| “Workforce development is a major issue in the state, but there is no cohesive plan to tackle our challenges.”
New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation President Donna Custard was one of 35 nationwide to be named to an “elite” workforce development panel focusing on solving major education and workforce issues, the N.J. Chamber announced today.
Members of the ‘Elite Cohort,’ part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Business Leads Fellowship Program, will be trained to become workforce champions in their communities, and help better connect education systems and students to workforce needs and opportunities.
“Workforce development is a major issue in the state, but there is no cohesive plan to tackle our challenges,” Custard said. “My goal is to bring best practices from around the country to New Jersey so that we can tackle our workforce development needs.”
New Jersey has the overall highest ranked schools in the nation. However, the business community sees a disconnect because many employers continue to have a hard time finding qualified workers, Custard said.
Custard was invited to serve in the Cohort program based partly on her accomplishments in implementing education and workforce initiatives in New Jersey, and her previous involvement with U.S. Chamber Foundation initiatives. Custard and the N.J. Chamber of Commerce Foundation team recently earned national recognition for their ‘Jobs for New Jersey’s Graduates‘ program, which places high school students, once considered at-risk for dropping out of school, in full-time jobs, the military or post-secondary education.
The Cohort meets for the first time in January, 2020, in Miami. There have been three previous Cohorts of Fellows, but this is the first Elite Cohort for the U.S Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
For more info on the program, click here.
About the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation
The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation supports current and future members of the workforce in becoming globally competitive, successful members of society, and fuels New Jersey’s economy by sustaining a qualified workforce.
For more information, visit www.njchamberfoundation.org |
