NJBIA recently hosted its final Education and Workforce Development Committee Meeting of the year. Kai D. Feder, Chief of Staff at the New Jersey State Office of Innovation, and his team opened the meeting by updating the committee on the various priority projects and initiatives that the office will continue to work on in 2021.
New Jersey COVID-19 Information Hub – The platform was deployed at the start of the COVID-19 crisis to offer a definitive source of information for New Jersey businesses. The Business Info Hub also includes live-chat assistance, provided by the State’s Business Action Center, for businesses that have additional questions or require information clarifications.
Business First Stop (or business.nj.gov)— Designed as a multi-phase initiative, in the long term Business First Stop will: (1) create centralized digital resources that enable businesses to access information pertaining to State requirements and services relevant to them; (2) transition paper-based filings to a digital format and streamline processes for businesses to meet mandated regulatory and operational requirements; and (3) identify key modernizations of policy, law, and operations to create more efficient and effective interactions between businesses and the State.
New Jersey Career Network (NJCN) – The beta version of New Jersey Career Network was released in January and incorporates a modern, mobile-responsive website that will eventually guide job-seekers to career services and digital tools such as virtual coaching, lifelong learning opportunities, and career management tools, as well as an expert system to match job seekers and other users to the programs and services most relevant to them based on where they are in their job search journey.
NJCN guides job seekers through their day-to-day job search process in order to find a meaningful career by providing personalized structure, tools, resources, and access to interventions.
The second speaker of the committee meeting was Nicholas Toth, State Director for the Office of Apprenticeship at the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Toth discussed the importance of registered apprenticeship programs as a tool for workforce development initiatives. He also discussed funding sources available to businesses to launch apprenticeship programs and the impacts that a Biden-Harris administration will have on registered apprenticeships at large.
