The Hudson County Schools of Technology is one of six school districts in New Jersey receiving pre-apprenticeship grant funding from the state, in this case $100,000, to create partnerships businesses and/or labor trade associations.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“The goal of Jobs NJ is to close the gap between the needs of employers and the skills of prospective employees,†GOv. Phil Murphy (D) said in a statement.
“The ExPAND grant aligns with that vision, providing young people with the training and education they need for high-demand jobs.â€
On January 15th, Murphy unveiled Jobs NJ, a statewide strategy designed by key state agencies to better align the state’s workforce to high-growth job opportunities.
The ExPAND, which stands for the Expanding Pre-Apprenticeship in a New Direction, grant supports a key element of the Jobs NJ initiative: To provide more opportunities for residents to gain the skills they need for high-quality jobs.
“We often talk about providing options and opportunities that allow high-school graduates to move on to successful careers, even if they choose not to go to college,†added state Commissioner of Education Dr. Lamont Repollet.
“These kinds of partnerships with school districts, industry and higher education can give young people the real-world experience they need for success after high school.â€
The six districts receiving the ExPAND grants will partner with an employer, business/industry association, or a labor/trade organization to create pre-apprenticeship programs in a high-demand industry.
In addition, each of the districts will partner with postsecondary institutions to provide college credits for related technical instruction or the on-the-job training component of the pre-apprenticeship program.
Furthermore, each of the districts will create pre-apprenticeships in one of the career and technical education (CTE) programs or programs of study they currently offer that have been identified by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development as an “industry of focus.”
Those industries are construction and energy, finance, health care, leisure and hospitality, life science, manufacturing, retail trade, technology, and transportation, distribution and logistics.
Ultimately, the pre-apprenticeship program will prepare high-school students, after graduation, to transition to an apprenticeship program that is registered by the United States Department of Labor.
In some cases, the pre-apprenticeship grant may credit the student with time toward an apprenticeship program, such as a year toward a four-year apprenticeship.
The partners for the HCST are Hudson County Community College, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Eastern Millworks, and Drape Kings.
The other five districts receiving ExPand grants are the Somerset County Vocational and Technological Schools, West Orange Public Schools, Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District, the Salem County Vocational Technical Schools, and the Wildwood City School District.
