The New Jersey Transportation, Logistics, and Distribution (TLD) Talent Network held its official launch at the TLD Talent Network Roundtable, on November 24th, 2008, at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. The TLD Talent Network is a coalition of educational institutions, workforce development organizations, employers, and industry associations formed to ensure New Jersey employers have access to a highly skilled workforce in the state’s trucking, warehousing, distribution, logistics, port operations, and supply chain sectors. New Jersey’s TLD sector has tremendous job opportunities. The state is positioned as the entry point and staging area for 65% of the population of North America to receive goods and services within one day, and Port Newark/Elizabeth has the greatest cargo volume on North America’s east coast.

The Roundtable kicked off the TLD Talent Network’s efforts toward the development of a statewide, long-term collaboration to address workforce-specific issues in the industry, such as curriculum development, hiring and retention, and worker training. During the Roundtable, representatives from major TLD employers around the state, including Wakefern, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Staples, DP&C Enterprises, Maersk Logistics, and Port Jersey Logistics spoke on panels about their workforce challenges. Interactive discussions with the audience and several breakout groups led to the emergence of potential solutions for addressing these challenges.

The TLD Talent Network will incorporate the key themes and ideas that surfaced from the insightful dialogue of the Roundtable into a TLD Talent Network action plan. The plan will identify strategies for meeting priority workforce needs, including recommendations for new curriculum development and implementation, expanding incumbent worker training, strengthening career awareness, connecting low-income workers to opportunities, and linking economic development measures to workforce development.