[0:07] Welcome to HUDco Radio. I'm Jim Canelli.
Anyone paying attention these days
[0:12] understands that the work world is
undergoing a revolution. Globalization,
[0:16] automation, the explosion of machine
learning, better known as AI, all
[0:21] present significant opportunities and
challenges for workers, especially
[0:25] low-skilled workers, and the agencies
that support them. here in Hudson
[0:30] County. That agency is our workforce
development board.
[0:35] Today, we're joined by the board's new
executive director, Sharita Brown, to
[0:39] discuss the role of the Hudson County
Workforce Development Board in our
[0:42] fastchanging employment landscape.
Executive Director Brown, thank you for
[0:46] joining us.
>> Thank you, Jim, for having me.
[0:49] » Let's start with with you. Let's start
out with you. Uh you've uh taken on this
[0:53] position in the last year. Tell us a
little bit about yourself and uh what
[0:57] attracted you to the job.
So, Jim, I'm actually retired from the
[1:04] New Jersey Department of Labor after
serving 25 years as a civil servant. I
[1:09] worked with the one-stop um career
center basically for the 25 years um in
[1:15] and out as a manager for the last 10
years and then prior to that I was the
[1:21] business service rep for the state of
New Jersey but I was assigned to Hudson
[1:27] County first and so here I am. what are
the particular challenges our workforce
[1:32] here in Hudson County especially our
lower skilled workforce what are the uh
[1:36] what kind of work uh force challenges do
they face today? So right now we are
[1:42] looking at the lowerkilled individuals
dealing with high cost and living. Of
[1:50] course we know Hudson County is probably
one of the highest uh living uh areas in
[1:57] the state. Uh automation, we're dealing
with that. And then there's a skills
[2:03] mismatch for local jobs uh with the high
cost of living. Um, we are dealing with
[2:10] low wages and so the high cost of
housing, the daily expenses in Hudson
[2:16] County, it places a a pressure on lower
wage earners and so it's forcing them to
[2:23] work multiple jobs and uh commute long
distances. Um in reference to the
[2:30] automation uh there's a a huge skill gap
especially with the advancement of
[2:37] technology with uh AI robotics uh these
challenges are a lot uh creating jobs
[2:47] that we are not actually ready to uh as
far as the the skill sets have not been
[2:55] developed and we're haven't been
trained.
[2:59] And so that is creating uh skills roles
that are obsolete and uh so we need to
[3:07] increase the digital literacy for our
workers.
[3:12] Child care transportation is also an
issue for lower skilled workers. They
[3:17] struggle to have reliable transportation
to get to jobs and then finding
[3:23] affordable child care. So those are the
major uh issues that we're faced with
[3:29] right now.
>> Well, let's talk a little bit about how
[3:31] the workforce development board seeks to
address these kinds of challenges. What
[3:36] is the role of the board in trying to
address some of that?
[3:40] So in reference to the board's
challenges or uh addressing those
[3:45] challenges,
the board acts as a strategic
[3:51] group uh body that will look at the
local labor market information and then
[3:58] coordinate public and private sectors to
align with training
[4:03] training job seekers to meet the demands
of the employers.
[4:10] Now, what are some of the policies and
programs that the board uh will
[4:14] emphasize based on its analysis of the
label uh excuse me, the local uh labor
[4:19] market data that you're you're seeing
because I know that you I'm correct in
[4:24] this that um the workforce development
board engages with um you know like
[4:28] statistical analysis of data and stuff
like that. Correct.
[4:30] » Absolutely. Um with that we are looking
at the we're pivoting based on the the
[4:38] data that is uh the labor market
information that is being given to us.
[4:42] We're pivoting towards the high growth
sectors and skill-based pathways. So for
[4:48] us in this region, we're looking at
dealing with um increasing the digital
[4:54] literacy again in reference to AI
because technology is extremely high
[5:00] here in in Hudson County. Uh the data
reveals that a significant digital gap
[5:07] among lowerkilled residents. Uh you
know, we're we're trying to increase
[5:12] that. So we are shifting away from the
general educational
[5:16] uh certifications that we have normally
been um driving everyone to or
[5:22] encouraging individuals to look at and
now we're gearing them or encouraging
[5:29] them to take a look at the areas of
growth uh here in Hudson County.
