New Jersey Apprenticeship Technical Assistance Collaborative
In Spring 2023, the New Jersey Community College Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development launched the New Jersey Apprenticeship–Technical Assistance Collaborative (NJ A-TAC), a statewide initiative to support technical assistance for the growth and expansion of Registered Apprenticeships while promoting best-in-class diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.
NJ A-TAC is partnering with AIR to provide customized technical assistance to equip state partners with the knowledge and expertise needed to expand apprenticeships in New Jersey. For this project, AIR’s team of experienced apprenticeship, technical assistance, and state system alignment experts are working to advance apprenticeship through assessment, strategic planning, training, partner outreach, and engagement.
In the first year of the project, the AIR technical assistance team conducted a baseline assessment of the NJ statewide apprenticeship ecosystem’s strength and preparedness for expanding apprenticeship through a self-assessment survey, focus groups, and interviews. Data collected informed the development of recommendations for the Technical Assistance Plan.
Key strategies for years 2-3 of the project include continued stakeholder engagement and coalition building through convenings, high-level system visioning and strategic planning, and support for the sharing and scaling of promising practices. Implementation will be supported by a continuous improvement process to assess and refine efforts to support goals and activities over the course of the project.
