Narrative: b. 3.

The Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL), as envisioned by state and federal law, is critical to ensure that the highest level of training services is available to the residents of New Jersey. Additionally, the New Jersey Consumer Report Card (CRC), which contains provider and program performance data, is an essential tool not only to the workforce system but to all New Jerseyans making informed customer choices about available training opportunities.

New Jersey state law (C:34:15C-10.2) requires the creation of the ETPL and states that “[n]o training provider who is not an approved training provider included on the [ETPL] shall receive any federal job training funds or state job training funds.” Federal job training funds include but are not limited to: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Titles I, II and IV, WorkFirst New Jersey, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and SNAP Employment and Training. State job training funds include, but are not limited to, the Workforce Development Partnership Fund and the Supplemental Workforce Fund for Basic Skills. Job training is defined as occupational training, remedial instruction or occupational safety and health training. New Jersey state law (C:34:1A-86) also mandates the collection and display of specific provider and program performance data on a publicly available Consumer Report Card.

WIOA provides that participants in need of training services to enhance their job readiness or career pathway may access career training through a list of state-approved training providers and their state-approved training programs, known as the ETPL. WIOA requires each state to maintain an ETPL which must be accompanied by relevant performance and cost information, known as the Consumer Report Card (CRC), and must be made publicly available in an easy to understand format in order to maximize informed customer choice and serve all significant population groups. WIOA requires the Governor to establish eligibility procedures for the ETPL. WIOA allows the Governor to designate a state agency to administer all aspects of the ETPL. The Center for Occupational Employment Information (COEI) within the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) administers New Jersey’s ETPL and Consumer Report Card, which are located online at www.njtopps.com.

ETPL Eligibility

All training providers seeking ETPL placement must first obtain approval from a qualified government agency in order to offer training programs. Only after this approval is obtained can a training provider apply for ETPL placement. A qualified government agency is an agency authorized by law or regulation to approve a training program. A list of agencies that are currently qualified to approve providers and training programs for schools located in New Jersey is available online at http://njtopps.com/VendorFaqs.aspx.

All training providers seeking placement on the ETPL under WIOA or state law are required to submit a formal application to COEI, which includes provider information as well as descriptions of each program of training services to be offered, information on whether the provider is in a partnership with a business, and information on how the provider’s training programs align with in-demand industry sectors and occupations. Adding information addressing a factor related to WIOA performance indicators* (employment 2nd and 4th quarter after exit, median earnings 2nd quarter after exit, credential attainment) to the application will be explored. An application will not be considered complete unless the provider has submitted up to date student record data or provided a certification that no such data exits (applicable only for new providers). New providers will be added to the ETPL on a continuing basis as they are determined eligible. Beginning immediately, initial ETPL eligibility is valid for one year from the date of approval, while subsequent approvals (e.g., renewals and modifications) will be valid for two years.

Registered Apprenticeship sponsors and programs are not subject to the same application requirements as all other training providers. All Registered Apprenticeship programs that are registered with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship, or a recognized state apprenticeship agency (New Jersey’s Office of Apprenticeship), are automatically eligible to be included on the ETPL. Registered Apprenticeship program sponsors were informed of their automatic eligibility in January 2020, and provided an application (available in Appendix 3 and at https://www.nj.gov/labor/forms_pdfs/coei/ETPL/ETPL%20Apprenticeship%20Application.pdf) to complete and submit to COEI to indicate their interest in being included on the ETPL. Registered Apprenticeship programs will remain on the ETPL until they are no longer registered, until the Registered Apprenticeship program sponsor notifies the state that it no longer wants to be included on the ETPL, or the Registered Apprenticeship program is determined to have intentionally supplied inaccurate information or to have substantially violated any provision of WIOA Title I or WIOA regulations, including 29 CFR 38. Substantial violations are not further itemized but left to the discretion of the Commissioner of the Department of Labor. In its work through Data for the American Dream and the National Skills Coalition’s Quality Postsecondary Nondegree Credentials Policy Academy, New Jersey will endeavor to develop clear guidance on this and other issues.

All providers are required to submit a renewal application to maintain their ETPL listing past the initial approval period. The renewal application collects information similar to the initial application, including how training services can be accessed throughout the state, the provider’s ability to offer programs that lead to recognized post-secondary credentials, and how training programs are made accessible to individuals who are employed, individuals with barriers to employment, and individuals with disabilities. Adding performance information on WIOA performance indicators (employment 2nd and 4th quarter after exit, median earnings, credential attainment), and the provider’s ability to offer industry-recognized certificates and credentials to the ETPL renewal application will be explored. As a part of the biennial review of eligibility, COEI must remove training programs from the ETPL that fail to meet criteria to remain eligible, which may include failure to meet established performance levels. Registered Apprenticeship programs may only be removed from the ETPL for the reasons listed above.

Pursuant to state law (C:34:15D-5), “[a]n 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.” Training providers that are contracted by employers to provide customized training services funded by state or federal sources must be listed on the ETPL.

A training provider and/or its program(s) may be deemed ineligible for ETPL placement, or removed from the ETPL for the following reasons:

a. A training provider does not possess, fails to submit, or loses its certificate/letter of approval from a qualified government agency;

b. The initial and/or renewal application was not completed, was not completed by the established due date, or failed to contain all the required information;

c. A training provider failed to submit timely and accurate student record data;

d. A training provider failed to meet required performance outcomes (if established);

e. A training provider intentionally supplied inaccurate or false information, including student records; or

f. A training provider substantially violated a provision of Title I of WIOA or its implementation regulations.

If a provider is removed from the ETPL pursuant to items a-d above, the provider may be reinstated upon COEI’s receipt of all required information. If a provider is removed from the ETPL pursuant to items e-f above, the provider shall be removed for a period of not less than two years. Providers are liable to repay all adult and dislocated worker funds received during the period of non-compliance.

