(BLACK PR WIRE)--NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Fund for Workforce Solutions (NFWS) today announced that it has selected the Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative to join its network of 31 collaboratives designed to provide innovative job training and career advancement for workers nationwide while helping businesses grow. 

The National Fund for Workforce Solutions’ grant of $450,000 over three years will be combined with local funder contributions for a total of more than $1.8 million to develop employer-driven workforce partnerships. These partnerships will provide skilled workers for businesses in growth industries and training that leads to career paths for adults who need sustainable careers.

“In this model, employers have an opportunity to invest in the development of human capital that drives innovation in business and provides long-term career advancement,” said Fred Dedrick, executive director of the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. “There is great momentum in northern New Jersey to create sustainable workforce solutions that benefit both local businesses and low-income workers in key industries, and thereby serve as an economic engine to the region. We think this grant will greatly help build workforce partnerships that support revitalization in a post-recession economy.”

The Collaborative’s local funders include The Prudential Foundation, the Newark Alliance, the Bergen County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) and One-Stop Career Centers, the Garfield Foundation, Goldman Sachs, the Hudson County WIB and One-Stop Career Centers, JP Morgan Chase, the Kessler Foundation, the Newark WIB and One-Stop Career Centers, the Nicholson Foundation, PNC Bank, United Way of Essex and West Hudson, and the Walmart Foundation.

“With its high concentration of health-care companies and one of the country’s most sophisticated transportation systems, New Jersey is uniquely positioned to offer opportunities for skilled workers,” said Sharon C. Taylor, Prudential senior vice president human resources and chairman of The Prudential Foundation. “The Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative is looking to develop job-specific training initially for people in these industries because we think doing so will mean success for both workers and businesses in northern New Jersey.”

The Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative expects to create its first workforce partnership – a dedicated commitment between training providers and the businesses that agree to hire training participants – by October 2011.

The Collaborative is managed by the Newark Alliance, which was founded as a non-profit in 1999 by leaders from major New Jersey corporations, higher education institutions and non-profits to make Newark a better, safer place to work, live, learn, play and do business. The Collaborative is part of a continuum that began with the Newark Alliance-led OpportunityNewark, which identified leading industries, demand occupations and supportive infrastructure to make it easier to do business. It led to the $5.1 million North Jersey Partners Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant, which implemented workforce development innovations in eight northern NJ counties, trained more than 3,000 incumbent and unemployed workers and developed 22 training and education products. It culminated in the Regional Employment Development Initiative (REDI) grant, a three-year partnership between the Newark Alliance, the Workforce Investment Boards (WIB) and the One-Stop Career Centers to create sector-specific statewide Talent Networks.

About National Fund for Workforce Solutions

The National Fund for Workforce Solutions is an award-winning national initiative focused on helping low-wage workers obtain good careers while at the same time ensuring that employers have access to workers with the high-quality skills that will enable them to succeed in this highly competitive economy. Since 2008, the National Fund has raised nearly $24 million to support its work in 31 communities. Local funders in these communities have contributed an additional $104 million in locally-raised resources from 216 different funding sources, including community foundations, United Ways, corporate foundations, workforce investment boards, chambers of commerce and state agencies. Each of these communities has created local funding collaboratives that have collectively invested in more than 100 sectoral workforce partnerships since 2007. Ten national funders lead the effort: Annie E. Casey Foundation; the California Endowment; Ford Foundation; John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Chase; Microsoft; The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation; The Hitachi Foundation; the Prudential Foundation; and the Walmart Foundation.

About the Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative

The Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative is the only regional collaborative of workforce investors in New Jersey and the 31st collaborative to join the award-winning National Fund for Workforce Solutions network of innovative workforce solutions across the country. The Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative seeks to link and leverage public and private dollars as it taps business, civic, and philanthropic stakeholders to develop a sustainable workforce pipeline that advances low-skilled workers in northern New Jersey and enables the businesses that hire them. The Collaborative’s funders include The Prudential Foundation, the Newark Alliance, the Bergen County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) and One-Stop Career Centers, the Garfield Foundation, Goldman Sachs, the Hudson County WIB and One-Stop Career Centers, JP Morgan Chase, the Kessler Foundation, the Newark WIB and One-Stop Career Centers, the Nicholson Foundation, PNC Bank, United Way of Essex and West Hudson, and the Walmart Foundation. For more information about the Collaborative, contact Regina Barboza, the Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative Program Officer, at rbarboza@newark-alliance.org or (973) 596-6400, ext. 203.