TRENTON, N.J., March 18, 2014 – Highlighting one of New Jersey’s key industry clusters, the Christie Administration has kicked off the state’s first Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Industry Week to allow business, education and government leaders to explore opportunities for employment and growth in this emerging sector of Garden State commerce.

A proclamation signed by Governor Chris Christie declared March 17 – 21 Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Week and launched a series of activities organized by the state Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Talent Network (RHT TN) to exhibit resources for job-seekers searching for careers in the industry cluster and showcase the available vacancies. Events will take place in the central, southern and northern areas of the state.

“Retail, Hospitality and Tourism is one of seven industry clusters around which the department created Talent Networks to give employers the ability to pinpoint the skills, education and training they need to find in prospective employees so our educational and training institutions can prepare our workforce in those areas,” said New Jersey Labor Commissioner Harold J. Wirths. “One of every four workers in New Jersey is already working in Retail, Hospitality and Tourism, so it is a vitally important industry in the state and one that was hardest hit by Superstorm Sandy.”

The leadership of the Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Talent Network is shared between Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) in North Jersey and the Richard Stockton College in South Jersey because of the extensive programs each institution offers students in hospitality and tourism management.

"The Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Talent Network is working relentlessly to uncover the career pathways in our industries,” said Caitlyn E. Bradley Weiss, director of RHT TN at Stockton College. “We encourage our partners including job seekers, educational institutions and government to explore the opportunity and value in these career pathways and to seek the resources available through LWD to help strengthen their labor force."

Sandra Bleckman, director of RHT TN at Fairleigh Dickinson University, said, “The Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Talent Network-North has received an overwhelmingly gracious welcome from employers, educators and jobseekers alike. In partnership with the New Jersey Department of Labor, we have connected jobseekers to employers and informed both on the many resources that are available. We celebrate the many exciting, fulfilling and sustainable careers that exist within Retail, Hospitality & Tourism success during our first industry week.”

Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Industry Week continues through Friday, March 21, 2014, with activities held throughout the state, including:

March 19 – Job Readiness Training for Newark Airport Career Fair at Essex County One-Stop Career Center in East Orange

March 20 – Governor’s Conference on Tourism at Golden Nugget in Atlantic City

March 21 – Newark Airport Career Fair at Ramada Plaza Hotel in Newark

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development created Talent Networks to focus on the specific needs of key industries in the state in order to achieve the common goal of helping current job-seekers develop relevant skills that lead to job opportunities. They also are designed to help employers find qualified employees and ensure that New Jerseyans have access to training and educational opportunities that lead to the jobs of the future. The other six Talent Networks are: Technology and Entrepreneurship; Health Care; Transportation, Logistics, and Distribution; Life Sciences; Advanced Manufacturing; and Financial Services.

Go to www.RHTTN.com for a full schedule of Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Week activities. For more information about New Jersey’s Talent Networks:

• Visit: http://careerconnections.nj.gov/careerconnections/partners/talent/talent_networks.shtml
• Contact: Judy Formalarie, Talent Network Project Manager
  • judith.formalarie@dol.state.nj.us or (609) 984-4178
• Contact: Terrance Leverett, Senior Project Manager, Talent Networks
  • terrance.leverett@dol.state.nj.us or (609) 292-5750