II

Section 2.

A VISION FOR NEW JERSEY’S WORKFORCE investment system

New Jersey envisions a Workforce Investment System that is capable of serving well the needs and demands of the workforce and the workplace. In other words, New Jersey’s Workforce Investment System will address the need that New Jersey’s businesses have for a highly qualified workforce and also the rights of its citizens to be employed to their maximum potential so that both may have their place in an ever-changing and global marketplace.

New Jersey Unified State Plan, May 2005

A high wage, highly skilled workforce is paramount to the economic vitality of our State. To put it plainly, productivity is the key to generating wealth; a skilled workforce is the key to productivity. New Jersey faces an era of enormous change that is in some ways more profound than that of previous generations. Deep changes in the labor market have affected the skills demanded of the workforce, while reduced job security has put a premium on the ability of workers to adapt to these circumstances. New Jersey and the nation must rethink the way the workforce is trained to ensure that the skills of current workers keep pace with the demands of a competitive marketplace, and that individuals can attain the quality of life they have come to expect.

In adopting the New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission’s White Paper entitled New Jersey in Transition: The Crisis in the Workforce, New Jersey has fully embraced this reality and forged a vision for its Workforce Investment System that demands an aggressive and forward-thinking agenda. This agenda addresses the challenge of developing a highly-skilled and well-prepared workforce from two primary directions: 1) embracing a demand-side approach wherein the needs of employers drive the direction and priorities of the Workforce Investment System; and 2) centralizing resources and efforts of the State through a unified and integrated Workforce Investment System.

From this agenda, two overarching goals have emerged for the State’s Workforce Investment System:

From Vision to Action

This vision for New Jersey’s Workforce Investment System has guided the efforts of the SETC from its inception. It has played a key role in the development of the State’s consolidation planning process and ultimately the most recent Unified State Plan, approved by the United States Department of Labor in June 2005. It has also been the catalyst for the SETC’s strategic planning process and the development of eight strategic priorities (outlined in Section 1) designed to lead the SETC in accomplishing its vision and goals. Most importantly, the vision and strategic priorities, combined with the planning, policy development and advocacy efforts of the SETC, have resulted in systematic change in New Jersey’s Workforce Investment System.