Helped over 123,000 workers find job openings and training programs and explore new careers in New Jersey

To help workers better support themselves and their families as the economy changes, the Office of Innovation worked with the Department of Labor to launch My Career NJ, a new digital hub that gives workers personalized recommendations for higher paying careers that match their unique skills. Through the hub, job seekers can also find the right training programs and thousands of online classes for upskilling based on their specific needs.

Challenge

Finding a job or changing careers is often a daunting task - it’s stressful, confusing, and frustrating. Job seekers have multiple resources that they can access, and there is no single “right career path.” So career support must be tailored to an individual, their work history, skills, and needs, and then matched with the right tools and opportunities to ensure they can succeed. This level of personalization is incredibly difficult to provide to diverse communities on a state-wide scale.

Innovation In Action

My Career NJ features two new digital career tools: the NJ Training Explorer and the NJ Career Navigator. The Training Explorer enables customized filtering of training programs, provides information on tuition assistance, and gives users valuable insight into the providers that offer programs that meet their skill-building needs. The Career Navigator leverages big data and machine learning to generate personalized job and career recommendations that align with each user’s skill set, employment history, and individual professional goals across a wide range of private and public employment sectors. My Career NJ and all of its component applications were developed with agile project management and human-centered design.

Impact

• OOI is providing New Jersey workers with simple, straightforward ways to explore careers, training opportunities, and job openings in a range of industries.
• Six months after the launch of My Career NJ in March 2024, more than 123,000 workers have used the resource tool to get personalized career recommendations and find training programs, online classes, and other upskilling opportunities that fit their unique needs and goals.

Partners

• NJ State Department of Labor
• Research Improving People’s Lives

What New Jerseyans See

Read More

See the latest at the My Career NJ project page.