The Workforce Development Institute (WDI) is a statewide non-profit that works to increase opportunities for all New Yorkers to succeed in the workforce through High-Road Employment.
We collaborate with partners including unions in the Building and Construction Trades, private and public sectors, as well as community-based organizations, education and training providers, and employers in manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, and nonprofit.
We support our partners by ensuring they have the resources to provide pathways to High-Road Employment as defined by common characteristics, including:
- Family-sustaining wages
- Safe, healthy, and accessible workplaces
- Empowered workers contributing to decisions about their work
- Opportunities to gain new skills and advance through training
- Family-securing benefits
- Inclusive workplaces with equal opportunity and respect
- Opportunity to derive meaning and purpose from mission and culture
- Recruiting practices that widen the doors of opportunity
These are the working conditions that generations of advocates in the Labor Movement have fought for and continuously negotiate to improve for all working people. These are the hallmarks that define the employers of choice that set high standards in their industries and communities. These are the standards that jobseekers expect as the fair exchange for the energy and talent they bring to their careers.
High-Road Employment is not just about job quality, but about quality of life.
WDI is a proven conduit for piloting, implementing, and responsibly managing industry-specific initiatives, community-driven programming, and direct support to working families. We have more than two decades of success that is defined by our positive impact on working people and fulfillment of projects based on the vision of High-Road Employment we share with our partners.
WDI has been a steady hand as our partners climb to new heights in times of opportunity and as they recover from challenges in times of uncertainty. We continue to watch the horizon for emerging trends with hope for the future workforce while staying grounded in the needs of today.
Above all, we continue to learn from our partners and are adaptive to their needs as we work together in our mission to Strengthen New York’s Workforce.