NJ Pathways Repository
Glossary
Centers of Workforce Innovation are work groups of cross education sector partners that build connected education and training pathways from high schools to community colleges to four-year colleges and universities, and include workforce development training as well as academic education focused on occupations within an industry. The Centers build connected education pathways that ensure that along one’s journey to credential and degree attainment in New Jersey there are multiple on-ramps and off-ramps and no dead-ends for students, adult learners, and workers when it comes to any training or education they invest their time.
Centers Education Partners include high schools, community colleges, four-year colleges/universities, labor unions, community-based training providers, adult literacy training providers, and private career school that align education and workforce training curriculum and program statewide based on the changing economy and labor market trends gathered from the Collaboratives. The Centers Education Partners meet monthly.
Industry Action Team is comprised of business leaders and human resource professionals who posses an understanding of the particular skills and competencies needed for industry careers and professional mobility. This team is actively engaged with the Centers and provides guidance and feedback on curriculum. The Industry Action team meets monthly or less to support the centers.
Industry Leadership Team is comprised of executive level business, industry association, and labor union leaders who discuss the changing workforce needs of the industry an identify education and workforce training challenges and solutions. The team demonstrates a commitment to the states’s workforce needs. The industry Leadership Team meets quarterly.
A Pathway Connection refers to the linkage between stages, steps, or elements within an education and workforce training pathway that connects from one education sector to another to ensure a seamless transition from high school (career awareness and dual enrollment) to community college (credit and non-credit), apprenticeship, prior-learning assessments of non-credit to credit, between community colleges, to experiential learning opportunities, to community-based training, to adult learning and literacy, to four-year colleges and universities, to faculty/instructor professional development, and to student pilots of career awareness workshops, apprenticeships, dual enrollment, credentials and degree programs, as well as workforce training. These connections provide continuity as individuals progress through their educational and career journeys.