Tech:NYC Digest: November 2

Tech:NYC Digest: November 2

November 02, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Happy Election Day! In today’s digest, polls close at 9pm with most results expected tonight, CDC authorized Pfizer vax for kids five to 11, and how Google and Microsoft are closing the tech skill gap with community college partnerships.

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New Yorkers head to the polls for today’s general election (if you haven’t already, you have until 9pm to cast your ballot). Here’s what to expect next:

  • There are no ranked choice voting tallies to calculate, so barring any surprises, we'll know most of the results tonight. With outstanding absentee ballots to count, the results will be unofficial, but many winners will likely be declared.

  • In NYC, where Democrats far outnumber Republicans, current Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams is expected to win the race for mayor. The question is, by how much, and what voter turnout will look like this time.

  • When polls close, you can watch results begin to pour in here.

In other news:

  • A CDC panel unanimously recommended the Pfizer vaccine for children ages five to 11 this afternoon. (New York Times)

    • The vote follows closely behind the FDA’S authorization over the weekend.

    • If CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky formally accepts the recommendations, inoculations could begin as early as this week.  

    • Supplies have begun arriving at NYC vaccine sites in anticipation of the approval, and Mayor de Blasio said they would be available within 24 hours of the final approval. (New York Daily News)

  • Just one day after the vaccine mandate went into effect for all city workers, the vaccination rate among that group is now at 92 percent. (POLITICO)

    • Some 9,000 city workers who are unvaccinated or have refused to share vaccination proof with their agency were placed on immediate leave without pay.

    • Hundreds of NYC firefighters called in sick yesterday morning as the mandate went into effect, bringing the total number of sickouts in the fire department to 2,300. City officials are calling the sickout a large-scale protest against the vaccine mandate for municipal workers. (CNN) 

  • The FDA is taking time to decide whether to approve Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for use in children ages 12 to 17. The extended timeline is so the FDA can look into reports of a rare side effect — myocarditis, or the inflammation of the heart muscle — in some who've gotten the shot. (NPR)

  • The Delta wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is past its peak, with new cases, hospitalizations and deaths declining in most states. The approaching holidays and winter months will test whether the US can sustain that momentum. (Wall Street Journal)

In other reading:

  • How does a pandemic start winding down? You are looking at it. (Washington Post)

  • This Flu Season Is Different. Here’s How to Prepare. (New York Times)

  • Eagles, Beavers, Sea Turtles: Why N.Y.C. Is Humming With Wildlife (New York Times)

The hiring spree in tech right now — especially as it coincides with the larger skills mismatch in the labor market and “Great Resignation” trends — has prompted several industries to start thinking about their workforce’s long-game.

  • Of course, that’s more true in tech than perhaps anywhere, and tech companies’ post-pandemic growth strategy will have to prioritize support for the next generation of tech workers starting now.

Two companies with new plans on doing just that: Google and Microsoft.

Several years ago, Google started offering a career certificate program to help teach IT skills to jobseekers. The company has since worked to get more people — including community college students nationwide — access to the curriculum, which now includes courses in UX design, data analytics, and project management. (Axios)

  • Recently, Google announced it will make the certificate program free for community colleges and vocational high schools across the nation.

  • The American Council on Education has also recommended the certificates be accepted toward college credit, and many four-year institutions, including the SUNY network, have agreed to recognize them..

The program's impact goes beyond Google: So far, more than 50,000 people have graduated from the program in the US, and over 150 companies in an employer consortium have committed to review certificate holders for related jobs.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is partnering with community colleges across the country to provide free resources to help address a shortage of cybersecurity workers. (CNBC)

  • The company will provide a free curriculum to community colleges across the country, provide training for faculty at 150 community colleges and give scholarships and resources to 25,000 students.

  • Data compiled by Microsoft show that there is one open cybersecurity job for roughly every two that are filled in the US. And of all available positions in the US, more than one in 20 is a job requiring cybersecurity skills. 

  • The company believes it can reduce the country’s workforce shortage by half by 2025 by helping train and recruit 250,000 people into the cybersecurity workforce.

In other reading:

  • Enterprise tech promised a grand vision for the future of work. The reality is messier. (Protocol)

  • Your New Office Set-Up Is Going to Look a Lot Like the Old One (Bloomberg)

  • The geography of the Great Resignation: First-time data shows where Americans are quitting the most (Washington Post)

  • Accrue Savings, a New York City-based merchant-embedded savings startup, raised $4.7 million in new funding. Twelve Below led the round and was joined by Box Group, Good Friends, Red Sea Ventures, Night Capital, Groundup Ventures, Silas Capital, Gokul Rajaram, and Scott Belsky.

  • Digital Currency Group, a New York City-based crypto and blockchain conglomerate, raised $700 million in new funding, at a $10 billion valuation. Two SoftBank funds led the round and were joined by CapitalG, GIC, and Ribbit Capital. (Wall Street Journal)

  • Laika, a New York City-based compliance startup, raised $35 million in Series B funding. J.P. Morgan Growth Equity Partners led the round and was joined by PayPal Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Canapi, Dashfund, Nyca, and ThirdPrime. (VentureBeat)

  • November 3: Virtual: Catalyze Tech DEI Innovation Summit, with working panels and a keynote with Idris Elba. Hosted by Snap. Register here.

  • November 4: Virtual: Compensation Beyond a Paycheck: What Employers Should Do to Attract and Retain Top Talent, with The Muse founder and CEO Kathryn Minshew, Cocoon co-founder and COO Lauren Dai, and Carta chief people officer Suzy Walther. Hosted by Carta. Register here.

  • November 8: In-person and virtual: TechDay Founders Summit, with The Fund general partner Jenny Fielding, Eniac Ventures co-founder Nihal Mehta, The Muse founder and CEO Kathryn Minshew, and others. Admission is for founders and C-suite executives by short application. Register here.

  • November 10: In-person: 2021 Open Source Strategy Forum, with FDIC chief innovation officer Sultan Meghji, Goldman Sachs co-head of technology John Madsen, and others. Hosted by FINOS and the Linux Foundation. Register for early bird pricing using the code OSSF21NYEARLY here.

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