Businesses Need to Utilize HR Departments to Develop Career Pathways

On Feb 23, 2018

Workforce development expert and former Assistant Labor Commissioner Patricia Moran, Ph.D. urged the business community to take immediate action to better connect employees with career development plans using their Human Resouces departments.

“Dissatisfied workers grunt, groan, and complain….and that negative attitude is contagious. Morale is affected, and it reduces productivity and efficiency. Businesses need to empower employees by offering them career development plans, essentially ‘maps to their future’ “, said Moran at the Human Resources Summit at the new Rutgers Club in Piscataway.

Moran suggests a three tier approach. First, a self assessment having the employee look at his or her skills, abilities, and interests. Second, a career map customized for the employee by Human Resources personnel. It should provide a look at the entire organization to determine potential opportunities for growth and development. Finally, the employee would engage in further career exploration within the company.

“The relationship between Human Resources and employees is key. If Human Resources can help employees develop their career path, they are more likely to be motivated, engaged, and striving for the next step,” said Moran. “Employees are more driven to succeed when they believe their employer is concerned about their growth. Having a customized career development plan at work provides the tool for employees to attain the skills, credentials, and experiences needed to move forward in their career path while making a company’s workforce stronger.”

New Jersey has tools in place to help employers, employees, and students develop and expand career pathways. They include the Talent Networks, the Talent Development Centers, and the Many Paths, One Future Internship Grant program.

Moran’s goal to better utilize Human Resources departments within companies is part of the ‘65 by 25: Many Paths, One Future’ initiative, working to build a skilled, competitive workforce by helping New Jerseyans find pathways to careers. This collaborative effort of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Department of Education, the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, New Jersey’s business community, and workforce leaders is focused on increasing the percentage of New Jersey adults who have earned an industry-valued postsecondary credential or degree from 50 percent to 65 percent by 2025.

Patricia Moran, Ph.D., is a workforce development expert with more than thirty years in the field. She is the former Assistant Commissioner of Workforce Development at the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. She is an adjunct professor at Middlesex County College and a Gannett columnist. Moran spent 18 years in the Human Resources Department of the Ford Motor Company Edison Assembly Plant.

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