Section 8.

STATE Plans, Strategic Plans, POLICY Reports and Publications

The following is a brief summary of the key plans, policy documents and white papers that have driven the work of the SETC over the last 10 years. Unless otherwise noted, these documents can be accessed on the SETC website at www.njsetc.net. For convenience, Executive Summaries of several of these documents have been attached.

State Plans and Strategic Plans

New Jersey One-Stop Workforce Investment System Unified State Plan

Drafted in 2005.

New Jersey’s Plan reaffirms the State’s commitment to its two overarching goals of establishing a unified Workforce Investment System and inculcating a demand-side approach to address workforce needs. It provides detailed information on the State’s approach to serving its business and job seeker customers, and describes a variety of local and State initiatives designed to develop a trained workforce to meet business skill requirements. It also includes an extensive discussion of New Jersey’s One-Stop Career Centers, its use of various workforce funding, and its performance measures and outcomes.

New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission Strategic Plan: Tomorrow and Beyond

Drafted in 2002. (See the attached Executive Summary well as the Progress Update on Key Goals which was shared with the Committee members in 2005.)

This Strategic Plan articulates the SETC’s mission and strategies for achieving the State’s vision, particularly in the areas of leadership, system building, One-Stop development and quality services. The plan articulates eight key strategic priorities (laid out in Section I) that drive the work of the SETC as well as strategies and specific work tasks for achieving these priorities.

New Jersey in Transition: The Crisis in the Workforce

White Paper drafted in 2001. (See the attached Executive Summary.) Also, see the Progress Update on Key Goals shared with Commission members in 2005.

The White Paper New Jersey in Transition: The Crisis in the Workforce articulates the economic imperatives for realigning all of New Jersey’s workforce investment programs and services into a high-performing Workforce Investment System. It identifies four primary strategies to better position New Jersey’s Workforce Investment System to meet the growing workforce challenges.

Strategic Five-year Unified State Plan For New Jersey’s Workforce Investment System

Drafted in 1999.

The Unified Strategic Plan developed the vision and comprehensive strategy for all workforce programs and services and how this strategy would be used to implement the newly enacted Workforce Investment Act.

A Unified State Plan for New Jersey’s Workforce Readiness System

Originally drafted in 1993 (Hard copy only), updated in 1996.

The Unified Plan served as a master document that established key principles and a framework for the establishment of the State and local WIB system in New Jersey. The 1996 update to the plan initiated the development of New Jersey’s One-Stop system. These plans, developed in cooperation with several State departments and with the input of private sector representatives, first articulated the Core Principles that have guided the work of the SETC. Embedded in this plan are the beginnings of the two overarching goals—a demand-side approach, and a unified and integrated system that the SETC has focus on achieving.

The Board and One-Stop system framework established in these plans had significant influence on how the U.S. Congress drafted the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, which requires every state to establish a similar Workforce Investment System.

Policy reports and publications

The SETC and its Committees have produced a number of additional documents addressing critical workforce development issues including:

Leveling the Playing Field: Removing Barriers for Women in New Jersey’s Employment and Training Programs

This report, developed by the Gender Equity Task Force, identifies barriers to the full participation of females and offers recommendations to remove those barriers. The eight recommendations detail specific steps for State and local agencies to ensure that equity and fairness are an integral part of the Workforce Investment System.

Adult Literacy in New Jersey: Meeting the Challenge of the 21st Century Hard copy only; please contact the SETC Office.

This report was developed in conjunction with the release of the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) report. The NALS report and the corresponding State Adult Literacy Survey outline the severity of the literacy problem at the State and national levels and clearly links literacy to earnings. Report recommendations are aimed at revitalizing programs and policies of the adult education and literacy systems and making them more relevant to the needs of today’s families and workforce.

Opportunity for All: Final Recommendations of the Work Group on Persons with Disabilities

The Work Group on Persons with Disabilities was formed to expand the conversation among public officials, advocates, parents, customers, and practitioners concerning philosophical and policy differences. The report defines the appropriate role of the employment, training, and education system and includes recommendations for restructuring the Workforce Investment System to better meet the needs of persons with disabilities. The recommendations focus on the connection and coordination of programs needed to improve the system.

