NJBIA President & CEO Michele Siekerka tells New Jersey 101.5 radio’s David Matthau that some New Jersey businesses are having difficulty finding a ready workforce of middle-skilled workers because applicants lack the right training and certifications for today’s jobs.
The resulting paradox is that New Jersey has the lowest unemployment rate in years, yet many people who are no longer eligible to collect jobless benefits are still searching for work.
“We continue to have a challenge in the state of New Jersey in filling middle level skilled jobs because we do not have a ready workforce to fill those jobs,” Siekerka told Matthau. Part of the problem is the traditional approach is no longer working for everybody, she said.
“New Jersey, as we know, is a place that has a highly talented workforce: We have the most PhDs and engineers per square mile in the nation. But in building that highly skilled workforce, we’ve kind of forgotten about those middle-skilled workers along the way,” she said.
You can read the entire article on NJ1015 radio’s website here.
