The New Jersey Council of County Colleges (NJCCC) and the New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH) will host an Essential Skills Summit on January 31, 2020 to begin a statewide discussion of the skills that will be essential for the future and how these skills can be delivered both in and out of the classroom. This effort will focus on the role of community colleges in preparing New Jerseyans for the future but will have broad relevance. Leaders from a wide array of perspectives (including industry, government, high schools, colleges and universities, non-profit organizations) and student representatives themselves must be a part of this critical conversation.