Youth at Work: Making it in the Global Economy

The At-Risk Youth Task Force of the SETC concluded that a generation of young people is facing under-employment or unemployment as a result of the increased skill demands of the global economy. The recommendations in this report focus on the need to move toward an educational experience that offers students the chance to engage in a number of opportunities, including college, Tech-Prep, apprenticeship, or school-to-career initiatives. Additionally, the report urges that social service supports, like the nationally recognized School-Based Youth Services Program, be expanded.

Standing Corrected: Education and the Rehabilitation of Criminal Offenders

This report, developed by the Corrections Education Task Force, identifies strategies in the occupational education delivery system within correctional institutions and explains how to link these programs to the world of work. There are 37 recommendations in all, addressing issues of administration, inter-governmental cooperation, program development, juveniles, females, and transitions.

The Literacy Connection: Improving Adult Literacy in New Jersey

This report describes the existing delivery system while highlighting strategies to improve it. The report calls for State adult literacy providers to enhance accountability, expand the use of technology, coordinate across State and local entities, expand staff development, link school and workplace learning experiences, provide access to the world of work, expand gender awareness, and develop links between providers within the criminal justice system and those in the education system.

Balancing the Equation: A Report on Gender Equity in Education

This report focuses on the barriers to eliminating sex bias in the educational system. It is a companion document to the previous report, Leveling the Playing Field, which addressed the broader issues of equity and fairness within the Workforce Investment System. This report identified eight barriers and 31 recommendations that address non-traditional occupational programs.

Linking Education and the Workplace: An Imperative for New Jersey’s Economic Future

This report provides recommendations that are designed to ensure a strong, mutually beneficial relationship between the educational system and the needs of the State’s evolving labor market.

Additional Documents

Report and Plans from the State Council for Adult Literacy Education Services

¨ Preliminary Report on the Adult Literacy Funding and Delivery System (2002) (Hard copy only)

This report describes the delivery system for adult literacy services in 2002 and suggests changes to make it more effective. It was the basis for the consolidation of adult literacy funding and services into the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

¨ Three Year Professional Development Plan for the Adult Literacy Delivery System (2005)

This plan outlines the design for implementation of a high quality professional development system for adult literacy educators and One-Stop personnel to ensure that they have the skills to provide effective literacy services.

Reports from the New Jersey Council on Gender Parity in Labor & Education

¨ Finding a Healthy Balance: A Study of Gender Equity In New Jersey’s Healthcare Workforce (2004)

This report, a follow-up to the Council's report—Healthcare Workforce Outlook—The Nursing Shortage in New Jersey and the United States: Suggestions for Future Research and Policy (2003), suggests ways to increase the recruitment and retention of men and other underrepresented groups in the nursing profession.

¨ Engineering Their Futures: The Educational and Workplace Experiences of Female Engineers (2003)

This paper explores the reasons women choose to enter (and stay in) engineering occupations, and more specifically, what factors serve to encourage (and conversely, discourage) women from entering this nontraditional field.

¨ Health Care Workforce Outlook—the Nursing Shortage in New Jersey and the United States: Suggestions for Future Research and Policy (2003)

This report explores issues surrounding gender parity in health care, particularly in regard to the current nursing shortage.

¨ Choosing a Career: Labor Market Inequalities in the New Jersey Labor Market (2002)

This report examines the influence of gender on the career choices and ongoing career plans of individuals in New Jersey.

¨ Women at Work – Achieving Parity on the Job (2002)

This report explores the issues surrounding the experiences of women in five growing workplaces in New Jersey—building trades, financial services, health care, law, and technology.

¨ New Jersey Council on Gender Parity in Labor and Education: A Progress Report (2001)

This report describes the work of the Council on Gender Parity from its inception through 2001, including research, conferences and reports.

¨ Women and Work: Prospects for Parity in the New Economy (2001)

The issues surrounding the exclusion of women from science and technology careers and training opportunities are explored in this report and recommendations are suggested to remedy the situation.

¨ Bridging the Gap: Gender Equity in Science, Engineering and Technology (2001)

This report synthesizes the literature that the Council reviewed in its investigation of gender equity in science, engineering and technology. It explores the issues surrounding the exclusion of women from science, math, and technology educational programs and jobs.

