An Introduction   

Born in the City of Camden, New Jersey the author grew up in what is now referred to as the Waterfront South Section. He was the son of a City Firefighter and a Ladies Garment Worker. His knowledge of blue-collared, skilled labor and a true “work ethic” came early. A product of the city’s parochial elementary school system he also learned early that it seemed everyone in the neighborhood was in the same economic boat. The neighborhood lying in the shadow of the once bustling New York Ship Building Company, where 35,000 workers were once employed was now downsizing after World War II and now was frozen in time during the Cold War. Many other factories lined the water front and made their way into the neighborhood. Unemployment was not an issue even for the mothers and single women who wanted to work, they could.

Today unfortunately, Camden, New Jersey is consistently ranked among the poorest and most dangerous cities in the United States. One could certainly place the lion’s share for the current problems in Camden and cities like it, on the departure of good paying living wage jobs due to the decline of manufacturing.

The author, like all good kids of his day, listened to his mother’s immortal words: “learn a trade; no one can ever take that away”. So off to the County’s Vocational Technical High School he went. It is there he would learn the value of real skills training. Enrolled in the school’s Electrical Program, while learning the skills needed to be successful in the electrical construction industry, he also earned his High School Diploma.

Upon graduating from Vocational / Technical High School, he applied, and interviewed for a highly coveted position in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union’s Apprenticeship Training Program. In 1977 he was accepted into the IBEW and began a four-year apprenticeship which included working full-time in the electrical construction field while attending the Joint Apprenticeship and Training School in the evening. After receiving 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and 600 hours of related classroom instruction through the union’s nationally recognized apprenticeship he was accepted into the IBEW LOCAL 439 as a Journeyman Wireman.

A short time after his completion, John became an instructor at the IBEW training center. It was while teaching at the J.A.T.C. Training Center John developed his passion for education. He attended the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Labor Education. After eighteen years in the Electrical Construction Industry, John moved into the public education arena, returning to his own Alma Mater, Camden County Technical Schools.

John received his Master of Science degree in Education Administration from the University of Scranton, and spent the next nineteen years as an administrator at the Technical Schools District. He was the Coordinator of Apprenticeship Programs for the County of Camden, New Jersey and served numerous terms as President of the Association of New Jersey Apprenticeship Coordinators. 

Throughout his tenure in education both within the organized labor movement and within the public school system, John gained the knowledge and experience to become one of New Jersey’s most highly regarded advocates in the field of Career and Technical Education. He has served on many statewide taskforces on Career Education, Teacher Preparation and Certification, and most importantly; Workforce Development. He has presented at countless New Jersey Labor and Education Conferences as well as numerous National Conferences on Workforce Development. He was a favorite presenter at the annual Eastern Seaboard Apprenticehip Conferences.

The author retired in 2014 and enjoys fishing, golf and blogging about the latest trends in education and workforce development. John and his wife Janice have relocated to the beautiful beaches of Southern Delaware. He continues to be a strong advocate for a Highly Trained and Highly Skilled Workforce as a long term solution for the Nation’s economic wellbeing. John is not now, nor has he ever been, shy about expressing what he thinks needs to be done to make our country’s infrastructure strong and our industrial capacity number one in the World.