D4AD in Governor’s Talent Plan; Project Welcomes New Director
By Lesley Hirsch — Assistant Commissioner, Research and Information, New Jersey Department of Labor
Data for the American Dream (D4AD) in Governor’s Jobs NJ Plan
Governor Phil Murphy unveiled his 2020 plan to invest in the people of New Jersey and help them find meaningful, family sustaining careers. According to the Governor, the plan will help New Jersey residents receive the critical training and education they need for jobs that are available and in-demand. The plan has three interrelated, strategic priorities:
- Expanding Access to Opportunity by increasing educational attainment among underrepresented minorities and other targeted populations and ensuring equal access to opportunities in all regions of the state.
- Training Individuals for In-Demand Jobs by connecting educational and training programs to industry needs and leading the region in programs that prepare adults for high-quality jobs throughout their careers.
- Matching Talent to Jobs by ensuring access to up-to-date job information, celebrating employers that provide high-quality jobs, and creating a dedicated team to craft individualized solutions to complex access-to-labor problems.
Along with the NJ Career Network, D4AD features prominently within the plan as powerful, cutting edge tools to help prepare people for work and connect to the appropriate opportunities in the labor market.
NJ D4AD Has a New Product Director
The Governor’s Office of Innovation and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development are thrilled to announce the newest addition to our team: Xavier Hughes, the D4AD product director and Senior Innovation Fellow. Xavier comes to us from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) where he served as the Chief Technology and Innovation Officer. Prior to that, he served in the Obama administration as Chief Innovation Officer and Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Labor at the US Department of Labor where he oversaw the research and development agenda for open government, the introduction of new technologies to enhance customer service, and the use of open data ecosystems to protect the public and encourage problem solving. He is a recognized national leader in the area of open government and data liberation, having led the development and launch of several crowdsourcing data challenges covering worker safety and health, enforcement, labor statistics, disability employment, and equal pay. New Jersey is fortunate to have him on board!
Project Updates
Although Xavier is new, the project is already underway. Some project accomplishments to date include:
- Compiling the business requirements for the training providers’ digital portal, where they will submit their applications for review and approval, and upload their data.
- Developing a process that will allow us to move training provider information to the Credential Registry, an open data portal for educational data.
- Reviewing private sector tech vendors for the training provider portal and the smart disclosure tool.
- Developing a robust quality assurance framework that will allow NJ residents to identify training programs with the best track records for their students.
- In partnership with the Governor’s Policy Office and the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, signing on to the National Skills Coalition (NSC)’s Quality Postsecondary Credentials Policy Academy, where we will consult with NSC, other states, and experts on crafting policies to institutionalize these new quality assurance measures.
- With the NJ Council on County Colleges, identifying three major career pathways in manufacturing and beginning to map the competencies needed to enter and advance along them.
Stay tuned for more information in the next quarter. We are sure to see an even faster pace of activity now that we have Xavier Hughes on board!