Reports from the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University

¨ Findings from the Field: Early Findings of the New Jersey Online Learning Project for Single, Working-Poor Mothers (2003)

The report details preliminary findings on the success of a $500,000 USDOLETA grant awarded to New Jersey to determine whether on-line learning could effectively improve the skills of low-wage workers—specifically, working single mothers. Research indicated that the training was successful.

¨ Focus on Immigrants: Facts about the Foreign-Born Population in New Jersey (2003)

This paper describes key characteristics of and facts about New Jersey’s growing foreign-born population and their workforce needs.

¨ The Gender Gap in Pay—How are Women Faring? (2002)

This Research in Brief report examines the gender pay gap, delving as well into how other factors such as race and age influence women’s earnings.

¨ Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (2002)

Another Research in Brief report, this paper summarizes key findings on sexual harassment and details its effects on the workplace.

¨ Women in Science, Engineering and Technology: Equity in the 21^st Century (2002)

This paper provides a synopsis of some of the major reasons for the under-representation of women in science, engineering and technology occupations and suggests strategies for creating a more inclusive workforce.

¨ Women in the Workforce: Facts about Working Women (2002)

This paper describes key facts regarding women’s participation in the workforce and the barriers that they continue to face.

¨ Women in the Workforce: Facts about Occupational Distribution by Sex (2002)

This report describes the unequal distribution of men and women in specific occupational areas, detailing male and female-dominated careers.

New Jersey In Transition:

The Crisis of the Workforce

Executive Summary

Neither New Jersey nor the Nation has made the development, utilization and
growth of a skilled workforce a real priority. As a consequence, the skill
development of major segments of the population is being neglected and is
largely left to chance. We think the ramifications of this fact will have a
detrimental effect on the future of New Jersey’s economy. Simply put:
Workforce Development is Economic Development. Therefore, to neglect
workforce development is to neglect New Jersey’s economic future.

The workforce system can be seen as having three components: K-12, Higher
Education, and the Workforce Investment System. The Workforce Investment
System explicitly addresses the needs of the unemployed, incumbent workers,
school dropouts, welfare recipients, displaced homemakers, and a host of others,
in short, constituencies underserved by the other two components. The lack of a
State institution designed to focus on the skills and productivity of these
populations is a major impediment to economic growth in New Jersey. The
programs that serve these diverse constituencies are scattered among various
State Departments and administered in a fragmented and inconsistent manner.
This not only leads to poor program management, but also to unnecessary
additional costs.

We strongly urge New Jersey to transform the Department of Labor into the
Department of Labor and Workforce Readiness by adding critical new functions
and consolidating programs in the existing Department. Specifically all “to work”
programs should be transferred to this revamped Department. A sweeping
transformation of this Department will make it possible to spend money more
effectively, develop future strategies for the workforce, and tie workforce
readiness more closely to economic development. Creating strong workforce
investment programs that will provide employers with a trained workforce must
become a high State priority.

The gap between the demands of the labor market and the skills of the workforce
continues to widen. Nearly 40 percent of New Jersey’s adults function at a level
of literacy beneath that required by the labor market. Approximately 80 per cent
of those who receive food stamps or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
are at the lowest levels of literacy. In our urban school districts, between 40
percent and 60 percent of students drop out of school with reading levels well
below the ninth grade. This is especially troubling in an economy that richly
rewards the skilled and equally punishes the unskilled. Individuals who do not
receive the appropriate workforce training will be relegated to the ranks of the
working poor or, worse, be without work.

Other states have already made workforce investment a major priority and New
Jersey must follow a similar path in order to remain competitive. The most
effective states in the area of workforce and economic development are those
that focus on this issue and make it a clearly defined and understood public
priority.

Meeting the needs of the workforce presents an opportunity and challenge for
New Jersey’s leaders. A Governor and Legislature who make changes to
improve the quality of the workforce will confer a direct benefit upon a majority of
the population and a substantial portion of the business community.

