TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senator Sandra Bolden Cunningham that would commit a minimum allocation of $3 million from the Supplemental Workforce Fund for Basic Skills to the New Jersey Community College Consortium for Workplace and Economic Development cleared the Assembly today.
“It is important that we have a workforce that has the necessary skills for the jobs of today as well as the jobs of tomorrow,” said Senator Cunningham (D-Hudson). “With this further investment in the New Jersey Community College Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development, more qualified workers can be provided with the basic skills training that they need to succeed.”
The Supplemental Workforce Fund for Basic Skills, or SWFBS, is managed by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and provides funding for different programs within the state. A portion of the funding goes to the New Jersey Community College Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development. The funds are then allocated for the use of: basic skills training provided at one stop career centers, basic skills grants to individuals, grants to other consortia providing basic skills training, and expenses related to the administration of the fund as well as any other basic skills training and grant costs at the discretion of the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development.
S-3534 aims to require a minimum of $3 million to be annually deposited into an account for the consortium to use, an increase of almost $800,000. In addition, the bill would also expand the definition of basic skills within the context of the SWFBS to include new technology topics and topics for entry level managers.
The bill was approved by the Senate with a vote of 32-0 and the Assembly with a vote of 68-0, and now goes to the Governor.