Rebecca HoldenJournal #1
It’s has to believe that I have already been a summer intern at SBS for six weeks. This summer, I’m working with NYC Business Solutions Training, which provides funding to small businesses in the five boroughs that have determined that by training their employees, they can become more profitable, efficient and competitive in the market. SBS will award anywhere from $10,000 to $400,000 to the training costs. The program receives its funding through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), which is a federal stimulus, and the Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO), which focuses on raising the standard of living for low-income workers in New York City. The unique aspect of this program is that the award money isn’t “free” – small businesses that apply to the program are required to contribute a certain percentage of the cost of the training (40 – 50% depending on the scope of the training) and must offer a wage increase to at least 50% of trainees that is directly tied to training. Since the program’s inception, over 70 small businesses in the five boroughs have been awarded over $6 million to fund training.
One of the major challenges that lies within this program is that some businesses, for one reason or another, end up becoming ineligible for the program because they are unable or unwilling to meet the program requirements. When this happens, the business’ award is ultimately rescinded. This summer, I’m working to analyze past applicants to the program, as well as the implementation process once a business is awarded, to minimize the rescissions and maximize the benefit for small businesses. My project is two-fold. First, I am analyzing quantitative and descriptive data, which includes everything from the businesses’ locations, number of employees, award size, and magnitude of the proposed wage gain. I’m currently working to develop a set of ratios and metrics that will ultimately create a profile for the hypothetical “successful” and “unsuccessful” businesses when looking at applicants to the program. Second, I am aggregating qualitative feedback from the businesses themselves. I’ve designed a set of questions that I will use to interview a cross-section of businesses: those who have successfully completed their training; those who are currently underway with training; and those whose awards have been rescinded. I’ll ultimately deliver a set of recommendations that the Training Funds team can implement to make the program better.
In addition to my primary project, I’m working on a product development initiative for an off-the-shelf curriculum that the program can offer applicants to the program; the hope is to create an easy, one-stop solutions for businesses that are seeking to improve their profitability but don’t have the capacity to develop a training program. In addition, I’m contributing to improvements to the application for the program.
The SBS internship program has been incredibly engaging. I’m learning a great deal about the public sector and how the government can support small businesses and help them start their operations, grow and expand. In addition to what I’ve learned in the office, I’ve had the opportunity to experience different unique areas of New York City, including the Workforce1 Career Center in Jamaica, Queens, and the DUMBO Business Improvement District. I look forward to continuing the momentum throughout the remainder of my internship!
Journal #2
With only 3 weeks left in my internship, I’m finding that I’m as busy as ever. One of the major projects I’ve been involved in is the development of a new service offering for potential applicants to the Training Funds program. The new offering is designed to simplify the process to apply for and implement training. Currently, a business interested in applying for Training Funds must fill out a pre-application to determine initial eligibility. Eligibility requirements include a commitment to train a minimum of 10 employees and to give at least 50% of those trainees a wage gain that is a direct and exclusive result of the training. In addition, the company must begin training within six months of receiving an award and must complete the training within one year of starting training. A business must then complete a full application to outline proposed curriculum, training provider selection, wage gains and business outcomes. The process to design a curriculum, register all employees for training, and track both employee performance and business outcomes is incredibly time-consuming. It is for this reason the NYC Business Solutions Training team is designing an off-the-shelf offering.
First, we examine the top 10 most high-demand training types as indicated from past applications. These included Lean Manufacturing; ISO:9001 Certification, an international standard of processes documentation; Microsoft Office; QuickBooks and Accounting. We then looked across multiple training providers for a standard curriculum, and assessed multiple funded programs to determine the average wage gain for receiving such type of training. The proposal is to offer an abbreviated application with no minimum trainee requirement and a pre-determined wage gain commitment. This essentially eliminates the work on the part of the business so that it can focus on effectively training its employees rather than the burden of paperwork and logistics.
The project has been incredibly interesting and fast-paced. We are currently in the process of developing an RFP (request for proposals) for potential training providers to offer the high-demand training types. Though I won’t see this project through completion, it’s been a pleasant surprise to see how quickly steps in the project are being accomplished.
SBS has been keeping us interns quite busy outside of our daily work. We’ve been attending numerous lunch-and-learns focused on various service lines at SBS. We also attended the annual Neighborhood Achievement Awards and the Summer Intern Barbecue, both at Gracie Mansion. Though many of the other interns are finishing up in a few days, I’m looking forward to continuing for three more weeks.
Journal #3
It seems like just yesterday that I started at the NYC Department of Small Business Services, when it’s really been an entire summer. I certainly accomplished a lot during my time as an intern. My primary project, an analysis of the NYC Business Solutions Training Funds program, resulted in fairly significant findings. My goal was to examine the businesses that apply to the program who are awarded funding and, ultimately, withdraw or have their award rescinded because they are not able to fulfill the program requirements, i.e. wage gains for their employees being trained. The quantitative and qualitative analysis I performed found ways for the SBS team to better screen applicants to gauge their level of commitment to the program. Additionally, the analysis found significant indicators about a business’ size, industry and proposed training program that may signal a higher chance of rescission. My project culminated in a presentation to the entire NYC Business Solutions training team, the Assistant Commissioner of NYC Business Solutions and the Deputy Commissioner of the SBS Business Development division.
In addition to my primary project, I worked on a product development team to plan the launch of an off-the-shelf curriculum for the training program. Currently, the program is highly customized and requires a significant amount of work on the part of the business. This new offering would be a prepackaged training curriculum with contracted training providers, leaving the business applying with virtually no work. Primarily, I conducted preparatory research on popular training types and developed a project plan timeline to prepare for the product launch.
Aside from these two projects, I worked with small businesses in New York City to apply to a New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) training grant. I facilitated their awareness of the application and determined whether or not they met the eligibility requirements.
Ultimately, I had an amazing experience at SBS. I was able to see the impact City government can have on small businesses firsthand, and it was wonderful to be a part of such a driven organization.
