COURT HOUSE – Whether Cape May County freeholders had Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” in mind April 12 is unknown. On that night, the board “took the one less traveled by,” and unanimously passed a resolution to join the Cumberland-Salem Workforce Development Board. State approval is needed.
The board may recite the poem’s last line in the future, “And that has made all the difference.”
Separation from Atlantic-Cape Workforce Development Board seemed a foregone conclusion since Freeholder Kristine Gabor became liaison in mid-2015. She and her department heads attended meetings of that body, and returned dissatisfied because the county believed it was not getting its share of funds allotted, thus job training results and employment, the program’s goal, were less than expected.
Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton had long voiced displeasure with the Atlantic-Cape Workforce Development Board. He believed minimal jobs resulted for county residents from the agency’s activities. He often recited, as he did April 12, the former county Job Connection, in 2006-2007, that was successful, and that was abruptly terminated and control removed from county oversight.
If approval is received from the state Department of Labor and state Employment and Training Commission, the goal is to establish, by July 1, the Cumberland-Salem-Cape May Workforce Development partnership.
County members on the Atlantic-Cape board would immediately serve in the new entity. That body would be the state’s second tri-county workforce development board, according to Dante Rieti, former director of the Cumberland-Salem board.
He said funds, channeled through Cumberland County as lead agency, would be left to the county to administer. That would be a benefit to Cape May County residents who need job training.
The result would be a “very workable option to improve the service to residents and business of Cape May County,” Rieti said, at the caucus. The enabling resolution was passed at the later regular meeting.
Accompanying Rieti was Allison Spinelli, executive director, Cumberland County Department of Workforce Development.
“It comes down to a few things,” said Rieti, “Visibility. Visibility creates awareness. When there’s awareness people have the ability to access. When people can access the system they get services. Quality services lead to good results, and results mean you’ll have a better prepared workforce, they will meet the labor needs of your local business community.”
“I was really taken with the last week’s meeting when I saw the Salem Cumberland County Workforce Development plan…it was just outstanding,” said Thornton. “Your program success is very good. I was impressed. I haven’t seen numbers like that in any years I can remember.”
“This is a tri-county effort that benefits everyone involved,” Gabor said. “I waited so long for him to be able to come here and talk about the success of this. I’ll be holding my breath until May 9 to make sure this is a done deal for sure.”
Approval by freeholder boards in Cumberland and Salem counties is required.
Power in Numbers
The partnership would unite three contiguous counties that share a western shoreline on Delaware Bay, and border Cumberland County. The combined land area is 1,067 square miles, about 15 percent of the state.
It would be the state’s second largest service area, the other being the Morris-Sussex-Warren entity, and would include three of seven counties in the Department of Labor’s Southern New Jersey Region.
A combined population of 320,246 with labor force of 153,800, and a total of 7,873 businesses.
The counties Industry Sector employment statistics include: health care and social services, retail trade, accommodations and food service and construction.
A draft proposal stated, “The partnership can be seen as a preferred arrangement in that it should result in enhanced labor exchange possibilities for both the job seeker and the employer community.”
Sub-Grantee Status
As a sub-grantee, Cape May County would be responsible for all program operations locally.
It would be responsible for limited administrative functions for county programs, as well as being the employing entity for staff.
Initial Target
Starting July 1, 2016, county funding would be targeted toward developing infrastructure, staffing and establishing base-line services. Enrollments after July 1, 2016 would be served by the county under the new partnership.
Persons being served under Atlantic-Cape W.D.B., prior to June 30, 2016, would continue to be served by Atlantic County.
More services would be phased in from July through December.
Proof of performance and fiscal integrity would be sent to the State Employment and Training Commission in early 2017.
The partnership “Would promote locally (county-based) managed and controlled service delivery that, once fully implemented, would enhance the job seeker’s awareness of and access to available workforce development services,” according to the draft.
The partnership would function as a “fair, equitable and business needs driven system that addresses the needs within the local labor market area and the South Jersey Regional Labor Market Area…”
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