The City University of New York (CUNY) is a cornerstone institution within New York City’s public education system, boasting over 25 colleges across New York’s five boroughs and serving over 243,000 students annually. New York’s emerging green economy includes a variety of offshore wind (OSW) industry occupations set to become available within the next decade. To ensure OSW jobs are filled by local New Yorkers, it is important for current and prospective students to enroll in the appropriate programs and complete the necessary educational requirements.

Three CUNY schools sought to develop a new program to provide an overview of offshore wind and inform students of educational pathways they can pursue to access future industry jobs. CUNY Kingsborough Community College—in partnership with LaGuardia Community College and the New York City College of Technology—hired Karp Strategies—in collaboration with National Wind Services—to design the new “Bridges to Offshore Wind” program. The project team collaborated to create a curriculum and assemble resources to implement two training modules: one two-hour training that explains the basics of offshore wind and the benefits of the bridge program and one week-long training that links leading jobs and skills in the offshore wind industry with the degree and non-degree resources offered through CUNY.

Karp Strategies conducted a workforce and educational gap analysis to match curriculum and programs with the future workforce needs of the OSW industry. Karp Strategies also led the development of an opportunities roadmap highlighting educational and career tracks that may prepare students for OSW-related careers, leveraging this information to craft learning objectives for the “Bridges to Offshore Wind” program. Project partner National Wind Services supported Karp Strategies with the development of these deliverables, providing offshore wind subject matter expertise and steering curriculum development for the course. Karp Strategies and National Wind Services also collaborated on identification of subject matter experts to guest lecture for the bridge program.

The team delivered the completed curriculum to the CUNY team in September 2023. The course will provide a critical pathway to prepare CUNY students for opportunities in the growing offshore wind industry.