Gottheimer Hosts Employers, Educators, Labor at Round Table to Help Students Connect with Jobs
Discussion Centers on Closing the Middle-Skills Job Gap, Manufacturing, Creating Good Jobs in New Jersey
Above: Congressman Gottheimer talks to employers, labor, education, and business leaders from Bergen, Passaic, Sussex and Warren Counties about job training and middle-skill jobs
PARAMUS, NJ – Wednesday, April 24, 2019, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) brought together leaders from local businesses, labor, advocates, and academia to discuss how to close the middle-skill jobs gap in New Jersey and ensure that all three groups are working together to fill manufacturing jobs in North Jersey. In New Jersey, about 53 percent of jobs require middle-skill labor, but only 37 percent of our workforce has those skills.
In attendance were:
Ketan Gandhi, Sussex Community College
Mike Schneider, Bergen CLC
Paul Melone, Thor Labs
Josh Hopp, HK Metalcraft
Dennis Montone, Bergen County Technical School
Derrick Forsythe, Warren County Technical School
Peter Connolly, ShockTech, Inc
Steven Rose, Passaic Community College
Gary Uyematsu, BMW North America
Lisa Vassallo, BMW North America
Tamara Vaughn, Bergen Community College
Judy Fleischer, NJ MEP
Cinzia D’Iorio, Bergen Community College
Amy Eskilson, Inrad Optics
Dr. William Austin, Warren Community College
Christine Gillespie, Bergen County Community College
“I want to thank everyone from all four counties I serve who participated in today’s productive conversation about how to get people filling the needs of our businesses, especially manufacturers, here in North Jersey,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “I was thrilled to see not just an exchange of ideas today, but an exchange of phone numbers and emails, so we can work together to complete the path from high school to community college or apprenticeships to manufacturing. We also need to make sure that our high schools are celebrating trades and skilled labor and encouraging students to take paths that are not only four-year colleges. At the state and federal level, we need to help fill this middle-skill gap to cement North Jersey as a manufacturing hub and an economic powerhouse.”
Last month, Gottheimer held a roundtable of labor leaders where they talked about a disconnect between schools and labor in North Jersey. The conversation today was the most recent step Gottheimer has taken to try to bridge that divide and place students and workers in good jobs where businesses need them most.
Below: Gottheimer listens in as Warren County Communtiy College President Dr. William Austin talks about his efforts to match students with manufacturing jobs