NYEC & Veolia Host Employer Reception and Roundtable to Advance a National Movement Bridging Untapped Talent to Workforce Demand

NYEC, in partnership with Veolia North America, recently hosted an Employer Reception and Roundtable that brought together leaders from aviation, energy, healthcare, retail, construction, and other high-demand industries. The event marked a major step in advancing NYEC’s emerging Youth Champion Employer Council, a national movement focused on bridging untapped talent to workforce demand.

Across the discussion, employers shared strikingly similar challenges: difficulty finding job-ready talent, inconsistent credentialing and soft-skills preparation, and fragmented regional recruitment systems that require too much heavy lifting from individual companies. At the same time, community-based and youth-serving organizations across the country face their own barriers—often working in silos, without clear visibility into employer expectations, future hiring needs, or where to invest limited training dollars.

The Council has been created to solve this disconnect. It is designed as a shared table where employers and community partners can co-design solutions, align on what “job-ready” really means, and build regional pipelines that are easier to navigate on both sides. Through the Council, NYEC will coordinate a national youth employment framework that aligns expectations, connects proven training partners, and strengthens early-career pipelines that benefit businesses through better hiring outcomes—and young adults through clearer, supported pathways into careers.

“The response from our employer partners has been incredible,” said Dr. Mary Ann (Mimi) Haley, Executive Director of NYEC. “What we’re seeing is a real appetite from companies who want to move beyond one-off hiring efforts and become part of a coordinated strategy that connects opportunity youth to meaningful, long-term careers. This Council gives them the space and the structure to do that together.” 

Call to Action
If you are an employer interested in learning more, or if you are an organization with strong employer partners who should be invited to join the Council, please reach out. Together, we are building a national movement to bridge untapped talent with workforce demand and create stronger pathways into the workforce.

Contact: Marie Davis – marie.davis@nyec.org