The state’s 18 community colleges and partners recently launched the Future Ready New Jersey Coalition, which includes leaders in education, business, workforce, philanthropy, and others dedicated to advancing economic mobility for every New Jerseyan.
NJCCC President Aaron Fichtner said the coalition’s goal was to shape state policies that prioritize education and workforce development to ensure more opportunities for New Jerseyans to earn postsecondary credentials of value that that lead to good jobs.
About a140 individuals representing education, businesses and employers, community-based and social justice organizations, nonprofit and charitable organizations, the public workforce system, researchers, librarians, and government, convened for the daylong event on Sept. 30 at Middlesex College. NJBIA is among the coalition’s founding partners.
The Future Ready New Jersey Coalition builds on the New Jersey Council of County Colleges’ (NJCCC) recently released Opportunity Agenda: A Collective Roadmap for Action and a Future Ready New Jersey, the Pathways to Career Opportunities Initiative, and New Jersey’s selection as one of 12 in the Lumina Foundation’s FutureReady States Initiative.
According to the Lumina Foundation, 59.3% of New Jersey adults in 2023 had a postsecondary degree or credential. The foundation ranked New Jersey 8th in the nation in the attainment of postsecondary educational credentials behind Washington State (59.5%), Connecticut (60.1%) Minnesota (61.7%), Utah (61.7%), Colorado (63%), Massachusetts (63%) and Washington, D.C. (70.4%).
Chauncy Lennon, Vice President for Learning and Work and Senior Strategy Advisor for the Lumina Foundation, said Lumina is investing in FutureReady States with the primary goal to promote increased attainment of short-term credentials with value in the labor market.
Maria Heidkamp, NJCCC’s Chief Innovation and Policy Officer, presented the data rationale for why New Jersey should adopt a new educational attainment goal of 75% of adults having postsecondary degrees and credentials of value by 2040. She said “of value” is defined as leading to jobs with salaries and wages that exceed the median earnings of a high school graduate by at least 15%.
Coalition members will have additional opportunities to engage in subgroups on data, program implementation, and policy development in the months ahead.
For information on joining the Future Ready New Jersey Coalition, contact Heidkamp at mheidkamp@njcommunitycolleges.org.