Providers removed from the ETPL will be provided the opportunity for a hearing in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq., and 52:14F-1 et seq., and the Uniform Administrative Procedure Rules, N.J.A.C. 1:1. All requests for hearings shall be filed with COEI’s Training Evaluation Unit within 10 business days from the date of receipt of notification of removal. All requests for hearings shall be in writing and shall be directed to the following address:

            NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development

            Center for Occupational Employment Information

            Training Evaluation Unit

            PO Box 057

            Trenton, NJ 08625-0057

All requests for hearings shall be reviewed by the Training Evaluation Unit and the provider’s licensing/certification body in order to determine whether the dispute can be resolved at an informal settlement conference. If the review indicates that an informal settlement conference is warranted, such conference shall be scheduled. If a settlement cannot be reached, the case shall be forwarded to the Office of Administrative Law for a formal hearing.

Performance Standards

All training providers listed on the ETPL are required to submit data annually for all students enrolled in the programs listed on the ETPL regardless of funding source (private pay and funded students). Failure to submit the required data in a timely manner will result in the provider’s removal from the ETPL. Student social security numbers submitted by training providers are matched with wage records collected from employers covered by the Unemployment Compensation law in New Jersey and other states in order to produce performance metrics that are displayed on the Consumer Report Card.

The Consumer Report Card as currently structured displays the following performance information for training providers and their individual programs:

• Number of individuals exiting;
• Percentage of program participants in unsubsidized employment six months, one year, and two years after exit;
• Average quarterly earnings of program participants in unsubsidized employment six months, one year, and two years after exit; and
• Estimated annual earnings of program participants in unsubsidized employment at six months, one year, and two years after exit.

Currently, the Consumer Report Card is used as a transparency tool on NJTOPPS, New Jersey’s user-facing interface for training program opportunities.  New Jersey is currently revamping this digital interface to incorporate multiple quality measures. These quality measures, which are still in development, will likely cover four domains: labor market demand, educational outcomes (including those listed above), employment outcomes (including those listed above), and equity of access and outcomes. New Jersey is using Data for the American Dream and the National Skills Coalition’s Quality Postsecondary Nondegree Credentials Policy Academy as opportunities to finalize these quality assurance measures for incorporation into the new tool.

Additional information that New Jersey collects from all training providers and their programs and highlights on NJTOPPS (to be carried forward to the new tool), include, but are not limited to:

• Program description;
• Availability to WorkFirst New Jersey (TANF) and SNAP customers;
• Credential at completion;
• Linkages to other postsecondary credentials;
• Public transportation accessibility and directions;
• Wheelchair accessibility;
• Hours;
• Languages offered; and
• Childcare offered.

NJTOPPS and the new digital tool under development as part of Data for the American Dream (described below) also indicate whether each program is aligned with the labor demand occupations list, and therefore eligible for WIOA subsidy. Currently, New Jersey does not require providers to include information on business partnerships or availability of programs through state and federal programs other than WIOA and those listed above; however, this information will be collected going forward and included in the new tool described below.

Data for the American Dream and Credential Engine Initiative

The Data for the American Dream (D4AD) initiative supports innovative efforts that expand access to education and career data to help students and job seekers – especially low-income, lower-skilled, underemployed, and unemployed Americans – make better career decisions in a changing economy. New Jersey is one of three states that will receive seed funding as D4AD’s inaugural grantees for an 18-month period, from September 2019 through February 2021.

New Jersey’s project will receive a grant to build an interactive website containing smart disclosure tools that will help job seekers make informed decisions about training. The website will be targeted at customers of the state’s human services programs and other disadvantaged populations and will replace our current Eligible Training Provider (ETPL) and Consumer Report Card (CRC) website. The newly available data will help job seekers obtain information about their desired employment and earnings outcomes, help employers find better-qualified employees, and will allow regulators to use data-driven information to weed out fraudulent and low-quality training programs. The project is led by the NJDOL and operates in partnership with several other state agencies and organizations from the non-profit sector, private sector, and academia.

As part of the New Jersey D4AD Initiative, NJDOL has partnered with Credential Engine to integrate eligible training providers' data into the organization’s broader, national Credential Registry to help New Jerseyans make more informed education and career decisions. Credential Engine, a non-profit organization based in Washington D.C., partners with key agencies and organizations to identify and operationalize the use of transparent credential information that allow states, regions, and stakeholders to improve services, practices, programs, and policies for the benefit of students, workers, veterans, employers, educators, policymakers, and others to make more informed decisions in the marketplace of credentials and to significantly advance the publishing of credentials in those states and regions to the Registry. NJDOL will provide credentialing data to this new registry on behalf of New Jersey’s eligible training providers such as competencies, quality assurance measures, and labor market information through a web-based registry that uses a common language to allow for credential comparability.

Industry Valued Credentials List:

As an overarching guide to New Jersey’s training efforts, the state has developed a policy with an intent toward maintaining a high proportion of industry-valued credentials in publicly funded training. New Jersey will develop a new industry-valued credentials list in 2020 based on an analysis of labor market data, feedback from employers and stakeholders, and other available information. The original list is available on the New Jersey Career Connections website at http://careerconnections.nj.gov/careerconnections/prepare/skills/credentials/industry_valued_credentials.shtml. In an effort to update this list and create a more sustainable model for defining industry valued credentials, New Jersey is currently developing a new list for each of the strategic industries aligned with the state’s industry partnerships. This work is occurring one sector at a time, beginning with Manufacturing, and to be followed by Healthcare and Technology. When these lists are completed, New Jersey will put a new policy into place for use of this list as a guide to, but not strict requirement for, the credential attainment performance measure.