I

Section 1.

MISSION, History and Strategic Directions

The New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission (SETC) is proud of its role in promoting the vision for a quality workforce in New Jersey. New Jersey was the first state in the nation to legislatively mandate and create a Commission to provide high-level leadership on workforce issues. It wasn’t until 1998—nearly ten years later—that the United States Congress mandated the restructuring of the nation’s workforce development system. The national system was heavily influenced by New Jersey’s structure for State leadership.

The primary mission of the Commission is to:

Improve the skills of New Jersey's workforce by creating a coherent, integrated system of employment and training programs and services which, in concert with the efforts of the private sector, will provide each citizen of the State with equal access to the learning opportunities needed to attain and maintain high levels of productivity and earning power.

The SETC serves as a “think tank” for developing new and innovative workforce investment policies that will further the State's agenda for a first-rate Workforce Investment System. More specifically, the Commission's role is to develop workforce policy and establish standards for the performance of the Workforce Investment System. The Commission also designs and conducts oversight and evaluation of the State's workforce investment programs and services. A summary of key events in the history of the SETC is on page 1-4.

Commission Membership

Members of the Commission are drawn from the public and private sectors with the intent that the Commission should reflect the views of a broad range of workforce system stakeholders. The Chair of the Commission is John J. Heldrich, a retired Executive Committee member from Johnson & Johnson who is well known and highly regarded for his leadership on workforce issues. Members of the Commission are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate. Membership includes:

¡ Four Cabinet officials representing the Departments of Community Affairs, Education, Human Services, and Labor and Workforce Development;

¡ Representatives from both the Commission on Higher Education and the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth and Tourism Commission;

¡ Representatives from the State Legislature;

¡ Leaders from the business community who represent companies of all sizes from Fortune 100 companies to mid-sized and small enterprises;

¡ Organized labor;

¡ Educational institutions; and,

¡ Community-based organizations.

Collectively, Commission members bring their expertise and knowledge of the needs of the workforce and the policies and practices required to tackle the challenges that lie ahead. A list of Commission members is on page 1-5.

Strategic Priorities

The SETC has enjoyed a longstanding leadership role, both in advocating the development of a strong workforce and in shaping the State's workforce investment policies. In 2001, a significant outreach effort among key stakeholders in the workforce system was conducted to gain insight into their expectations of the SETC. This outreach effort yielded eight strategic priorities that framed the development of the SETC’s Strategic Plan and continue to guide its work today. Those eight strategic priorities are:

© Workforce Development Policy: The SETC’s role is to “look beyond the horizon” and develop policies that address the present and future needs of the State’s residents and business in the design of a quality Workforce Investment System.

© Workforce Delivery System Integration: The SETC has long advocated for an integrated Workforce Investment System. The consolidation efforts now underway are taking broader measures to integrate our State Workforce Investment System to an even greater degree. The SETC is responsible for organizing statewide planning with the goal of forging new collaborations and a more responsive Workforce Investment System based on the State’s vision and policies.

© Workforce Investment Board (WIB) Development and Oversight: Local WIBs are responsible for developing a customized, coherent plan to train and retain their local workforce with the ultimate goal of ensuring both economic self-sufficiency and a supply of qualified workers to their communities’ businesses. The SETC provides the guidance and technical assistance to support local WIBs’ efforts in conducting their work toward this goal.

© One-Stop Career Center System Quality and Evaluation: As the central delivery system for workforce programs and services, the quality of local One-Stop Career Centers is vital to the success of the State’s Workforce Investment System. The SETC defined standards to guide the development of New Jersey’s local One-Stop Career Center System, thereby ensuring a consistent level of quality services throughout the State.

© Workforce Delivery System Development and Evaluation: The SETC is responsible for overseeing the quality of the Workforce Investment System. It works with all stakeholders and Partners to ensure that the workforce system is accountable and supports the growth and development of New Jersey’s economy.

© Literacy for Families and the Workplace: A quality system of literacy services is recognized as one of the most fundamental strategies needed to build a quality workforce. The SETC continues to target as a major priority the development of programs and services that will build the literacy skills of children and adults, both in school and in the workplace.

© Youth Development: The SETC supports and guides the work of Youth Investment Councils (YICs), which are mandated committees of local WIBs. In this role, the Commission, along with its local Partners, has initiated a number of important projects to facilitate New Jersey’s young people in exploring the work world, identifying and accessing appropriate education and training resources, and preparing them to become self-sufficient adults.

© Diversity and Equity: Inherent in New Jersey’s workforce is an incredibly diverse population which requires differential attention to ensure parity in education, training, and the labor market. The SETC has launched several important research initiatives, programs, and policies that highlight the value of building on this diversity and identified ways to further strengthen the State’s economy.

CommiTTEE Structure

Carrying out many of these strategic priorities is the work of the SETC's Standing Councils, Committees and a highly professional staff led by Henry A. Plotkin, Executive Director. These Councils and Committees include:

¡ Executive Committee

¡ Council on Gender Parity in Labor and Education

¡ State Council for Adult Literacy Education Services

¡ Disability Issues Committee

¡ Public Sector Planning Committee

¡ Performance Evaluation Committee

¡ Governance Committee

Details on the initiatives carried out by these Councils and Committees are discussed in Sections 3 and 4 of the Handbook. In addition, summaries of the key work products and policy documents developed by these Councils and Committees are provided in Sections 4 and 8. Complete copies of most of these work products can be found on the SETC website at www.njsetc.net.

Key Events in the History of the SETC

New Jersey has a long history of being at the forefront of advancing workforce policies and programs as evidenced by the following:

© 1995: Executive Order #36 was executed and reaffirmed the SETC's leadership responsibilities to the Governor as the designer of a statewide master plan for workforce investment; it also established additional WIBs statewide.

© 1996: New Jersey received one of the country's first One-Stop Career Center implementation grants. New Jersey’s model later served as a central feature of the new federal Workforce Investment Act legislation enacted two years later.

© 2001: White Paper entitled New Jersey in Transition: The Crisis of the Workforce prepared, which defined the economic imperatives for realigning all of New Jersey's workforce investment programs—and ultimately became the framework for New Jersey's consolidation efforts.

© 2005: US Department of Labor required state plans that described the governor's policies and operational strategies for a demand-driven system and a fully integrated One-Stop delivery system. New Jersey was one of only four states that had already consolidated all major workforce investment programs and services at the State and local levels.