MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J., July 23, 2014 _  The  Christie Administration joined the Annual Summer Meeting for the New Jersey Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools, where the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development highlighted its new “Your Career” brochures.

“These brochures were compiled by our Office of Research and Information around the Garden State’s seven key industry clusters, and they are not just for students attending our career and technical education schools. The brochures, which will be regularly updated on-line through our http://careerconnections.nj.gov/careerconnections/ website, provide important and insightful information for all students focusing on a career, profession or trade in New Jersey,” said Labor Commissioner Harold J. Wirths.

Jeffrey Stoller, Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Research and Information, spoke at the summer meeting, explaining the purpose and contents of each brochure to about 100 attendees, most of whom were county vocational school district superintendents, principals and administrators. Other speakers at the event, hosted at the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association center, included Marie Barry, Director of Career and Technical Education at the state Department of Education, and leaders of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, who have partnered with the Labor Department on training programs.

“Easier access to career information is helpful to all New Jersey high school students, whether they are planning for college or employment after they graduate,” said Assistant Commissioner Stoller. “These new brochures, and the online updates that will follow, show students how the skills and interests they are developing in class today may be extremely valuable to them later in life.”

Each brochure outlines specific “hard skills” and “soft skills” identified by New Jersey employers as being crucial to securing employment in their businesses, which in turn will prosper through those skills. In many cases, soft skills such as clear communication talents and effective problem solving are required in almost every industry cluster.

Each brochure identifies the various job titles open in each industry cluster, the salary scales attached to each and the availability of those jobs, along with the educational levels required to be considered for each position. The brochures, while available in print form, are accessible on-line through Jobs4Jersey.com, where they may be downloaded at no cost.

By making them available through the Internet, the Department of Labor is able to update the information on each brochure regularly to offer students and adults exploring new career paths some real-time data on the jobs available in each industry cluster.

The brochures were designed around seven key industry clusters identified by the Labor Department as paying more than two-thirds of the wages paid in New Jersey and employing more than two-thirds of workers in the state. New Jersey’s Talent Networks were established around the same clusters, which include: Technology and Entrepreneurship; Life Sciences; Advanced Manufacturing; Financial Services; Health Care; Transportation, Logistics and Distribution, and Retail, Hospitality and Tourism. Talent Networks are designed to help employers in the key industry clusters find the talent they need to find in new employees.
Anyone interested in downloading the brochures may find them by going to http://careerconnections.nj.gov/careerconnections/