundred participants and their families. Here are just two stories of career change creating life change for Housing Career Pathways graduates.
Participant Spotlight: Jon S.
Jon was one of Housing Career Pathways’ first graduates. He is a lifelong New Yorker who always had a passion for housing, but who had spent 16 years making ends meet in various retail management positions to provide for his family.
Soon after training, Jon started his career as a Project Compliance Specialist for Wavecrest Management, a New York City-based property management company. He immediately felt inspired by the work that allowed him to help other vulnerable New Yorkers maintain their affordable homes.
Jon has now worked in affordable housing for more than two years and has worked to support homeless individuals and families living in shelter transition into a new place to call home. Since graduation, Jon moved his own family of four from a small basement apartment to a brand-new affordable home. As a dedicated advocate for the Housing Career Pathways program, Jon represents participant voices on the new HCP Advisory Board.
Employer Spotlight: Wavecrest Property Management
Christina H., Director of Leasing and Compliance has been a key supporter of HCP since its inception. She participated in focus groups and discussions that shaped the program’s launch and first cohorts. Since then, Christina and her team have hosted and hired 12 graduates across 6 cycles, providing invaluable feedback to refine the curriculum. As a dedicated employer partner and member of the HCP Advisory Group, Christina continues to play a vital role in the program’s success.
Moving Beyond the Pilot Program
With Brooklyn Workforce Innovations continuing to operate Housing Career Pathways as a fully-fledged program, additional training cohorts are planned for 2025.
As HCP continues to grow, its impact reaches far beyond individual job placements. The program empowers participants to build stable, fulfilling careers that transform their lives and contribute to their communities. By fostering opportunity, equity, and resilience, Housing Career Pathways serves as a powerful example of what can be achieved when we invest in people and their potential.
You can read more about the Housing Career Pathways initiative.
Interested in hiring a Housing Career Pathways graduate or hosting an intern?
Reach out to BWI.
Generous support for this program was provided by:
- Annaly Capital Management
- Capital One
- Flagstar Foundation
- Goldman Sachs
- Enterprise New York’s Gotham Society
- Individual Donors Through Enterprise’s Blue Sky Fund
- Public Housing Community Fund