Dive Brief:
- New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has announced plans to create a path to state residents to pursue high-skilled careers through paid training programs that also could award college credit.
- The governor has proposed $10 million for the New Jersey Apprenticeship Network in his 2019 budget, and the state says it also will seek out industry and corporate partners.
- Funds will be administered by the state's labor department's Workforce Development Partnership Program, and the governor's budget also includes $34.5 million for new and expanded programs from that division.
Dive Insight:
While stakeholders test various approaches to solving the skills gap, the federal government is betting on apprenticeships. And some states and employers are following suit.
New Jersey is latest to do so, and the fact that the state's program was announced at a carpentry training center may signal that construction and related fields may be a focus. In the wake of a devastating hurricane season last year, many training programs for carpenters and construction workers were fast-tracked. But even as recovery efforts have waned, the need for skilled workers has not. Similarly, major retailers in the home improvement industry, like Lowe’s and Home Depot, are providing training, mentoring and placement for employees to create a steady stream of workers for their contractor offerings.
Additionally, recent research suggests the move toward apprenticeships could reach industries that don't currently use such programs. According to research from Harvard Business School’s Project on Managing the Future of Work and labor market analytics firm Burning Glass Technologies, employers in the U.S. have room to consider a wide variety of occupations for apprenticeships, possibly chipping away at the skills gap.
