New Jersey Community Colleges and Partners Launch the NJ Pathways to Career Opportunities Initiative to Align Education to the Changing Needs of Employers

Four Industry Collaboratives and 10 Centers of Workforce Innovation Established with Support of the State Budget

December 16, 2021, Trenton, New Jersey – The New Jersey Council of County Colleges (NJCCC) and the New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA) kicked off the live launch of the New Jersey Pathways to Career Opportunities Initiative via Zoom to a group of more than 100 partners. A video that serves as a call to action for partners to join was played during the virtual conference where members of the legislature, leaders in education, and business leaders spoke about the critical need of the initiative to strengthen New Jersey’s economy, particularly following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This is a new day for New Jersey’s economy. With business and education working together in new and innovative ways, we will ensure New Jersey has the most skilled, innovative, and well-educated workforce in the country. We ask that educational institutions, businesses, community and workforce organizations, and others join with us in this important work,” said Dr. Aaron Fichtner, President of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges.

The Initiative, which is supported in New Jersey FY2022 state budget, will commence with a statewide in-person and virtual convening on January 19, 2022 at Middlesex College in Edison, New Jersey. More on the initiative can be found at:  https://njpathways.org/.

“New Jersey’s Community Colleges thank Governor Murphy, Senate President Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Coughlin, and key legislative leaders for investing in our educational system which will expand economic opportunity for more New Jerseyans and strengthen partnerships with employers to grow the State’s economy,” added Dr. Fichtner, the former Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development who is a recognized thought leader in workforce development and higher education.

New Jersey’s Community Colleges and NJBIA are leading this unprecedented collaborative effort to address the rapidly changing needs of employers. Businesses, industry associations, chambers of commerce, labor unions, workforce development boards, state government, community-based organizations, adult literacy training providers, vocational technical high schools, private career schools, 4-year colleges and universities will come together to provide students and workers with the education and career pathways that respond to the needs of employers in the state’s key industries.

Through this initiative, New Jersey’s 18 agile and innovative Community Colleges will lead in the pandemic recovery and secure a brighter future for all New Jerseyans. Community Colleges are uniquely rooted in their local communities and have the statewide reach of few other institutions. NJBIA, the state’s largest employer organization, is uniquely positioned to ensure that the needs of employers are clearly communicated to the state’s educational institutions and partners.

“NJ’s Pathways to Career Opportunities Initiative will position the state to recover from this public health and economic crisis by building strong industry-driven education and training pathways that will be the foundation of the state’s economy for years to come; developing a skilled workforce that can adapt to the changing economy; and providing adults the opportunity to obtain new skills and careers,” added Catherine Frugé Starghill, Esq., Senior Director of Strategy and Workforce Partnerships, New Jersey Community College Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development.

This effort will be led by four statewide Collaboratives focused on four industries that are the foundation of the state’s economy: (1) health services; (2) technology and innovation; (3) infrastructure and energy; and (4) manufacturing and supply chain management. These Collaboratives will gather high-quality intelligence on the changing needs of employers and will create a vibrant education and workforce ecosystem. Ten Centers of Workforce Innovation, led by community colleges with other education and workforce partners, will join together to build pathways with aligned curriculum shared across educational partners to serve the learning lifespan of students and workers.

The New Jersey Community Colleges are proud to announce the following Community Colleges are partnering in the Centers of Workforce Innovation. Additional education and workforce partners will be added to each Center in 2022.

HEALTH SERVICES

Patient Care

• Bergen Community College
• Passaic County Community College
• Mercer County Community College
• Rowan College of South Jersey
• Union County College

Healthcare Tech & Administration

• Atlantic Cape Community College
• Camden County College
• Brookdale Community College
• Essex County College
• Warren County Community College

INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Data Science

• Brookdale Community College   
• Middlesex College
• Camden County College        
• County College of Morris

Cybersecurity

• Ocean County College
• Raritan Valley Community College
• Rowan College at Burlington County

Programming & Software Development

• Essex County College
• Middlesex College

Research & Development

• Bergen Community College
• Ocean County College
• Middlesex College
• Warren County Community College

INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY

Renewable Energy

• Atlantic Cape Community College
• Bergen Community College
• Rowan College of South Jersey

Construction

• Hudson County Community College
• Rowan College of South Jersey

MANUFACTURING AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Manufacturing Production & Engineering

• Camden County College
• Raritan Valley Community College
• County College of Morris
• Sussex County Community College

Supply Chain Logistics

• Hudson County Community College
• Rowan College at Burlington County
• Union County College
• Warren County Community College

About the New Jersey Council of County Colleges

The New Jersey Council of County Colleges (NJCCC) works to strengthen and support New Jersey’s 18 Community Colleges that now enroll more than 300,000 people each year in credit, non-credit, and workforce development courses at more than 70 campuses throughout the state. More than 200,000 students – more than half of all undergraduate students in public colleges and universities in the state – are enrolled in credit credential and degree programs at New Jersey’s Community Colleges. The Community Colleges also enroll nearly 100,000 students in non-credit programs and partner with thousands of businesses to meet their training and workforce needs. The New Jersey Community College Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development is an organization formed under the NJCCC to expand partnerships to train and educate New Jersey residents for careers.

​The primary goal of New Jersey’s 18 Community Colleges is to meet the ever-changing educational needs of our great state’s residents.  To learn more about NJCCC and New Jersey’s Community Colleges, go to njccc.org. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube to learn more about our latest programs and initiatives.

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Media Contact: Karla Roth-Bardinas
Think Media Communications
[email protected]
732-996-9789 (cell)