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Welcome to HUDco Radio. I'm Jim Canelli.
Anyone paying attention these days

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understands that the work world is
undergoing a revolution. Globalization,

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automation, the explosion of machine
learning, better known as AI, all

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present significant opportunities and
challenges for workers, especially

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low-skilled workers, and the agencies
that support them. here in Hudson

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County. That agency is our workforce
development board.

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Today, we're joined by the board's new
executive director, Sharita Brown, to

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discuss the role of the Hudson County
Workforce Development Board in our

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fastchanging employment landscape.
Executive Director Brown, thank you for

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joining us.
>> Thank you, Jim, for having me.

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» Let's start with with you. Let's start
out with you. Uh you've uh taken on this

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position in the last year. Tell us a
little bit about yourself and uh what

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attracted you to the job.
So, Jim, I'm actually retired from the

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New Jersey Department of Labor after
serving 25 years as a civil servant. I

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worked with the one-stop um career
center basically for the 25 years um in

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and out as a manager for the last 10
years and then prior to that I was the

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business service rep for the state of
New Jersey but I was assigned to Hudson

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County first and so here I am. what are
the particular challenges our workforce

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here in Hudson County especially our
lower skilled workforce what are the uh

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what kind of work uh force challenges do
they face today? So right now we are

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looking at the lowerkilled individuals
dealing with high cost and living. Of

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course we know Hudson County is probably
one of the highest uh living uh areas in

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the state. Uh automation, we're dealing
with that. And then there's a skills

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mismatch for local jobs uh with the high
cost of living. Um, we are dealing with

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low wages and so the high cost of
housing, the daily expenses in Hudson

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County, it places a a pressure on lower
wage earners and so it's forcing them to

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work multiple jobs and uh commute long
distances. Um in reference to the

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automation uh there's a a huge skill gap
especially with the advancement of

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technology with uh AI robotics uh these
challenges are a lot uh creating jobs

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that we are not actually ready to uh as
far as the the skill sets have not been

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developed and we're haven't been
trained.

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And so that is creating uh skills roles
that are obsolete and uh so we need to

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increase the digital literacy for our
workers.

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Child care transportation is also an
issue for lower skilled workers. They

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struggle to have reliable transportation
to get to jobs and then finding

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affordable child care. So those are the
major uh issues that we're faced with

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right now.
>> Well, let's talk a little bit about how

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the workforce development board seeks to
address these kinds of challenges. What

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is the role of the board in trying to
address some of that?

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So in reference to the board's
challenges or uh addressing those

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challenges,
the board acts as a strategic

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group uh body that will look at the
local labor market information and then

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coordinate public and private sectors to
align with training

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training job seekers to meet the demands
of the employers.

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Now, what are some of the policies and
programs that the board uh will

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emphasize based on its analysis of the
label uh excuse me, the local uh labor

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market data that you're you're seeing
because I know that you I'm correct in

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this that um the workforce development
board engages with um you know like

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statistical analysis of data and stuff
like that. Correct.

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» Absolutely. Um with that we are looking
at the we're pivoting based on the the

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data that is uh the labor market
information that is being given to us.

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We're pivoting towards the high growth
sectors and skill-based pathways. So for

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us in this region, we're looking at
dealing with um increasing the digital

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literacy again in reference to AI
because technology is extremely high

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here in in Hudson County. Uh the data
reveals that a significant digital gap

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among lowerkilled residents. Uh you
know, we're we're trying to increase

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that. So we are shifting away from the
general educational

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uh certifications that we have normally
been um driving everyone to or

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encouraging individuals to look at and
now we're gearing them or encouraging

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them to take a look at the areas of
growth uh here in Hudson County.

