New Jersey § 34:15d-5

§ 34:15d-5.

a. There is hereby established, as part of the Workforce Development Partnership Program,

the Office of Customized Training. Moneys allocated to the office from the fund shall be used to provide employment

and training services to eligible applicants approved by the commissioner. b. An applicant shall be eligible for customized training services if it is one of

the following: (1) An individual employer that seeks the customized training services to create,

upgrade or retain jobs in a labor demand occupation; (2) An individual employer that seeks customized training services to upgrade or retain

jobs in an occupation which is not a labor demand occupation, if the commissioner

determines that the services are necessary to prevent the likely loss of the jobs

or that the services are being provided to employees at a facility which is being

relocated from another state into New Jersey; (3) An employer organization, labor organization or community-based or faith-based

organization seeking the customized training services to provide training in labor

demand occupations in a particular industry; (4) A consortium made up of one or more educational institutions and one or more eligible

individual employers or labor, employer or community-based or faith-based organizations

that seeks the customized training services to provide training in labor demand occupations

in a particular industry; (5) An individual employer who provides equipment, supplies, or services to military

bases and installations pursuant to a procurement or military contract with the United

States Department of Defense, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or

any branch of the United States Armed Forces; (6) An individual employer who is engaged in one or more of the following fields or

industries: science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or advanced manufacturing

within these fields or industries; (7) An individual employer who is a manufacturer; or (8) An individual employer who intends to train veterans. For the purposes of this subparagraph, a “veteran” is any resident of the State now or hereafter who has served in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States or a Reserve component thereof or the National Guard of this

State or another state as defined in section 1 of P.L.1963, c. 109 ( C.38A:1-1 ), and has been discharged honorably or under general honorable conditions from that service. c. Each applicant seeking funding for customized training services shall submit an

application to the commissioner in a form and manner prescribed in regulations adopted

by the commissioner. The application shall be accompanied by a business plan of each employer which will

receive customized training services if the application is approved. The business plan shall include: (1) A justification of the need for the services and funding from the office, including

information sufficient to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the commissioner that

the applicant will provide significantly less of the services if the requested funding

is not provided by the office; (2) A comprehensive long-term human resource development plan which: (a) Extends significantly beyond the period of time in which the services are funded

by the office; (b) Significantly enhances the productivity and competitiveness of the employer operations

located in the State and the employment security of workers employed by the employer

in the State; and (c) States the number of current or newly-hired workers who will be trained under

the grant and the pay levels of jobs which will be created or retained for those workers

as a result of the funding and the plan. (3) Evidence, if the training sought is for an occupation which is not a labor demand

occupation, that the customized training services are needed to prevent job loss caused

by obsolete skills, technological change or national or global competition or that

the services are being provided to employees at a facility which is being relocated

from another state into New Jersey; (4) Information demonstrating that most of the individuals receiving the services

will be trained primarily for work in the direct production of goods or services; (5) A commitment to provide the information needed by the commissioner to evaluate

the success of the funding and the plan in creating and retaining jobs, to assure

compliance with the provisions of P.L.1992, c. 43 ( C.34:15D-1 et seq. ); and (6) Any other information or commitments which the commissioner deems appropriate

to assure compliance with the provisions of P.L.1992, c. 43 ( C.34:15D-1 et seq. ). The commissioner may provide whatever assistance he deems appropriate in the preparation

of the application and business plan, which may include labor market information,

projections of occupational demand and information and advice on alternative training

and instruction strategies. d. Each employer that receives a grant for customized training services shall contribute

a minimum of 50 percent of the total cost of the customized training services, except that the commissioner

shall set a higher or lower minimum contribution by an employer, if warranted by the

size and economic resources of the employer or other factors deemed appropriate by

the commissioner, and except that, for individuals hired by the employer through a

One Stop Career Center who receive classroom training under the grant and were recipients

of benefits under the Work First New Jersey program at any time during the 12 months

preceding the date of employment, the employer shall be eligible for reimbursement

of up to 50 percent of wages paid to the individual during the classroom training in addition to reimbursement

for tuition and other direct costs of the training as determined to be appropriate

by the office, and provided, further, that no individual shall be hired or placed

in a manner which results in a violation of the restrictions of subsection f. of section

4 of P.L.1992, c. 43 ( C.34:15D-4 ) against displacing current employees. e. Each employer receiving a grant for customized training services shall hire or

retain in permanent employment each worker who successfully completes the training

and instruction provided under the customized training. The employer shall be entitled to select the qualified employed, disadvantaged or

displaced workers who will participate in the customized training, except that if

any collective bargaining unit represents a qualified employed worker, the selection

shall be conducted in a manner acceptable to both the employer and the collective

bargaining unit. The commissioner shall provide for the withholding, for a time period he deems appropriate,

of whatever portion he deems appropriate of program funding as a final payment for

customized training services, contingent upon the hiring and retention of a program

completer as required pursuant to this section. If an employer receiving a grant for customized training services pursuant to this

section relocates or outsources any or all of the jobs out of the State for which

the customized training services were provided under the grant within three years

following the end date of the customized contract, the employer shall, if all of the

jobs are relocated or outsourced, return all of the moneys provided to the employer

by the State for customized training services, or, if only a portion of the jobs are

relocated or outsourced, return a part of the moneys, deemed by the commissioner to

be appropriate and proportional to the portion of the jobs relocated or outsourced,

and the returned amount shall be deposited into the Workforce Development Partnership

Fund. f. The customized training services provided to an approved applicant may include

any combination of employment and training services or any single employment and training

service approved by the commissioner, including remedial instruction provided to upgrade

workplace literacy. Each service may be provided by a separate approved service provider. No training or employment service shall be funded through a customized training

grant, unless the service is provided directly by an employer or is provided by an

approved service provider. An employer who directly provides training and employment services to his own employees

shall not be regarded as a service provider and shall not be subject to any requirement

to obtain approval by the State as a service provider, including the requirements

of section 13 of P.L.2005, c. 354 ( C.34:15C-10.1 ) to be approved as a qualifying school or the requirements of section 14 of P.L.2005, c. 354 ( C.34:15C-10.2 ) to be included on the State Eligible Training Provider List. g. Customized training services shall include any remedial instruction determined

necessary pursuant to section 7 of this act. 1 Applications for customized training services shall include estimates of the total

need for remedial instruction determined in a manner deemed appropriate by the commissioner. h. Any business seeking customized training services shall, in the manner prescribed

by the commissioner, participate in the development of a plan to provide the services. Any business seeking customized training services for workers represented by a collective

bargaining unit shall notify the collective bargaining unit and permit it to participate

in developing the plan. No customized training services shall be provided to a business employing workers

represented by a collective bargaining unit without the written consent of both the

business and the collective bargaining unit. i. Any business receiving customized training services shall be responsible for providing

workers' compensation coverage for any worker participating in the customized training. j. The commissioner shall establish an annual goal that 15 percent or more of the jobs to be created or retained in connection with training supported

by grants from the office shall be jobs provided to individuals who were recipients

of benefits under the Work First New Jersey program at any time during the 12 months

prior to being placed in the jobs. The means to attain the goal shall include coordinated efforts between the office

and One Stop Career Centers to prepare recipients for employment and make them available

to employers, but shall not include any policy which may penalize employers or discourage

employers from using customized training service provided by the office. 1

N.J.S.A. § 34:15D-7.