On December 11, 2008, more than 50 top employers, educators, and New Jersey state officials met at the Heldrich Center to explore ways to better align education and training programs with changing workforce skill needs. The interactive session generated important ideas for strengthening business-education partnerships throughout New Jersey and nationwide.

Dr. Aaron Fichtner, Heldrich Center Director of Research and Evaluation, and Senior Project Manager Jennifer Cleary summarized a decade of research into the emerging skill requirements of high-skill, high-wage jobs. Click here to download a copy of their overview on emerging skill needs. They described how many industries now demand upgraded basic skills from workers at every level, including adaptability, information management, interdisciplinary technical and business, and project management skills, and greater knowledge of science, math, and technology.

The audience heard how the State of New Jersey was working to make the public sector more responsive to fast-changing industry skill needs. Speakers included Commissioner David Socolow of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Commissioner Lucille Davy of the New Jersey Department of Education; Jane Oates, Executive Director of the State Commission on Higher Education; and Verizon New Jersey President Dennis Bone, who now chairs the State Employment and Training Commission.

Audience feedback from the session will help shape a coordinated 2009 action plan for New Jersey educators and employers to work together to publicize the latest skill requirements.