In my first weeks as the newly-appointed President and CEO, I visited every community library to meet the staff and gain an overview of what each library adds to the community. Among the most impactful programs are the Job and Business Academy’s job skills training workshops.
Library users attend free classes at the library that would cost several hundred dollars from other educators. The students who complete the course have successfully gained skills and certification to become better employed, and the overwhelming majority do. Just last week, a class of new home health aides received their certifications at Queens Library at Arverne. On average, there is an 85% success rate for employment for graduates.
Queens Library also offers workshops for basic and advanced computer skills, certification workshops for security guards and construction safety, and classes on computer coding and creating websites. These workshops are more than interesting and informative. They put real paychecks into the hands of real people. That makes me proud of Queens Library’s staff and our mission.
I look forward to working with our staff, the Board of Trustees, and other community stakeholders to create partnerships that bring more future-positive programs to Queens Library customers. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Bank of America for underwriting workforce development programs for Queens Library's customers.
Dennis M. Walcott
