ATLANTIC CITY, Sept. 17, 2014 – The Christie Administration joined the Garden State Employment and Training Association’s 32^nd Annual Convention meeting today, joining discussions on how to best train and serve New Jersey’s workforce in the face of an ever-changing economy.

Assistant Commissioner Jeffrey Stoller of the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development spoke at the GSETA gathering at Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel and Casino about aligning job training and education with the skill needs of New Jersey employers. He noted that dozens of department staffers were a short distance away from the meeting, working on the Atlantic City boardwalk to link former Trump Plaza Casino workers with new jobs.

The Department of Labor has been working in Atlantic City since the first of four casinos closed in January, joining many partners in business, education and the local workforce offices to ensure affected workers get the services they need to connect to new opportunities and careers.

“We’re optimistic the challenges posed in Atlantic City can be overcome through the partnerships we have formed in New Jersey’s workforce development community. We are identifying the skills people need to remain marketable to New Jersey employers, so that we can re-employ job-seekers in industry sectors that are growing and promise to drive the future of the Garden State economy,” Assistant Commissioner Stoller said.

He also highlighted the department’s new “Your Career” brochures unveiled earlier this summer. The brochures, which are available in hard copies and on-line, identify what skills are in demand and the training and education levels needed to obtain those positions. The brochures focus on seven key industry clusters identified by the Labor Department as paying more than two-thirds of the wages in New Jersey and employing more than two-thirds of workers in the state.

New Jersey’s seven 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.

The brochures, compiled by the Labor Department’s Office of Research and Information, are regularly updated online and can be downloaded through the Career Connections website. For more information about the “Your Career” brochures go to http://careerconnections.nj.gov/ and click on “Explore Careers.”

GSETA is a forum for workforce development professionals to share their expertise and to promote professional development to advance New Jersey’s workforce development system.