[5:36] Another area uh that we're pivoting to
is
[5:41] the film industry right now because
there is a increase in our region for
[5:50] production houses that are growing. You
have here uh in Hudson County, Paramount
[5:57] in Newark, you have Lionsgate, and then
soon you'll have Netflix in Mammoth
[6:03] County. Uh so we are already geared up.
Uh one of our partners in our system,
[6:11] Hudson County Community College, already
has a program that's geared for that and
[6:17] it's the New Jersey Film Academy. So
we're looking to increase our presence
[6:23] in the educational
uh system. We're we're trying to make
[6:28] that make it match the needs of what's
happening in the industry uh in the
[6:35] region and then helping to prepare our
job seekers for these new uh job
[6:41] opportunities.
>> Now I know you also engage um local uh
[6:45] employers. I mean some of them I think
are on the board. I wonder um what the
[6:49] feedback you get from local employers
kind of does in terms of informing or
[6:55] shaping board policy. What are you
hearing from employers and how does the
[7:00] board you know react to when you know
when you get this kind of feedback?
[7:05] Yes, we we do we have um we have a
number of employers already on our board
[7:13] and so we listen to them because
definitely they are in touch with what's
[7:18] happening in the industries in the
various industries and so as not only do
[7:25] we have the
our board members but we also have a
[7:30] level of stakeholders within our
community that we are working with we
[7:36] have
uh direct
[7:40] uh meetings with a lot of the employers
to find out and hear what they're
[7:44] looking for in reference to the job
seekers. Uh, interesting enough, one of
[7:50] the main comments that we're receiving
or we have received is that
[7:57] individuals are lacking the soft skills.
And I think because of technology, it's
[8:04] actually
not only is it it's advancing, but then
[8:10] the human side that we are normally uh
that we would normally put the effort
[8:17] forward, we're losing.
>> I see. So you're saying, say, for
[8:20] example, I'm a job seeker. I should walk
in, shake hands, look my employer in the
[8:24] eye, and say, it's good to see you
today, ma'am, sir. But in a world where
[8:28] everyone's texting or online, those
skills are slipping away a bit, you're
[8:32] hearing. Is that true?
>> Absolutely. The the communication skills
[8:36] is lacking in reference to the
interpersonal as well as even on the you
[8:43] would think on the basic level even with
the written communication individuals
[8:49] are constantly abbreviating through text
messaging. So even the actual, you know,
[8:57] sentence structure are things that are
that are lacking. So when it's time for
[9:02] them to communicate via email,
that's that's an issue as well.
[9:07] » Well, let me let me ask you about that
to follow up. Um, so how does the board
[9:12] uh with its various, you know, with it
various programs, outreach efforts and
[9:16] all partnerships, how do you address
something like that? I think everybody
[9:19] across the country, maybe in the world
these days, in my own house with my
[9:22] kids, um, we are all struggling with
that. So, what's some of the board's
[9:27] approaches or ones that you maybe are in
the process of developing to try to help
[9:30] the clients you deal with, the the the
workers who need your assistance? What
[9:34] are some of the things you're trying to
do to help that or change that?
[9:36] » So, what we do is we will partner up
with some of our local
[9:42] training providers in addition to our uh
community college. Again,
[9:49] we bring everyone to the table, have the
conversation so that everyone is aware
[9:54] and then we provide those types of
programs. will implement those types of
[9:59] programs within our training programs
themselves. The the complete you know
[10:05] knowing uh including
the soft skills because that's that's
[10:12] you know if as we're listening to the
employers and they're sharing this
[10:17] information we want to make the
adjustment and try to assist because
[10:22] everyone is not receiving the same type
of instructions at home.
[10:26] » Oh absolutely. You know, it's
interesting when you start to talk about
[10:29] um uh implementing these these concepts.
