Who We Are
Our Mission
Jewish Vocational Service of MetroWest New Jersey (JVS) helps people help themselves through innovative programs in disabilities services, education, and career services that create pathways to hope, independence, and employment. Inspired by Jewish values, we proudly serve clients from any and all backgrounds.
JVS serves more than 4,000 individuals each year representing a number of seemingly unrelated populations: adults with disabilities, immigrants and refugees, and job-seekers of all ages.
As different as they may be from one another, they all have one thing in common: the dream of a better life through employment. That is why every minute of every day, we at JVS focus on one goal - and only one goal - helping these clients make that dream come true.
“It’s an amazing feeling—to know you have enough money in the bank to pay your rent, to walk into a store and buy food, to see a gift you’d like to buy and know you have the money to buy it. It’s your money—money you earned on your own. There’s nothing like it.”
—Ariel, JVS Client
Our History
Since 1939, JVS has provided job placement and other critical assistance to tens of thousands of unemployed, under-employed, and underserved individuals seeking to support themselves and their families—independently, self-sufficiently, and with dignity. Initially founded to serve members of the local Jewish community who faced anti-Semitism following the Great Depression, JVS soon expanded its scope to provide a therapeutic work environment for immigrants and refugees with physical and emotional challenges who were forced to flee Europe during and after World War II.
Over the past nearly eighty years, JVS has continued to adjust and adapt to both changing times and the changing needs of the community. Today, JVS provides career services for both experienced employees and those new to the workforce; workforce development courses for that lead to certification as Pharmacy Technicians, Home Health Aides, and Apartment Maintenance Technicians; education and skill-building for immigrants and refugees; job training and internship opportunities for individuals with developmental, emotional, and physical disabilities; and, corporate training for the employees of hundreds of companies located throughout New Jersey and beyond. In addition, JVS provides customized business solutions that enable local businesses and non-profits to reduce costs, optimize efficiencies, and maximize revenues while meeting the needs of their stakeholders.