Currently, the State spends some $14 billion on K-12 education, $2 billion for
higher education, and somewhere between $250 and $400 million for the
Workforce Investment System. This disparity in spending reflects the inattention
that has historically been paid to the needs of the present and future workforce.
Fair questions for any Governor or Legislator to ask are: Is our economy getting
the full benefit of this level of expenditure? Is New Jersey maximizing its return
on its educational investment?

To address these issues, we offer the following recommendations that are not
meant to be inclusive, but are designed to establish a broad policy direction for
the future:

1. The Governor and the Cabinet must make improving the quality of the
workforce a core value. There is no substitute for leadership. The
bureaucracy will respond to a clear and cohesive message, as will local
agencies once they are convinced of the seriousness of purpose of the
leadership. Such a message would find a resonance within the State
since few would disagree with the idea that our economic future hinges in
large part on the quality of our workforce.

2. New Jersey should transform the Department of Labor into the
Department of Labor and Workforce Readiness that would be responsible
for the integration of service delivery provided by all the “to work” funding
streams. Currently, “to work” programs are scattered among half a dozen
departments and administered in over 20 separate divisions of those
departments. The mission of this consolidated Department would be to
implement the policies developed under the broad authority of the
Governor. The State Employment and Training Commission (SETC)
would continue in its role of providing policy advice to the Governor.

3. New Jersey must make adult education and literacy a top priority. It is
estimated that nearly half of the current workforce lacks the skills to fully
participate in the growth sector of the economy. This “basic skills gap”
must be bridged through a concerted effort by the State and localities.
The State Council for Adult Literacy and Education Services’ State Plan
should include recommendations for more effectively articulating links
among the myriad of adult education providers throughout the State. At
the local level, Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) should be asked to
do the same for their communities.

4. The private sector must play a lead role in shaping workforce policy. New
Jersey must base its workforce preparation system on a demand side
strategy. That is, the direction of the Workforce Investment System must be
based on the skill sets demanded by the employer community. This
requires leadership from the employer community in communicating the
skills it needs to compete in a high-skill and high-wage environment. For
too long the employer and Workforce Investment System have been
operating with little reference to each other. And while there are individual
programs throughout New Jersey where communication is excellent, on the
whole the State lacks a cohesive and transparent system that provides for
the flow of information about the workforce skills required by the economy.
The Workforce Investment System must be organized so that the key
growth sectors of the economy – telecommunications, pharmaceuticals,
logistics, tourism, and manufacturing, et al. - can easily communicate their
needs and access the employment and training services. Simultaneously,
the needs of the entrepreneurial sector must be fully integrated into the
Workforce Investment System.

5. The quality and timeliness of labor market information must be improved.
New Jersey is gifted with a strong labor market research capacity inside the
Department of Labor. This asset must receive additional funding to assure
that its projections about the labor market can be more finely attuned to the
rapidly transforming labor market. To meet this goal, all relevant agencies,
including the Department of Labor, the Commission on Science and
Technology, the New Jersey Technology Council, Prosperity New Jersey,
and the Economic Development Authority, must collaborate with each other
to produce the highest quality and most timely labor market information
possible.

6. The connection between schools and the labor market must be
strengthened. We propose the following series of initiatives, the net result
of which will rebalance the system and address the academic and work
needs of students.

a. Enhance teacher education and training: A comprehensive teacher
education and professional development strategy that integrates
labor market concerns with education best practices and theory
must be developed.

b. Improve labor market expertise of the colleges: The State should
help establish centers for education and workplace connections
within the State’s colleges that bring together strategic thinkers
from the academic side and the workplace side to develop and pilot
promising ideas.

c. Support innovation: Create a program to fund and assist schools to
implement best practices in connecting schools with the labor
market, while ensuring high academic standards for student
achievement.

d. Establish State funding for programs to maximize school-to-work
opportunities: New Jersey received a five-year federal grant for this
purpose, which has now expired. The State should support the
continuation of this effort to assist students in making the transition
to the world of work. This would include reform of the curriculum
that would integrate the worlds of learning and of work.