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Another area uh that we're pivoting to
is

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the film industry right now because
there is a increase in our region for

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production houses that are growing. You
have here uh in Hudson County, Paramount

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in Newark, you have Lionsgate, and then
soon you'll have Netflix in Mammoth

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County. Uh so we are already geared up.
Uh one of our partners in our system,

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Hudson County Community College, already
has a program that's geared for that and

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it's the New Jersey Film Academy. So
we're looking to increase our presence

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in the educational
uh system. We're we're trying to make

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that make it match the needs of what's
happening in the industry uh in the

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region and then helping to prepare our
job seekers for these new uh job

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opportunities.
>> Now I know you also engage um local uh

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employers. I mean some of them I think
are on the board. I wonder um what the

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feedback you get from local employers
kind of does in terms of informing or

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shaping board policy. What are you
hearing from employers and how does the

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board you know react to when you know
when you get this kind of feedback?

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Yes, we we do we have um we have a
number of employers already on our board

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and so we listen to them because
definitely they are in touch with what's

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happening in the industries in the
various industries and so as not only do

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we have the
our board members but we also have a

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level of stakeholders within our
community that we are working with we

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have
uh direct

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uh meetings with a lot of the employers
to find out and hear what they're

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looking for in reference to the job
seekers. Uh, interesting enough, one of

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the main comments that we're receiving
or we have received is that

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individuals are lacking the soft skills.
And I think because of technology, it's

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actually
not only is it it's advancing, but then

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the human side that we are normally uh
that we would normally put the effort

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forward, we're losing.
>> I see. So you're saying, say, for

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example, I'm a job seeker. I should walk
in, shake hands, look my employer in the

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eye, and say, it's good to see you
today, ma'am, sir. But in a world where

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everyone's texting or online, those
skills are slipping away a bit, you're

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hearing. Is that true?
>> Absolutely. The the communication skills

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is lacking in reference to the
interpersonal as well as even on the you

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would think on the basic level even with
the written communication individuals

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are constantly abbreviating through text
messaging. So even the actual, you know,

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sentence structure are things that are
that are lacking. So when it's time for

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them to communicate via email,
that's that's an issue as well.

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» Well, let me let me ask you about that
to follow up. Um, so how does the board

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uh with its various, you know, with it
various programs, outreach efforts and

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all partnerships, how do you address
something like that? I think everybody

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across the country, maybe in the world
these days, in my own house with my

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kids, um, we are all struggling with
that. So, what's some of the board's

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approaches or ones that you maybe are in
the process of developing to try to help

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the clients you deal with, the the the
workers who need your assistance? What

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are some of the things you're trying to
do to help that or change that?

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» So, what we do is we will partner up
with some of our local

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training providers in addition to our uh
community college. Again,

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we bring everyone to the table, have the
conversation so that everyone is aware

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and then we provide those types of
programs. will implement those types of

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programs within our training programs
themselves. The the complete you know

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knowing uh including
the soft skills because that's that's

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you know if as we're listening to the
employers and they're sharing this

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information we want to make the
adjustment and try to assist because

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everyone is not receiving the same type
of instructions at home.

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» Oh absolutely. You know, it's
interesting when you start to talk about

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um uh implementing these these concepts.
I suppose a lot of folks who are not,

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you know, directly involved in things
like, you know, maybe as business owners

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or employers might not be familiar with
Hudson County's uh um in employment and

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training one-stop center. Um that's
probably where a lot of the where the

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rubber meets the road in terms of what
the workforce development board tries

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to, you know, you know, bring to these
workers we support. I wonder if you

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could talk a little bit about what the
one-stop center is um for employment and

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training. Um where it is, what it does,
and also I suppose who qualifies. I know

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there's various categories and uh
whether it's um you know it could be you

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know a veteran or it could be a certain
age or an income group, but if you could

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just talk a little bit about how the
employment and training onetop serves

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folks um in Hudson County.
>> Absolutely. So, the Hudson County Onetop

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Career Center is located at 438 Summit
Avenue and we in Jersey City. It

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consists of uh the New Jersey Department
of Labor staff with unemployment

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members. Most people unfortunately find
out about the services through the

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unemployment system. So usually that's
the it's a be the best kept secret the

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system itself but that's usually the
entry point where people find us.

