Mayor’s office announces new job training opportunities for New Yorkers through ‘Made in NY’ Media Academy at Queensborough, other CUNY colleges

Several City University of New York (CUNY) Colleges, including QCC, Kingsborough (KCC) and Hunter, will be offering continuing education courses starting in September for in-demand job markets, which will equip participants with the skills needed for a range of diverse areas, including music and audio production, graphic arts, digital content creation, emerging technologies, and more. CUNY will facilitate job placements for trainees with companies in their respective fields.

“By engaging CUNY colleges to meet the real-time needs of New York’s creative industries, we’re providing targeted, no-cost training for diverse local talent to launch careers in our city’s iconic creative sector,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez.

QCC’s initial 10-week Bootcamp training course combines music production techniques with hands-on experience in recording studio environments and begins September 15. Eligible applicants can register now at QCC.cuny.edu

Graduates can pursue employment in commercial recording studios, live recording venues, radio and broadcast networks, and with manufacturers serving the music production field.

The main objective is to train students for entry into music production employment opportunities in NYC by providing a strong foundation in the Audio Recording Arts and Sciences. Participants gain practical skills in music production, mixing, sound design, and more, using up-to-date, industry-standard software. Learn more at QCC.cuny.edu

Upon successful completion, participants will receive a Certificate of Completion from QCC, as well as Pro Tools 101 certification.

Launched in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) and Small Business Services (SBS), this unique “Made in NY” Media Academy program represents a new way to train New Yorkers for good paying jobs in our city’s world-renowned creative industries — and uniquely, has no maximum age limit and is offered at no cost to New Yorkers.

“New York City’s creative economy is powered by working people — the musicians, designers, editors and producers, whose talent and labor make this city the cultural capital of the world,” said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani.

“The ‘Made in NY’ Media Academy will open doors to creative careers for more New Yorkers, providing free training for jobs that are hiring right now. As we build an affordable NYC, we’re creating pathways to the good-paying jobs that will shape the future of art, media and entertainment for the world.”

The new program was announced at an exciting event held at QCC on June 16, which included a tour of the music facilities, as well as a Masterclass in Music Production given by Grammy Award-Winning producer and global hip-hop luminary Kid Capri, who said, “I enjoyed hanging out with everyone at Queensborough! Always remember to hit Control S,” to remind beat producers to always save their work.

The event also featured several notable MOME, SBS, and CUNY attendees, who weighed in on the importance of the Academy and its offerings.

Queensborough Community College President Christine Mangino noted that QCC’s music program is designed with career success in mind, giving students the foundation, training, and confidence they need to thrive in today’s creative economy.

“We are proud to partner with MOME and SBS on an initiative that connects students with industry-informed training aligned with the needs of employers in creative fields,” she said.

NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment Commissioner Rafael Espinal told attendees that eligible New Yorkers are invited to “re-imagine their career paths to train for a dream job that they never thought possible.”

He added: “The Academy’s offerings will evolve in response to real-time labor market shifts and emerging demands across the media sector, ensuring New Yorkers have the relevant skills to stay employed and take on new career paths.”

Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su pointed out that NYC runs on people who make things — music, art, content, stories that the rest of the world watches and listens to.

“For a long time, getting into that world depended on who you knew, not what you could do. The ‘Made in NY’ Media Academy changes that. It’s free training on real industry equipment, with a credential and job placement support at the other end of it,” she said, adding, “That’s what it means to build an economy that works for the people who are already doing the work that makes this city what it is.”

For each training topic, individual CUNY schools will leverage relationships with studios and vendors, current curriculum, and instructional capacity to deliver courses and provide job placement for participants. Applicants must be NYC residents who are 18 or older, authorized to work in the United States; Selective Service compliant (if applicable) and have a high school diploma or HSE. Applicants must demonstrate interest in pursuing a career in their course topic, make under $60,000, if employed, and commit to the full training schedule and attendance requirements.

NYC is a global leader in art and culture because of the world-class talent that calls our city home.

“By working directly with MOME, CUNY, and partners from film, television, radio, music production, graphic design, and digital content creation, ‘Made in NY’ will both connect homegrown talent with jobs in the entertainment industry and equip them with the skills to thrive in an ever-changing environment,” SBS Commissioner Kenny Minaya noted.

Initial “Made in NY” Media Academy course offerings also include:

Content Creation Bootcamp at Kingsborough Community College – course begins September 23. Register now at KBCC.cuny.edu

Graphic Design Bootcamp at Hunter College – course begins Fall 2026. Register interest now at Hunter College Graphic Design Bootcamp – Interest Form.

More on the course offerings:

Music Production Bootcamp at QCC was selected as an initial training topic, based on labor market analysis using Lightcast Q2 2025 data, which identified 114 unique job postings and 177 total postings from 51 employers in the past year, across roles such as music producers, sound designers, and sound engineering technicians.

Graduates will receive assistance with securing employment in commercial recording studios, live recording venues, radio and broadcast networks, and with manufacturers serving the music production field, including Dead Zone Production, J&D Warren Music, Likeable Media, Prime Content, Quirk Creative, Studio Center, and Truluvent.

Content Creation Bootcamp at KCC

Seven-week deep dive into digital storytelling and multimedia production to prepare students for core competencies in content creation, video editing, and digital strategy, with dedicated career planning support in partnership with Reel Works for roles in creative agencies and marketing departments.

Selected as an initial training topic based on labor market analysis that identified strong employer demand across related occupations, including public relations specialists (718 job postings), writers and editors (983 job postings), producers and directors (482 job postings), writers and editors (529 postings), and news analysts (206 job postings) over the past year.

Occupations in these sectors offer median wages ranging from approximately $68,400 to $70,400 annually and support career pathways throughout the media, entertainment, publishing, advertising, broadcasting, and digital communications sectors.

Graphic Design Bootcamp at Hunter College

Offers 11 weeks with more than 100 hours of instruction to prepare New Yorkers for entry-level careers as graphic artists, multimedia designers, and digital content creators, with job-ready skills in industry-standard tools, including Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator, alongside career-readiness training, a capstone portfolio project, and paid micro-internships with NYC employers.

The Bootcamp will serve two cohorts totaling 30 underrepresented New Yorkers in its first year, providing supportive services, including transit assistance, a Hunter College credential upon completion, and job-placement support connecting graduates directly to employment opportunities in NYC’s creative economy.

Hunter College will incorporate a micro internship component into its program, providing participants with hands-on professional experience, while building industry networks with organizations such as Bloomberg, Hearst, NBCUniversal, ABC News, Warner Bros. Discovery, WNYC/Gothamist, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, News Corp, The celebrity.land, BBC Studios, and U.S. News & World Report, as well as communications and branding firms including Rubenstein Communications, Edelman, BPCM, ICR, Shore Fire Media, Turner PR, and Hotwire.