I suppose a lot of folks who are not,
[10:33] you know, directly involved in things
like, you know, maybe as business owners
[10:37] or employers might not be familiar with
Hudson County's uh um in employment and
[10:43] training one-stop center. Um that's
probably where a lot of the where the
[10:47] rubber meets the road in terms of what
the workforce development board tries
[10:51] to, you know, you know, bring to these
workers we support. I wonder if you
[10:55] could talk a little bit about what the
one-stop center is um for employment and
[11:00] training. Um where it is, what it does,
and also I suppose who qualifies. I know
[11:04] there's various categories and uh
whether it's um you know it could be you
[11:09] know a veteran or it could be a certain
age or an income group, but if you could
[11:13] just talk a little bit about how the
employment and training onetop serves
[11:17] folks um in Hudson County.
>> Absolutely. So, the Hudson County Onetop
[11:23] Career Center is located at 438 Summit
Avenue and we in Jersey City. It
[11:30] consists of uh the New Jersey Department
of Labor staff with unemployment
[11:37] members. Most people unfortunately find
out about the services through the
[11:44] unemployment system. So usually that's
the it's a be the best kept secret the
[11:49] system itself but that's usually the
entry point where people find us.
[11:56] So you have the unemployment system or
unit, you have the employment unit, and
[12:01] then we have our other partners that are
uh division of vocational
[12:07] rehabilitation,
which supports individuals that may have
[12:13] disabilities or challenges to get back
into
[12:18] the workforce environment.
We also have a veterans unit. We have a
[12:25] d uh excuse me educational literacy
programs as well as the youth
[12:31] specialized programs. So we have uh
representation in the onetop with
[12:36] jobcore. We have representation with our
youth program with Hudson County School
[12:43] of Technologies. And then we also have
representation from human services. uh
[12:50] we have a representative on a weekly
basis there to also service our
[12:56] customers as they're coming through if
they need other supportive services. Let
[13:01] me ask you, if I'm a client typically,
what's going to happen to me if I walk
[13:05] through the door? How how would that how
would it how would that how would that
[13:08] experience? I'm sure it depends on my
background, but how would intake until I
[13:13] reach hopefully employment go? What
would be kind of the broad steps if I
[13:17] was uh someone who was using the onetop
center?
[13:20] » So, you would come into the enter in
>> right
[13:24] » once you actually
they will ask you because we have a
[13:29] triage desk. So they'll ask you what
you're here for.
[13:32] A lot of times people they may think one
issue but then find out that there's
[13:39] multiple issues. So the first step would
be to complete a registration form. Once
[13:44] they complete that registration form
then they would see a employment
[13:49] counselor. Once they see the employment
counselor then that person would then
[13:54] help to find out and assess what their
needs are.
[14:00] If there is any additional weak needs
that they may have that they are not
[14:05] aware of by we we will give them an
assessment through the assessment then
[14:12] we'll find out exactly where we need to
actually send them. So there may be an
[14:18] issue with literacy.
Then that person may then be referred to
[14:24] one of our vendors or training partners
to for basic skills. They'll be tested
[14:32] for that. Then they would be referred.
Maybe that person is looking to get into
[14:39] a specialized training program. Again,
all of this there's an assessment
[14:45] attached. Then they're referred to an
actual training provider. They actually
[14:50] what happens is they're given multiple
choices based on their preference. And
[14:56] let's say for instance, if they're
looking for accounting, the case manager
[15:02] or employment counselor would assess
where they're going to go and then give
[15:09] them the options of maybe three to
choose because it's really customer
[15:15] preference as to where they're going.
Once they make that selection, then the
[15:21] process as far as training would then
begin for them. Now as far as financial
[15:27] responsibility
which is key
[15:31] if the individuals are collecting
unemployment usually unemployment will
[15:37] help to provide that that would qualify
them to receive training. If the person
[15:45] is not collecting unemployment,
we still have funding available because
[15:50] that person may just need to upgrade
their skills to be more marketable in
[15:56] their profession or a new profession.
And then there's another opportunity for
[16:02] those individuals who are on Work First
New Jersey receiving TANNIF or SNAP
[16:08] benefits. There's another training
opportunity for those individuals as
[16:12] well. And again, this is all through the
system and we're all working together.
[16:18] So once that person has been identified
where they want to go, that's what the
[16:24] the training process would look like.
