Bill to Require Annual Report on State Workforce Approved by Assembly

TRENTON — Legislation sponsored by Assembly Democrats Bob Andrzejczak and Vincent Mazzeo to require the state Employment and Training Commission to prepare an annual report on the state’s workforce was approved 74-0 Thurs. by the Assembly.
The sponsors said the intent of the legislation is to ensure a comprehensive report is available for the Department of Labor to help establish a clearer picture of New Jersey’s workforce. This annual report can be shared with public entities, private enterprise and educational institutions.
The bill (A-3019) requires the state Employment and Training Commission to prepare, at least annually, a report that evaluates and projects the state’s workforce needs. It also directs the commission to use the resources and data of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education in preparing the report.
“This is a time of economic uncertainty and it is crucial that we continue to focus efforts on workforce training and education,” said Andrzejczak (D-Cape May/Atlantic/Cumberland). “We must make sure the state is moving in the right direction and doing all it can to meet the needs of our workforce.”
Under bill, the commission would encourage the use of the report by public and private institutions and organizations to evaluate, develop and plan new and existing workforce training and educational programs.
“These are the programs that help potential employees to prosper in the in a 21st-century job market,” Mazzeo (D-Atlantic). “An annual review of where we are will only help us to better align educational pathways to jobs and careers of the future.”
The report, at a minimum would include information that describes the state’s workforce needs, the number of individuals receiving the credentials necessary to meet the state workforce needs and the absence or shortages of workforce training and educational programs necessary to provide the credentials necessary to meet the state’s workforce needs.
The bill will now be referred to the Senate.