e. Create an interactive website to assist the schools’ understanding of
the skills demanded and the opportunities available in the evolving
labor market. This sophisticated and interactive website would be
primarily targeted to the K-12 system, but useful to others as well.
The availability of such information would allow teachers, students,
school board members, parents, administrators, and others to
appreciate the remarkable diversity of jobs in the modern economy. It
would also help the schools make curriculum and counseling
decisions that would assist students and parents navigate the
complexity of both today’s and tomorrow’s labor markets.

f. Make Distance and On-Line learning readily available to upgrade
the skills of the State’s citizenry and provide the business
community with the human resources they need to meet the
challenges of a ruthlessly competitive and rapidly changing global
economy. As a beginning, we recommend the establishment of a
higher education consortium, led by the community colleges,
charged with developing new methods of instruction for teachers
and learners as well as innovative programs to directly link specific
training to employer needs.

g. Focus on assuring equal opportunity for all citizens to obtain the
skills they need to reach their full potential and have the opportunity
to succeed in the labor market. The State Employment and
Training Commission has issued major reports on persons with
disabilities and the problems women face in the education and job
training system and intends to extend this analysis to racial
minorities. To address these issues, the SETC will continue to
make assuring diversity and opportunity for all in the workplace
high priorities.

Conclusion

These policy directions are designed create a workforce policy framework for
New Jersey’s economic future. Clearly, there are other issues that need to be
addressed, but the ones enumerated will help a new Administration and
Legislature chart a decisive course of action that will send a clear message to the
business, labor and education communities. It will signal the fact that not only is
New Jersey “Open for Business,” but is prepared to support the workforce
necessary to sustain long-term economic growth. Millions of New Jerseyans
whose life chances are limited by their lack of skills await leaders with the vision
to provide them with the opportunity to succeed.

NEW JERSEY STATE EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING COMMISSION STRATEGIC PLAN: TOMORROW AND BEYOND

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Leading the way toward a finely tuned Workforce Investment System adapted to the demands of the labor market is the New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission (SETC), which formally began its journey in 1989 by an act of the State Legislature. The Commission’s work was further endorsed through the signing of Executive Order 36 in 1995, a major step in creating a workforce readiness “system” for New Jersey. The Commission’s work under this Executive Order served as a model for the development of federal legislation that ultimately became the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. The New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission has been designated the “state board” under that Act.

Responding to the mandate of federal legislation, the Commission waged a widespread outreach and communications campaign to all corners of New Jersey—from the business concerns of small employers in Warren County to the urban concerns of Essex and Camden Counties. The result of this extensive campaign was a bold set of workforce policies that are articulated in the Strategic Five-Year Unified State Plan for New Jersey’s Workforce Investment System.

To develop this Plan, the Chair organized a series of roundtable discussions, which uncovered key areas requiring consideration. Follow-up interviews were also conducted to ensure a complete picture. What emerged in the discussions was a need to focus the Commission’s work on the following major goals:

Create and implement the vision for New Jersey’s Workforce Investment System for tomorrow and beyond. A well-articulated and implemented vision will ensure that the employment, training and education systems are finely adapted to the demands of the labor market.

Create the framework for New Jersey to achieve a unified and responsive Workforce Investment System that is well prepared to meet the challenges of today and in the future. New Jersey’s future economic success in developing a high-skill, high-quality labor force able to produce the goods and services in demand by the marketplace requires an effective Workforce Investment System that meets the demands of the employers and current and future workers.

Assist local Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) to transition from their current status into high performing Workforce Investment Boards. New Jersey will enable all WIBs to accomplish the important task of matching the needs of the workforce with the demands of the labor market.

Develop a vision for the Workforce Investment System that embraces a comprehensive approach to literacy. New Jersey has long held that attainment of basic skills and functional literacy is fundamental to success in the workforce and will develop and implement policies to make this a reality.

Establish literacy as a minimum competency for all workforce programs. New Jersey will develop processes and systems that allow its citizens to obtain core knowledge and skills they need to effectively carry out their roles as parents, citizens, and workers.

Create and promote a vision for preparing youth for successful transition into adulthood and the workforce. New Jersey will create a system that enables all youth to enter into the workforce and obtain jobs that provide a living wage.

Create and promote a vision for leveling the workplace “playing field” that ensures diversity and parity for all citizens. New Jersey will create a common ground on which education, employment and training programs are fully accessible to all populations including gender parity for women and girls.