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So you have the unemployment system or
unit, you have the employment unit, and

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then we have our other partners that are
uh division of vocational

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rehabilitation,
which supports individuals that may have

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disabilities or challenges to get back
into

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the workforce environment.
We also have a veterans unit. We have a

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d uh excuse me educational literacy
programs as well as the youth

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specialized programs. So we have uh
representation in the onetop with

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jobcore. We have representation with our
youth program with Hudson County School

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of Technologies. And then we also have
representation from human services. uh

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we have a representative on a weekly
basis there to also service our

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customers as they're coming through if
they need other supportive services. Let

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me ask you, if I'm a client typically,
what's going to happen to me if I walk

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through the door? How how would that how
would it how would that how would that

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experience? I'm sure it depends on my
background, but how would intake until I

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reach hopefully employment go? What
would be kind of the broad steps if I

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was uh someone who was using the onetop
center?

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» So, you would come into the enter in
>> right

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» once you actually
they will ask you because we have a

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triage desk. So they'll ask you what
you're here for.

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A lot of times people they may think one
issue but then find out that there's

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multiple issues. So the first step would
be to complete a registration form. Once

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they complete that registration form
then they would see a employment

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counselor. Once they see the employment
counselor then that person would then

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help to find out and assess what their
needs are.

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If there is any additional weak needs
that they may have that they are not

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aware of by we we will give them an
assessment through the assessment then

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we'll find out exactly where we need to
actually send them. So there may be an

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issue with literacy.
Then that person may then be referred to

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one of our vendors or training partners
to for basic skills. They'll be tested

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for that. Then they would be referred.
Maybe that person is looking to get into

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a specialized training program. Again,
all of this there's an assessment

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attached. Then they're referred to an
actual training provider. They actually

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what happens is they're given multiple
choices based on their preference. And

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let's say for instance, if they're
looking for accounting, the case manager

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or employment counselor would assess
where they're going to go and then give

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them the options of maybe three to
choose because it's really customer

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preference as to where they're going.
Once they make that selection, then the

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process as far as training would then
begin for them. Now as far as financial

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responsibility
which is key

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if the individuals are collecting
unemployment usually unemployment will

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help to provide that that would qualify
them to receive training. If the person

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is not collecting unemployment,
we still have funding available because

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that person may just need to upgrade
their skills to be more marketable in

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their profession or a new profession.
And then there's another opportunity for

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those individuals who are on Work First
New Jersey receiving TANNIF or SNAP

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benefits. There's another training
opportunity for those individuals as

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well. And again, this is all through the
system and we're all working together.

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So once that person has been identified
where they want to go, that's what the

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the training process would look like.
>> And this dates and this kind of all this

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kind of flows out of what happened in
the 1990s where there was a connection

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between welfare, unemployment benefits,
and then moving you to being able to be

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career or job ready. Is that the idea?
Essentially, that's the that's that

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that's what's really happening in and
the good thing I suppose for our

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listeners to understand if they know
someone who might be in need of these

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services is they're government services.
So, they're free to anyone who walks

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through the door essentially. Is that
correct?

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» Correct.
>> Okay. Let's talk a little bit about um

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uh how you measure the effectiveness of
the board's efforts. Now, as executive

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director, you know, you ultimately, I
suppose, are sort of the person who has

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to see how things are, you know, are
working. And I know obviously um it's

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always a work in progress because the
challenges that we've talked about have

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changed but I wonder is it as simple as
kind of looking at the unemployment data

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or in terms of kind of the core internal
data that you guys develop when you are

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looking at x number of clients went
through the door x number of clients

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have found employment over during the
period say you know I know it's a

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fiveyear period for example with welfare
benefits um what are kind of the ways

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you measure measure your own success
when you have to then go back to the

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state or the federal government and say
this is working this isn't.