>> And this dates and this kind of all this
[16:28] kind of flows out of what happened in
the 1990s where there was a connection
[16:31] between welfare, unemployment benefits,
and then moving you to being able to be
[16:36] career or job ready. Is that the idea?
Essentially, that's the that's that
[16:40] that's what's really happening in and
the good thing I suppose for our
[16:43] listeners to understand if they know
someone who might be in need of these
[16:46] services is they're government services.
So, they're free to anyone who walks
[16:49] through the door essentially. Is that
correct?
[16:51] » Correct.
>> Okay. Let's talk a little bit about um
[16:54] uh how you measure the effectiveness of
the board's efforts. Now, as executive
[16:58] director, you know, you ultimately, I
suppose, are sort of the person who has
[17:02] to see how things are, you know, are
working. And I know obviously um it's
[17:08] always a work in progress because the
challenges that we've talked about have
[17:11] changed but I wonder is it as simple as
kind of looking at the unemployment data
[17:17] or in terms of kind of the core internal
data that you guys develop when you are
[17:22] looking at x number of clients went
through the door x number of clients
[17:26] have found employment over during the
period say you know I know it's a
[17:30] fiveyear period for example with welfare
benefits um what are kind of the ways
[17:35] you measure measure your own success
when you have to then go back to the
[17:38] state or the federal government and say
this is working this isn't.
[17:41] » So our effectiveness is measured through
a combination of federal performances
[17:48] um indicators and that the data is
driven by. Um for us we measure uh the
[17:56] job driven system which requires
a combination of our residents and the
[18:05] the businesses. So for our major
programs it's the federal WEOA
[18:13] performance indicators.
uh that is the uh and wea stands for
[18:18] workforce in innovation and opportunity
act. So, we're held accountable based on
[18:25] the outcomes that our participants are
going through, the the the programs that
[18:32] they're going through, and we have to
negotiate
[18:37] that with the New Jersey Department of
Labor annually based on, you know, our
[18:43] what what we're seeing in our area
versus what the state may may have. So,
[18:51] we're looking at the employment rate,
which is the percentage of participants
[18:56] employed in uh the second and third and
fourth quarters. Uh after exiting a
[19:04] program, uh we're looking at the median
earnings, which is usually the middle
[19:09] range income participants
will receive after they have gained
[19:15] employment. Uh another criteria or
indicator would be uh the credential
[19:21] that they attained. Uh we look at the
rate at which the participants earn
[19:25] industry valued degrees or certificates
during and after their training. And
[19:31] then basically the last portion of that
would be the real- time tracking of the
[19:38] credential and then employment
that would be led to um you know after
[19:45] completing that we also have a
monitoring and evaluation portion for
[19:51] each program. So we look at that and we
will do that on a quarterly basis um
[19:58] reviewing what's what the uh
reviewing what the data is showing us uh
[20:06] for each program. We also will pilot
programs and we'll look at the metrics
[20:12] of that to
show us whether or not we should
[20:16] continue in this area or not. So those
are usually the the um the major uh
[20:25] measuring um you know methods. But then
the last is human metrics. We get the
[20:31] feedback from our participants letting
us know
[20:38] what they valued in the training
program, getting their feedback. And
[20:43] what we will be implementing is a report
card to indicate and show whether or not
[20:51] this training was valuable to them. And
they will have a a direct way to
[20:58] communicate with us and let us know that
it was valuable, it wasn't. um what
[21:04] could be better and not not only to in
increase our uh working relationship
[21:11] with our training partners, but then we
would also want to make improvements.
[21:17] And so that's what our biggest, you
know, is that human metrics that we're
[21:22] we're looking to uh really build to find
out what people are experiencing and to
[21:29] make the system better.