Create an evaluation system that assesses the effectiveness and performance of the entire Workforce Investment System. New Jersey will have quantifiable performance standards for evaluating employment, training and education programs.

The challenge now before the Commission is to translate this vision into action to meet the mandates of the Workforce Investment Act and the doctrine of the Strategic Five-Year Unified State Plan for New Jersey’s Workforce Investment System. Just as compelling is the need for the Commission to see over the next hill to understand the shape of New Jersey’s future economic landscape. It must continually assess the needs of the workforce and direct its work in the context of the long-term future. The Commission must also communicate that vision to the entire Workforce Investment System and create pathways through public policy that enable the system to meet future workforce needs.

This Strategic Plan keeps the Commission's challenge in the forefront as it sets forth an ambitious agenda. At the helm is Commission Chair John J. Heldrich, who has led the Commission over the past twelve years in its mission to build an effective and high quality Workforce Investment System that encompasses all institutions, agencies and programs that educate, train, and employ people.

The plan that follows describes the structure of the Commission and articulates the strategic and key actions required to achieve its goals. It presents a plan for Commission action to realize New Jersey’s vision to remain a prosperous society where its residents earn a decent wage and achieve a high standard of living, thereby continuing to make New Jersey a first-rate place to live, work, and raise a family.

Progress Update on key goals in the strategic plan 2005

Create and implement the vision for New Jersey’s Workforce Investment System for tomorrow and beyond.

A well-articulated and implemented vision will ensure that the employment, training and education systems are finely adapted to the demands of the labor market.

Strategy: White Paper

Create the framework for New Jersey to achieve a unified and responsive Workforce Investment System that is well prepared to meet the challenges of today and in the future.

New Jersey’s future economic success in developing a high-skill, high-quality labor force able to produce the goods and services in demand by the marketplace requires an effective Workforce Investment System that meets the demands of the employers and current and future workers.

Strategies: White Paper

Statewide Stakeholder Meetings both prior to and

midpoint into the first year of the Consolidation of Programs

Bi-monthly meetings of LWD, DHS and DOE

Assist local Workforce Investment Boards to transition from their current status into high performing Workforce Investment Boards.

All WIBs will be enabled to accomplish the important task of matching the needs of the workforce with the demands of the labor market.

Strategies: Local Planning Process for Integration of WIA

Monthly WIB Directors and One-Stop Operators Meeting

Demand Side Study

Business Resource Centers

Develop a vision for the Workforce Investment System that embraces a comprehensive approach to literacy.

New Jersey has long held that attainment of basic skills and functional literacy is fundamental to success in the workforce and will ensure that this becomes a reality.

Strategy: State Council for Adult Literacy Education Services

Three-Year Professional Development Plan

Establish literacy as a minimum competency for all workforce programs.

New Jersey will ensure that its citizens are able to obtain core knowledge and skills they need to effectively carry out their roles as parents, citizens, and workers.

Strategies: Implementation of Equipped for the Future (EFF) Core

Standards in New Jersey

Development of a National Work Readiness Credential

Currently scheduling training for the trainers of EFF

Create and promote a vision for preparing youth for successful transition into adulthood and the workforce.

New Jersey will create a system that enables all youth to enter into the workforce and obtain jobs that provide a living wage.

Strategies: NJ NextStop Website

Demand Side Study

Apprenticeship Program

Create and promote a vision for leveling the workplace “playing field” that ensures diversity and parity for all citizens.

This will create a common ground on which education, employment and training programs are fully accessible to all populations including gender parity for women and girls.

Strategies: Council on Gender Parity in Labor and Education

Reports on the Healthcare Workforce and the

Workplace Experiences of Female Engineers

Establishment of a Disabilities Issues Committee

One-Stop Accessibility Checklist

Project Access

Create an evaluation system that assesses the effectiveness and performance of the entire Workforce Investment System.

New Jersey will have quantifiable performance standards for evaluating employment, training and education programs.

Strategies: Evaluation Committee

Chartering Criteria

Eligible Training Provider List

Consumer Report Card

WDP Evaluation by the Heldrich Center

Camden Evaluation