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» So our effectiveness is measured through
a combination of federal performances

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um indicators and that the data is
driven by. Um for us we measure uh the

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job driven system which requires
a combination of our residents and the

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the businesses. So for our major
programs it's the federal WEOA

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performance indicators.
uh that is the uh and wea stands for

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workforce in innovation and opportunity
act. So, we're held accountable based on

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the outcomes that our participants are
going through, the the the programs that

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they're going through, and we have to
negotiate

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that with the New Jersey Department of
Labor annually based on, you know, our

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what what we're seeing in our area
versus what the state may may have. So,

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we're looking at the employment rate,
which is the percentage of participants

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employed in uh the second and third and
fourth quarters. Uh after exiting a

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program, uh we're looking at the median
earnings, which is usually the middle

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range income participants
will receive after they have gained

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employment. Uh another criteria or
indicator would be uh the credential

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that they attained. Uh we look at the
rate at which the participants earn

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industry valued degrees or certificates
during and after their training. And

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then basically the last portion of that
would be the real- time tracking of the

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credential and then employment
that would be led to um you know after

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completing that we also have a
monitoring and evaluation portion for

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each program. So we look at that and we
will do that on a quarterly basis um

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reviewing what's what the uh
reviewing what the data is showing us uh

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for each program. We also will pilot
programs and we'll look at the metrics

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of that to
show us whether or not we should

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continue in this area or not. So those
are usually the the um the major uh

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measuring um you know methods. But then
the last is human metrics. We get the

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feedback from our participants letting
us know

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what they valued in the training
program, getting their feedback. And

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what we will be implementing is a report
card to indicate and show whether or not

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this training was valuable to them. And
they will have a a direct way to

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communicate with us and let us know that
it was valuable, it wasn't. um what

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could be better and not not only to in
increase our uh working relationship

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with our training partners, but then we
would also want to make improvements.

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And so that's what our biggest, you
know, is that human metrics that we're

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we're looking to uh really build to find
out what people are experiencing and to

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make the system better.
>> Yeah. Because I suppose at the end of

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the day, if no one's making widgets
anymore, you can't send people out to be

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widget makers. So, you've got to
yeartoyear kind of see what where things

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are at and move forward that way. I
wanted to talk with you a little bit

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about um the idea why a board overseeing
all this. Um you have um a number of

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members on the board. Um I wonder if you
could talk a little bit about what

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having a board and I know having you
know visited uh the website for the

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workforce development board for Hudson
County. It has a interesting mix of um

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business um uh governmental officials
who all obviously bring different

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expertise. Could you talk a little bit
about the value of the board um the

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members that you have within it? Um I
know there's a bunch of committees if

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those committees have any uh
significance you want to talk about but

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but what is the value I suppose of
having a commu kind of a a group

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overseeing this approach versus Jay you
just just say yourself as as one

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official.
>> So the board itself we are and what I

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didn't mention is that there are 17
workforce development boards in the

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state of New Jersey. So we're one of 17.
We're all governed by the New Jersey

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Department of Labor and the US
Department of Labor.

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So there is
we have a total of 20 board members

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» on our board
>> on our board on on the Hudson County uh

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workforce development board. We have 20
members. We have uh 12 in the private

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industry. We have uh one that's
community-based organization. We have

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two that are organized labor members. We
have two education um institution

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members. And then we have uh three
government partners. The NJ I'm sorry,

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the New Jersey Department of Labor uh
partners are automatically a part of our

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board, but they are not voting members
of our board. So we would have

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representation from uh the onetop in
reference to

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New Jersey Department of Labor uh the
employment services as well as

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unemployment and then the division of
vocational rehabilitation

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with that the board itself um
of course it's you know it comp it's

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comprised of all of these members and We
as as a board we have the goal and

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mission to oversee
the operations and the policies that are

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being set for our system as a whole. So
everything that's happening at the

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onetop, what's happening in reference to
training, what's happening in reference

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to working with employers, all of this
is actually being devised by our board.

