QUESTION
A significant impairment in our efforts to ReNew Jersey is the great difficulty business faces finding willing and/or qualified workers. How does New Jersey effectively address the labor shortage in the short-term and ensure a well-educated and qualified workforce in the long-term?
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Expand incentives for employers to recruit, hire and train employees; make employers more aware of these incentive opportunities.
- Colleges and businesses should provide students with more real world experiences through internships, mentorships, co-ops and research projects to help preserve New Jersey’s competitive workforce.
- Provide public funding for higher education that is more in line with national average.
- Push for New Jersey to get its share of J1 Visa employees from overseas.
- Extend the pandemic-time emergency suspension of maximum number of hours student workers can log per week.
- Employers should allow for hybrid work schedules, when possible. Provide flexibility and accommodations to employees.
- Employers should be more inclusive in their hiring process, and reassess their expectations of candidates to cast a wider net and attract a diverse workforce.
- Employers should embrace positive work culture initiatives in an effort to recruit and retain good workers.
PANELISTS
- Jim Kirkos (moderator), President & CEO, Meadowlands Chamber
- Michael Chait, President, Greater Atlantic City Chamber
- Alberto Garofalo, New Jersey Market President, Bank of America
- Ali Houshmand, President, Rowan University
- Dana Lancellotti, President & CEO, NJ Restaurant & Hospitality Association
- Marjorie Perry, President & CEO, MZM Construction & Management