Council for Airport Opportunity (CAO) is a nonprofit trade association created in 1972 in collaboration with airline companies, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Mayor’s Offices of the City of Newark and the City of New York, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The mission of CAO is to identify and address the critical employment needs of the communities surrounding the New York and New Jersey Metropolitan airports while at the same time responding to the hiring needs of the airport tenants and the aviation industry.
The aviation industry is responsible for over 700,000 jobs in the NY/NJ region. CAO is a bridge between individuals seeking employment in the industry and employers seeking qualified, motivated talent. Since its founding, CAO has placed over 65,000 residents in aviation jobs, with no cost to the employee or employer.
CAO offers free services to our many different constituents — the residents of the localities surrounding the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan airports, businesses/employers in the aviation industry, and community partner organizations.
CAO does more than place people in jobs. CAO’s range of services includes job training programs for unemployed individuals, summer employment opportunities for young people, hosting the Senior Community Service Employment program to train mature workers, ongoing customer service training for job seekers, and hospitality and food handling training to over 10,000 residents of the communities surrounding the metropolitan area airports. In addition, CAO New Jersey is certified to operate an Online Performance Assessment Test Center and a seasonal, temporary staffing entity called Academy Staffers.
CAO is easily accessible with offices in downtown Jamaica, New York; Corona, New York; Far Rockaway, New York; and Newark, New Jersey. On-site career centers operate at John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, where specialized training, small group seminars, and interview sessions can be conducted.
- New York Career Center90-04 161st StreetJamaica, New York 11432
Tel: (718) 523-7100
- JFK Career CenterJFK International AirportBuilding 141Jamaica, New York 11430
Tel: (718) 656-3269
- LaGuardia Career Center at Elmcor33-16 108th Street3rd Floor, Recreational Building
Corona, NY 11368
Tel: (718) 554-0222
- Rockaway Career Center1931 Mott AvenueFar Rockaway, New York 11691
Tel: (347) 562-2113
- New Jersey OfficesEWR Career CenterBuilding 80, 2nd Floor
Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark, New Jersey 07114
Tel: (973) 961-4382
- Downtown Newark Career Center17 Academy Street, 5th FloorNewark, New Jersey 07102
Tel: (973) 622-4537
