Establishes "Manufacturing Workforce Development Grant Program" for students enrolled at county colleges.

A1467

ASSEMBLY, No. 1467

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ANTWAN L. MCCLELLAN

District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen Simonsen and Inganamort

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes "Manufacturing Workforce Development
Grant Program" for students enrolled at county colleges.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning internship and career opportunities for
students enrolled at county colleges and supplementing chapter 64A of Title 18A
of the New Jersey Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.� The Secretary of
Higher Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce
Development, shall create the �Manufacturing Workforce Development Grant
Program� to encourage county colleges in the State to partner with local
manufacturers to provide students with internship opportunities.� The purpose
of the program shall be to prepare students for entry into the workforce by
providing real workplace experiences as a complement to traditional classroom
instruction.� Students who successfully complete the program shall receive
academic credit for their participation, while earning a stipend funded by the
program.

���� b.��� The Secretary of Higher
Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce
Development and the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, shall develop a
list of approved manufacturers that county colleges shall partner with for the
program.� The secretary shall issue a request for proposals within 30 days of
the effective date of this section to all county colleges detailing the purpose
of the program, the application process and required documentation, evaluation
criteria, and the submission timeline.

���� The secretary shall award
grants, within the limits of available appropriations, to selected county
colleges to be used to support the development of internship opportunities for
students.� The secretary shall determine the amount of each grant awarded under
the program and may award multi-year grants.

���� c.���� A county college that
wishes to participate in the program shall submit an application to the
secretary on such forms and in such a manner as determined by the secretary.�
The application shall include:

���� (1)�� a memorandum of
understanding between the county college and a local manufacturer including,
but not limited to, the responsibilities of each partner, a description of the
work to be performed by student interns, and the process by which a student may
earn an offer of employment or a promise of employment from the manufacturer
after completion of an associate�s degree and upon successful completion of an
internship under the program;

���� (2)�� a description of current
or proposed course offerings at the county college and how those course
offerings will help students complement and reinforce the work skills and
knowledge acquired through participation in the program;

���� (3)�� the application process
for students seeking admission into the program;

���� (4)�� the selection criteria
that will be used by the county college in evaluating whether a student will be
accepted into the program;

���� (5)�� the number of students
the county college will accept into the program each academic year;

���� (6)�� a description of how
students accepted into the program will be matched with an approved
manufacturer;

���� (7)�� a description of how the
internships offered through the college will provide real workplace experiences
and promote the mastery of occupation-specific or transferable skills; and

���� (8)�� the number of credits a
student may be awarded towards the completion of an associate�s degree program
upon successful completion of an internship under the program.

���� Priority status shall be given
to county colleges that demonstrate that one or more proposed manufacturing
internships to be offered by the college are in careers designated as labor
demand occupations as defined in section 3 of P.L.1993, c.268 (C.34:15E-3).

���� To the maximum extent
possible, the department shall select county colleges from the northern,
central, and southern regions of the State and shall select a cross section of
colleges in urban, suburban, and rural areas.

���� d.��� Grants shall be awarded
on an annual basis and subject to the limit of funds appropriated or otherwise
made available to effectuate the purposes of this section.� Eighty-five percent
of all funds received by a recipient county college shall be used to fund
student stipends for hours worked at a program internship.� Fifteen percent of
all funds received by a recipient county college shall be used to cover costs
incurred while administering the program, fund career counselor positions to
assist students accepted into the program, and for any other purposes as may be
approved by the secretary to meet the program�s objectives.

���� e.���� The secretary shall
submit an annual report by December 31 of each year to the Governor, and to the
Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1),
concerning:

���� (1)�� the number of new and
current partnerships created by each county college with local manufacturers;

���� (2)�� the total number of
students participating in the program;

���� (3)�� a description of the
various work skills students have learned or refined through participation in
the program;

���� (4)�� the number of students
in the program who have transferred to a four-year institution of higher
education;

���� (5)�� the number of students
who received offers of employment upon successful completion of a program
internship;

���� (6)�� the amount of money
distributed through the program and the purposes for which those funds have
been used; and

���� (7)�� any other information
deemed relevant by the secretary.

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the sixth month next following the date of
enactment, except the Secretary of Higher Education may take any anticipatory
administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation
of this act.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes the
�Manufacturing Workforce Development Grant Program� to encourage county
colleges in the State to partner with local manufacturers to provide internship
opportunities for their students.� Through the creation of these partnerships,
county colleges will be able to better prepare their students for entry into
the workforce by providing real workplace experiences as a complement to traditional
classroom instruction.�

���� Under the provisions of the
bill, the program would be created by the Secretary of Higher Education in
consultation with the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development.�
Eighty-five percent of program funds would be used by recipient county colleges
to fund student stipends for hours worked at a program internship while the
remaining fifteen percent of funds received would be used to cover costs
incurred while administering the program, fund career counselor positions, and
for any other purposes as may be approved by the secretary to meet the
program�s objectives.� Priority status would be granted to county colleges that
demonstrate that one or more of the proposed manufacturing internships to be
offered by the college are for careers designated as labor demand occupations.�
Students who successfully complete a program internship would receive academic
credit towards completion of an associate�s degree and may earn an offer of
employment.

���� The secretary would be
required to submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature by
December 31 of each year concerning the number of new and current partnerships
created by each county college with local manufacturers, the total number of students
participating in the program, a description of the various work skills students
have learned or refined through participation in the program, the number of
students in the program who have transferred to a four-year institution of
higher education, the number of students who received offers of employment upon
successful completion of a program internship, the amount of money distributed
through the program and the purposes for which those funds have been used, and
any other information deemed relevant by the secretary.