ONA Professional Pathways Program RFA

New York State Department of State, through the Office for New America (ONA), is seeking not-for-profit organizations for its Professional Pathways Program.

The Professional Pathways Program seeks to help build New York State’s economy by supporting the state’s ongoing commitment to immigrant empowerment and workforce development by enabling high-skilled immigrants to overcome barriers to professional development through the screening, training and/or re-credentialing of participants and the identification of job placement opportunities in each region of the state.

While there is not one agreed-upon definition of “high-skilled immigrant,” this RFA defines it as an individual whose university or post-secondary training was conducted outside the United States and whose credentials and employability in their field of training is not recognized by an employer, or national or state policies.

The Professional Pathways Program will be specifically tailored for fields in each region of New York State that currently need high-skilled workers. These fields will include, but are not limited to, healthcare, education, engineering, IT, and business/finance.

Region-specific industries will be identified using NYS Department of Labor employment projections and data that indicates the “jobs in demand” for each region of New York State. Program partners will also coordinate with employers and workforce development boards in their region of coverage to ensure that they are tapping into existing workforce development initiatives that are working to fill employment gaps.

This RFA is divided into two parts: Part A and Part B.
**Part A **will fund one qualified not-for-profit organization in each of the following regions to serve as an ONA Job Coach:

• Western New York (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara Counties)

• Finger Lakes (Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming, Yates Counties

• Southern Tier (Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins Counties)

• Capital Region (Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, Washington Counties)

• Central New York (Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, Oswego Counties)

• Mohawk Valley (Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego, Schoharie Counties)

• North Country (Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence Counties)

• Mid-Hudson (Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, Westchester Counties)

• Long Island (Nassau, Suffolk Counties)

• New York City (Bronx, New York, Richmond Counties)

• New York City (Kings, Queens Counties)

**Part B **will fund one qualified not-for-profit organization to serve as the statewide Professional Pathways Lead Agency.

If an agency wishes to apply for more than one award (e.g. more than one Part A region, both Part A and Part B, etc.), a separate application must be submitted. Please see the attached RFA for additional information.

Business enterprises awarded an identical or substantially similar procurement contract within the past five years:

Please see attached spreadsheet.

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB)

SDVOB Goal: 6.00%

Minority / Women Business Enterprise contracting goals (MWBE)

MBE Goal: 15.00%

WBE Goal: 15.00%

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