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Having these members uh very diverse
group. We we have business individuals

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who have multiple businesses. We have
individuals who are uh you know uh

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banking uh representative, HR
representatives,

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lawyers, realators. We have a a very
diverse group of dynamic

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members who help to shape all of this,
the policies, the overseeing the

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00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:17,840
operations and everything that I do is
being supported by the work that they do

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00:25:15,919 --> 00:25:25,279
as volunteers
because all of them are volunteering to

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be on the board. They are selected by
our county executive.

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So these individuals we know are
committed to making our system better,

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helping giving back to our community to
make things better for people that are

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less fortunate in um to empower, you
know, our youth. uh the dis individuals

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who are having disadvantages in life and
so it's it's been a a pleasure working

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with this particular board and they're
very excited about doing the work.

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» Yeah. No, it seems as though you would
want uh if you were involved with

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organized labor or if you were involved
with uh wanting to just build a stronger

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00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:19,360
workforce if you're an employer, you're
going to want to do what you can if

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you're interested in this community to
help shape how workers are, you know,

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trained or retrained or more able to be
effective workers be because of the

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00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:31,440
various stresses that may possibly
already be on them. So, that makes a lot

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00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:35,279
of sense, I suppose, right? And I guess
you break these um folks down into

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00:26:33,679 --> 00:26:39,520
various subcommittees and things like
that that are kind of their areas of

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00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:48,480
expertise and all. Is that the idea?
>> So what we It's interesting because the

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committee So we have we have actually
seven committees. It it may have been

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00:26:50,799 --> 00:26:58,480
one that was missing on our website. We
have to add. But we have um our

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00:26:56,320 --> 00:27:03,840
executive committee, we have our finance
committee. Those two committees are

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00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:10,799
actually the same members.
Our executive committee uh team,

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00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:18,799
they're making the overall, you know, uh
decisions in reference to uh how the the

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00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:24,880
in in certain directions we we need to
go. They'll steer and then they'll also

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00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:32,640
then bring back information to the
entire board. So we and I particularly

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00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:38,240
lean on the executive committee and um
and they serve both roles um on our

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00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:44,159
finance committee as well. Now the other
committees what we did was we wanted to

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00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:51,919
find out because every committee is
actually head by a board a voting board

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00:27:48,559 --> 00:27:58,320
member and what we wanted to do is find
out where their interest was. So it

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00:27:55,120 --> 00:28:05,360
wasn't so much that they were in that
particular industry or

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00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:09,200
they wanted to we we requested of them
to let us know where they would like to

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00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:12,399
serve.
>> So I could run an accounting firm but I

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00:28:11,039 --> 00:28:15,600
might be concerned about what's going on
in the future of youth services and then

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00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:18,799
I end up on that committee. Is that the
idea?

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00:28:16,159 --> 00:28:24,559
» Absolutely. So we have the one-stop
partners committee. uh with that

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00:28:21,039 --> 00:28:28,720
committee we provide they provide the
oversight and guidance in the

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00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:34,640
development of programs that are
established and the matrix that are

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00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:40,399
established for the onetop uh hoping and
and the goal would be to help the onetop

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00:28:37,679 --> 00:28:46,880
meet and exceed the standards that are
being placed on them. uh the disability

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00:28:43,679 --> 00:28:52,480
committee. Uh that committee works to
enable individuals with disabilities to

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00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:58,320
have universal access to employment
opportunities. And with one of those

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00:28:55,520 --> 00:29:04,880
part with this particular committee, we
do have

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00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:09,919
groups or agencies that are that
specialize. That's their area of

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00:29:07,039 --> 00:29:17,679
specialty. But the individual that's
actually heading that is actually in our

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00:29:13,679 --> 00:29:23,279
is in the health care industry. Uh so uh
literacy committee uh we in that

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00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:30,799
particular committee it identifies and
analyzes uh local resources programs and

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00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:36,799
services to recommend how to improve the
quantity and quality and delivery of

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00:29:33,679 --> 00:29:42,640
literacy programs. Now that particular
committee is head by one of the members

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00:29:39,919 --> 00:29:48,480
who does lead
one of our

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00:29:45,039 --> 00:29:55,360
uh literacy programs here and we really
needed someone to be in that area of

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00:29:52,320 --> 00:30:01,120
expertise because of the nature of it.
Uh the youth investment council

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00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:07,360
committee that's
definitely speaks for itself. our youth

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00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:11,520
programs. Uh it strengthens the capacity
of the education and the youth

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00:30:09,679 --> 00:30:18,960
development and training programs that
are being offered in our system.