>> Yeah. Because I suppose at the end of
[21:32] the day, if no one's making widgets
anymore, you can't send people out to be
[21:36] widget makers. So, you've got to
yeartoyear kind of see what where things
[21:40] are at and move forward that way. I
wanted to talk with you a little bit
[21:43] about um the idea why a board overseeing
all this. Um you have um a number of
[21:50] members on the board. Um I wonder if you
could talk a little bit about what
[21:54] having a board and I know having you
know visited uh the website for the
[21:59] workforce development board for Hudson
County. It has a interesting mix of um
[22:04] business um uh governmental officials
who all obviously bring different
[22:09] expertise. Could you talk a little bit
about the value of the board um the
[22:15] members that you have within it? Um I
know there's a bunch of committees if
[22:18] those committees have any uh
significance you want to talk about but
[22:21] but what is the value I suppose of
having a commu kind of a a group
[22:25] overseeing this approach versus Jay you
just just say yourself as as one
[22:30] official.
>> So the board itself we are and what I
[22:38] didn't mention is that there are 17
workforce development boards in the
[22:42] state of New Jersey. So we're one of 17.
We're all governed by the New Jersey
[22:48] Department of Labor and the US
Department of Labor.
[22:53] So there is
we have a total of 20 board members
[23:00] » on our board
>> on our board on on the Hudson County uh
[23:04] workforce development board. We have 20
members. We have uh 12 in the private
[23:09] industry. We have uh one that's
community-based organization. We have
[23:17] two that are organized labor members. We
have two education um institution
[23:23] members. And then we have uh three
government partners. The NJ I'm sorry,
[23:31] the New Jersey Department of Labor uh
partners are automatically a part of our
[23:36] board, but they are not voting members
of our board. So we would have
[23:40] representation from uh the onetop in
reference to
[23:48] New Jersey Department of Labor uh the
employment services as well as
[23:53] unemployment and then the division of
vocational rehabilitation
[23:58] with that the board itself um
of course it's you know it comp it's
[24:05] comprised of all of these members and We
as as a board we have the goal and
[24:13] mission to oversee
the operations and the policies that are
[24:20] being set for our system as a whole. So
everything that's happening at the
[24:26] onetop, what's happening in reference to
training, what's happening in reference
[24:31] to working with employers, all of this
is actually being devised by our board.
[24:38] Having these members uh very diverse
group. We we have business individuals
[24:44] who have multiple businesses. We have
individuals who are uh you know uh
[24:50] banking uh representative, HR
representatives,
[24:55] lawyers, realators. We have a a very
diverse group of dynamic
[25:03] members who help to shape all of this,
the policies, the overseeing the
[25:07] operations and everything that I do is
being supported by the work that they do
[25:15] as volunteers
because all of them are volunteering to
[25:21] be on the board. They are selected by
our county executive.
[25:27] So these individuals we know are
committed to making our system better,
[25:33] helping giving back to our community to
make things better for people that are
[25:40] less fortunate in um to empower, you
know, our youth. uh the dis individuals
[25:51] who are having disadvantages in life and
so it's it's been a a pleasure working
[25:58] with this particular board and they're
very excited about doing the work.
[26:04] » Yeah. No, it seems as though you would
want uh if you were involved with
[26:08] organized labor or if you were involved
with uh wanting to just build a stronger
[26:13] workforce if you're an employer, you're
going to want to do what you can if
[26:16] you're interested in this community to
help shape how workers are, you know,
[26:22] trained or retrained or more able to be
effective workers be because of the
[26:26] various stresses that may possibly
already be on them. So, that makes a lot
[26:29] of sense, I suppose, right? And I guess
you break these um folks down into
[26:33] various subcommittees and things like
that that are kind of their areas of
[26:37] expertise and all. Is that the idea?
>> So what we It's interesting because the
[26:43] committee So we have we have actually
seven committees. It it may have been
[26:50] one that was missing on our website. We
have to add. But we have um our
[26:56] executive committee, we have our finance
committee. Those two committees are
[27:00] actually the same members.
Our executive committee uh team,
[27:07] they're making the overall, you know, uh
decisions in reference to uh how the the
[27:16] in in certain directions we we need to
go. They'll steer and then they'll also
[27:22] then bring back information to the
entire board. So we and I particularly
[27:29] lean on the executive committee and um
and they serve both roles um on our
[27:35] finance committee as well. Now the other
committees what we did was we wanted to
[27:41] find out because every committee is
actually head by a board a voting board
[27:48] member and what we wanted to do is find
out where their interest was. So it
[27:55] wasn't so much that they were in that
particular industry or
[28:01] they wanted to we we requested of them
to let us know where they would like to
[28:08] serve.
