2. a. (1) The Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, in consultation with the Secretary of Higher Education, the county colleges, county vocational school districts, and the Department of Education, shall design a pilot program through which an eligible adult who has an insufficient level of information or math literacy may obtain industry-valued credentials on an accelerated schedule to assist the eligible adult in entering or re-entering the workforce or in obtaining better employment. The pilot program shall include at least 20 certificates that eligible adults may obtain by completing courses that integrate information and math literacy development programs, and soft skills development programs, with career and technical training. The time required to complete a certificate program shall not exceed 12 months.

(2) The commissioner shall develop and initially offer under the pilot program at least 10 industry-valued credentials by the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year and at least 10 additional industry-valued credentials by the spring semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. In determining for which industries to develop and offer a certificate program, the commissioner shall give preference to industries with occupations on the Demand Occupation List, or any successor list, compiled by New Jersey Career Connections in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. One of the industries for which the commissioner shall develop and offer a certificate program shall be the restaurant and hospitality industry. A certificate program for the restaurant and hospitality industry shall include the following employer-valued credentials:

(a) ServSafe Food Manager Certification;

(b) ServSafe Alcohol Certificate; and

(c) ServSafe Workplace.

b. The commissioner shall collaborate with and may enter into memorandums of understanding with county colleges, county vocational school districts, the Department of Education, the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, and other adult education providers to ensure that the pilot program is implemented locally.

c. The commissioner shall ensure that, at a minimum, the pilot program:

(1) is available to eligible adults who are seeking to enter or re-enter the workforce or obtain better employment and who may benefit from information and math literacy development programs, as indicated by the individual’s score on a basic skills assessment in English and Mathematics selected by the secretary;

(2) includes only industry-valued credentials that a student can complete within 12 months; and

(3) requires that each course offered through a certificate program integrates appropriate information or math literacy instruction, career and technical skills, and soft skills, and is jointly designed by mathematics, English, and career and technical education faculty.

d. A county college, a county vocational school district, or an adult education program operated in cooperation with the Department of Education or the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, may choose to participate in the pilot program by implementing one or more of the certificate programs established by the commissioner pursuant to this act.

e. An entity that participates in the pilot program to offer one or more certificate programs shall on or before July 1 of each year of the pilot program submit to the commissioner a report that includes the following information:

(1) the certificate programs offered;

(2) the number of students who enrolled in each certificate program;

(3) the number of students who successfully completed each certificate program; and

(4) the percentage of students who obtained employment in the area in which they obtained a certificate or who enrolled in additional educational offerings in that subject area.

f. No later than January 1, 2023, the commissioner shall submit to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C. 52:14-19.1), a report that evaluates the results of the pilot program and its effectiveness in assisting program participants in entering or re-entering the workforce or in obtaining better employment. The report shall include a recommendation on the advisability of the program’s continuation and extension to additional certificate and technical programs.

L.2019, c.252, s.2.