New Jersey § 34:1a-86

§ 34:1a-86.

There is established in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Center

for Occupational Employment Information, which shall: a. Serve as the entity designated to carry out the State level career information

activities prescribed in the Perkins Act. In accordance with that act, the center shall, in cooperation with the New Jersey

Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education: (1) Provide support for career guidance and academic counseling programs designed

to promote improved career and education decision-making by individuals, especially

in areas of career information delivery and use; (2) Make information and planning resources that relate educational preparation to

career goals and expectations available, on the Internet to the extent possible, to

students, parents, teachers, administrators, counselors, job-seekers, workers and

other clients of the workforce investment system, including the consumer report card

on the effectiveness of qualified schools and other approved training providers placed

on the State Eligible Training Provider List provided pursuant to subsection f. of this section and required to be made available pursuant to section 13 of P.L.2005, c. 354 ( C.34:15C-10.1 ), section 4 of P.L.1992, c. 48 ( C.34:15B-38 ), section 7 of P.L.1992, c. 43 ( C.34:15D-7 ) and section 3 of P.L.1992, c. 47 ( C.43:21-59 ) ; (3) Equip workforce investment system professionals, including teachers, administrators,

and counselors, with the knowledge and skills needed to assist clients of the workforce

investment system, including students and parents, with career exploration, educational

opportunities and education financing; (4) Assist appropriate State entities in tailoring career-related educational resources

and training for use by such entities; (5) Improve coordination and communication among administrators and planners of programs

included in the State's workforce investment system to ensure non-duplication of efforts

and the appropriate use of shared information and data; and (6) Provide ongoing means for clients of the workforce investment system, including

students and parents, to provide comments and feedback on products and services and

to update resources, as appropriate, to better meet customer requirements. b. Design and implement a comprehensive workforce information system to meet the needs

for the planning and operation of all public and private training and job placement

programs, which is responsive to the economic demands of the employer community and

education and training needs of the State and of Workforce Investment Board areas

within the State, as recommended by the commission and designated by the Commissioner

of Labor and Workforce Development. In doing so, the center shall insure that the information: (1) Is delivered in a user friendly, timely and easily understood manner; (2) Pays special attention to the particular needs of each Workforce Investment Board

and is consistent with the labor market of each Workforce Investment Board; and (3) Is delivered, to the extent possible, on the Internet in a format designed to

meet the needs of all user groups. c. Use the occupational employment information system to implement an electronic career

information delivery system, which shall provide students, parents, counselors and

other career decision makers with accurate, timely and locally relevant information

on the careers available in the New Jersey labor market. d. Analyze, not less than once every two years and on a regional basis, the relationship

between the projected need for trained individuals in each of the career clusters

and each of the career pathways, and the total number of individuals being trained

in the skills or skill sets needed to work in each of the clusters and pathways. Based on this relationship, the center shall designate as a labor demand occupation

any occupation that is in a cluster or pathway for which the number of individuals

needed significantly exceeds, or shall exceed, the number being trained, and may designate

as a labor demand occupation an occupation for which the center determines that the

number of individuals needed significantly exceeds, or will exceed, the number being

trained, even if that is not the case for the entire career cluster or pathway to

which the occupation belongs. In cases where a Workforce Investment Board established pursuant to section 18 of P.L.1989, c. 293 ( C.34:15C-15 ) submits information to the center that there is or is likely to be, in the region

for which the board is responsible, a significant excess of demand over supply of

adequately trained workers for an occupation, the center may conduct a survey of the

need or anticipated need in that region for trained workers in that occupation and,

whether or not it conducts that survey, shall, in conjunction with the board, determine

whether to designate the occupation to be a labor demand occupation in that region. The center may utilize survey data obtained by other agencies or from other sources

to fulfill its responsibilities under this subsection. e. Assist the commission in preparing the New Jersey Unified Workforce Investment

Plan pursuant to section 10 of P.L.1989, c. 293 ( C.34:15C-7 ) by providing information requested by the commission. f. Compile information provided to the department by training providers on the State

Eligible Training Provider List pursuant to sections 14 and 29 of P.L.2005, c. 354 ( C.34:15C-10.2 and C.34:1A-88 ) into a consumer report card on the effectiveness of qualified schools and other

approved training providers. The consumer report card shall include, at a minimum, the following information

compiled annually: the number of enrollees; the completion rate; placement in employment

information, including the names of employers where placements are made; licensing

information; examination results; enrollee demographic information; and information

showing the long-term success of former trainees of each provider and school in obtaining

permanent employment and increasing earnings over one or more time periods following

the completion or other termination of training, including a period of two years following

the completion or other termination of training. g. Ensure that the data needed to produce a consumer report card, pursuant to subsection

f. of this section, is submitted by the training providers and qualified schools to

the department in a timely manner and, for those training providers and qualified

schools that do not submit the data in a timely manner, implement and enforce a process

to revoke or suspend the entity from the State Eligible Training Provider List, pursuant

to section 14 of P.L.2005, c. 354 ( C.34:15C-10.2 ).