ETA News Release: [Nov. 29, 2007]
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Contact Name:
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Jennifer Kaplan
(202) 693-5052 |
Terry Shawn
(202) 693-4676 |
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Central New Jersey WIRED region hosts kickoff event
Partnership will drive bioscience workforce innovation through
economic development
Freehold Township, N.J. – Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco today joined state and local leaders and representatives of the Central New Jersey business community for the region’s Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Initiative kickoff event.
“By integrating education and career skills training with existing biotech and pharmaceutical industries, Central New Jersey WIRED will provide workers with
pathways to careers in in-demand professions,” said DeRocco. “Linking education
to industry through internships, cooperatives and mentoring will allow this region
to develop its own highly skilled workforce with the talent to meet business needs.”
Dubbed “Bio-1,” Central New Jersey’s WIRED partnership will transform the region into
a globally recognized leader in the bioscience industry. Through collaboration among partners in industry, education and workforce development, Bio-1 will create a self-sustaining career “ecosystem” that incorporates expanded biotechnology curricula for K-12 students with industry career ladders to provide clear paths from education to the high-skilled biotechnology workforce. Bio-1 also will implement a retraining program, “Flak Jackets to Lab Coats,” designed to prepare veterans transitioning to civilian life
for careers in the bioscience sector.
Central New Jersey’s five-county WIRED partnership includes local workforce investment boards; colleges and universities; research institutions; local school districts; members of the business community; industry associations; and government and nonprofit organizations.
On June 20, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration named Central New Jersey one of 13 competitively selected regions that make up WIRED’s third generation. Launched in February 2006, WIRED is a major complement
to the President’s American Competitiveness Initiative, with 39 regions now engaged
in ongoing economic and talent development activities in parts of 31 states and
Puerto Rico. For more information on the WIRED Initiative, visit www.doleta.gov/wired.
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