Bill guarantees at least $3 million for basic skills training
(The Center Square) – Gov. Phil Murphy signed a measure to guarantee at least $3 million in annual funding for the New Jersey Community College Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development.
The money is from the Supplemental Workforce Fund for Basic Skills (SWFBS), which lawmakers established in 2001. Under state law, 13% of all money appropriated to the fund goes to the consortium, but that allocation has been less than $3 million in previous years.
According to a statement for A-3027/S-793, if the 13% still does not equal $3 million, the difference “would be transferred to the consortium account” from one of the other four SWFBS accounts.
“Since 2001, this program has provided training to more than 185,000 incumbent employees across over 11,000 employers with funding from the Supplemental Workforce Fund for Basic Skills,” New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) President and CEO Michele Siekerka said in a statement.
“These workers have received the basic skills training they need to advance in their careers and businesses have benefited from a more productive workforce,” Siekerka added. “This is why it is important that the commitment to this program remains and expands.”
This bill also expands the SWFBS definition of basic skills to include entry-level manager topics and “new technology topics.”
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