>> So I could run an accounting firm but I
[28:11] might be concerned about what's going on
in the future of youth services and then
[28:14] I end up on that committee. Is that the
idea?
[28:16] » Absolutely. So we have the one-stop
partners committee. uh with that
[28:21] committee we provide they provide the
oversight and guidance in the
[28:26] development of programs that are
established and the matrix that are
[28:30] established for the onetop uh hoping and
and the goal would be to help the onetop
[28:37] meet and exceed the standards that are
being placed on them. uh the disability
[28:43] committee. Uh that committee works to
enable individuals with disabilities to
[28:49] have universal access to employment
opportunities. And with one of those
[28:55] part with this particular committee, we
do have
[29:00] groups or agencies that are that
specialize. That's their area of
[29:07] specialty. But the individual that's
actually heading that is actually in our
[29:13] is in the health care industry. Uh so uh
literacy committee uh we in that
[29:21] particular committee it identifies and
analyzes uh local resources programs and
[29:26] services to recommend how to improve the
quantity and quality and delivery of
[29:33] literacy programs. Now that particular
committee is head by one of the members
[29:39] who does lead
one of our
[29:45] uh literacy programs here and we really
needed someone to be in that area of
[29:52] expertise because of the nature of it.
Uh the youth investment council
[29:57] committee that's
definitely speaks for itself. our youth
[30:03] programs. Uh it strengthens the capacity
of the education and the youth
[30:09] development and training programs that
are being offered in our system.
[30:14] We have a heavy enrollment of youth
programs. We have members from our
[30:22] Hudson County School of Technology. We
have members from the Job CPS.
[30:30] We also have the New Jersey youth build
and then we also have New Jersey youth
[30:37] corps. So that is a that that particular
committee does uh have and represent um
[30:44] members that are truly in the industry
because of the nature of it. But then we
[30:50] also have members that are just you know
interested in working with the youth.
[30:56] And then our last committee is a
business committee and with that again
[31:02] trying to speak to the business in uh
community making sure that we are not
[31:08] missing the mark and we have their voice
you know uh being represented and then
[31:16] we can speak to that and bring that to
back to the board. So each committee
[31:20] they have their own meeting times.
Anyone can join. So other individuals
[31:28] but again a member of the board has has
to actually head the committee and does
[31:36] head the committee and but is others
that are participating
[31:42] they're welcome to join. So it's
essentially on a volunteer basis and it
[31:46] doesn't rise to the level of say of an
appointment from the county executive
[31:49] the way a membership on the larger
workforce development board would.
[31:53] » Absolutely.
>> Well, one final question for you. How uh
[31:56] can residents or maybe employers or
maybe folks just interested in the issue
[32:00] of workforce development, how can they
learn more uh about or how to access
[32:05] your services um how can they reach you?
>> So our website Jim is ww.
[32:14] H cjc
Wdb.org
[32:19] and again www.h
for Hudson, C for county, J for Jersey
[32:27] and C for city, W for workforce, D for
development, B for board.org.
[32:35] hcjcwdb.org.
[32:39] We're located at One Journal Square
Plaza, third floor, sweet 303, Jersey
[32:45] City. And our email is info@hwdb.org.
[32:52] Again, info@hwdb.org
[32:57] and our telephone number is
551-235-4200.
[33:03] Again, 551-2354200.
[33:08] Thank you so much for all that
information. Sharita Brown, executive
[33:11] director of the Hudson County Workforce
Development Board. Thanks again so much
[33:15] for joining us.
>> Thank you so much for having me.
[33:18] » To keep up to date on county government
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[33:32] to our YouTube channel, Hudco TV. You
can find Hudco Radio and hopefully
[33:37] subscribe wherever you get your
podcasts. Thanks as always to Hudson
[33:41] County Executive Craig Guy and the Board
of County Commissioners who sponsor,
[33:46] support, and direct all the programs and
services discussed on this podcast. Take
[33:51] care.