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00:30:14,799 --> 00:30:25,600
We have a heavy enrollment of youth
programs. We have members from our

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00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:33,919
Hudson County School of Technology. We
have members from the Job CPS.

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00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:40,559
We also have the New Jersey youth build
and then we also have New Jersey youth

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00:30:37,279 --> 00:30:48,240
corps. So that is a that that particular
committee does uh have and represent um

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00:30:44,559 --> 00:30:53,440
members that are truly in the industry
because of the nature of it. But then we

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00:30:50,559 --> 00:30:58,159
also have members that are just you know
interested in working with the youth.

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00:30:56,000 --> 00:31:05,120
And then our last committee is a
business committee and with that again

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00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:13,039
trying to speak to the business in uh
community making sure that we are not

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00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:18,080
missing the mark and we have their voice
you know uh being represented and then

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00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:24,720
we can speak to that and bring that to
back to the board. So each committee

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00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:33,840
they have their own meeting times.
Anyone can join. So other individuals

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00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:40,320
but again a member of the board has has
to actually head the committee and does

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00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:44,480
head the committee and but is others
that are participating

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00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:48,399
they're welcome to join. So it's
essentially on a volunteer basis and it

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00:31:46,559 --> 00:31:52,000
doesn't rise to the level of say of an
appointment from the county executive

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00:31:49,679 --> 00:31:54,080
the way a membership on the larger
workforce development board would.

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00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:59,440
» Absolutely.
>> Well, one final question for you. How uh

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00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:02,880
can residents or maybe employers or
maybe folks just interested in the issue

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00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:09,360
of workforce development, how can they
learn more uh about or how to access

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00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:16,799
your services um how can they reach you?
>> So our website Jim is ww.

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00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:22,799
H cjc
Wdb.org

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00:32:19,279 --> 00:32:31,919
and again www.h
for Hudson, C for county, J for Jersey

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00:32:27,039 --> 00:32:38,440
and C for city, W for workforce, D for
development, B for board.org.

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00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:38,440
hcjcwdb.org.

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00:32:39,039 --> 00:32:51,000
We're located at One Journal Square
Plaza, third floor, sweet 303, Jersey

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00:32:45,039 --> 00:32:51,000
City. And our email is info@hwdb.org.

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00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:56,600
Again, info@hwdb.org

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00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:02,200
and our telephone number is
551-235-4200.

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00:33:03,919 --> 00:33:07,480
Again, 551-2354200.

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00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:13,279
Thank you so much for all that
information. Sharita Brown, executive

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00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:16,080
director of the Hudson County Workforce
Development Board. Thanks again so much

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00:33:15,279 --> 00:33:20,320
for joining us.
>> Thank you so much for having me.

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00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:24,880
» To keep up to date on county government
news and alerts, be sure to follow us on

362
00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:30,080
Twitter at HUDCO tweet and on Facebook
at HUDCOF FB. To see photos and videos

363
00:33:27,919 --> 00:33:35,519
of county government events, follow us
on Instagram at Hudco Insta or subscribe

364
00:33:32,559 --> 00:33:39,120
to our YouTube channel, Hudco TV. You
can find Hudco Radio and hopefully

365
00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:43,840
subscribe wherever you get your
podcasts. Thanks as always to Hudson

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00:33:41,679 --> 00:33:48,640
County Executive Craig Guy and the Board
of County Commissioners who sponsor,

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00:33:46,159 --> 00:33:54,440
support, and direct all the programs and
services discussed on this podcast. Take

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00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:54,440
care.