When Jeff Benes and Bob Mackowiak started their own manufacturing company, Catalyst Manufacturing, after being laid off, they received training from Wake Tech Community College (WTCC) in both hard skills like operating equipment and soft skills like leadership and communication. This training helped Catalyst Manufacturing grow into a multimillion dollar company with facilities in North Carolina, New York, and Mexico employing 300 people. WTCC provides valuable workforce training to many companies in the region from small startups to large multinational corporations, helping to attract and retain high-tech industries to the area. As the economic landscape changes, WTCC adapts its training programs to meet emerging needs like bilingual medical training and retraining displaced workers
Ro Khanna's Jobs Plan for the Bay Area's FutureRoKhannaDigital
On February 24th, Ro Khanna announced his Jobs Plan for the Bay Area's Future. In his speech at AccessClosure, a medical device manufacturing company in Santa Clara, Ro highlighted his seven point plan to bring jobs back home and to prepare workers for today's dynamic economy.
Do you support Ro's Jobs Plan? How will it help you, your family, your business? We'd like your input. Each week during March, we'll feature a few of your stories in a blog. Will you be in our post?
Ro Khanna's Jobs Plan for the Bay Area's FutureRoKhannaDigital
On February 24th, Ro Khanna announced his Jobs Plan for the Bay Area's Future. In his speech at AccessClosure, a medical device manufacturing company in Santa Clara, Ro highlighted his seven point plan to bring jobs back home and to prepare workers for today's dynamic economy.
Do you support Ro's Jobs Plan? How will it help you, your family, your business? We'd like your input. Each week during March, we'll feature a few of your stories in a blog. Will you be in our post?
Dr. Craig T. Follins and Darin Siley of Cuyahoga Community Colleges' (WEDD) Workforce and Economic Development make presentation at 2009 Natioanal Institute of Staff and Organizational Development International Conference (NISOD).
Article upgrade yourself or stay unemployedBogdan Negru
Academic paper on the connections between the skills gap and rising unemployment among young people. A study carried out in Romania confirming Consulting Firm McKinsey's global study.
White Paper: Addressing Worker Shortages in the Skilled TradesTulsa Welding School
The popularity of America’s skilled trade careers has been in steady decline for the past few generations, and industries that have relied on American workers across the country are now feeling the effects of that. While the shortage puts employers at a disadvantage, it also creates huge opportunities for newcomers to the industry. - See more at: http://www.weldingschool.com/blog/how-to/white-paper-addressing-worker-shortages-in-the-skilled-trades/
Presentation by Dr. Craig Follins EVP, Workforce and Economic Development, Cuyahoga Community College (Cleveland,Ohio) on Workforce Development to graduate students at Cleveland State University in Ohio (2010)
Education across Canada have seen improvement in graduation rates.
Education is not being aligned in terms of the jobs today as well as the future
Too many students lack critical thinking, interpersonal skills, time management and judgement
Too many students have been treated as special when in the fact the real world does not treat anyone special
There are systemic issues with programs being offered at the secondary level. There needs to be more emphasis on financial planning, biology, IT, chemistry, writing and physics.
Presentation summarizing the findings of the Pipeline 4 Progress Regional Workforce Action Plan, written with the help of Cornell University to support economic and workforce development in 13 counties throughout the southern tier of upstate New York.
This report report from Brookings, with Rockefeller Foundation support, shows that building up a region’s advanced industries is one such possibility with enormous potential. These industries not only create good jobs within the industry, but also up and down their massive supply chains. These jobs provide higher wages and greater opportunity to low and middle-income workers adversely affected by the economic recession.
Challenges for Open and Distance Learning in the Post-2010 Decade: Scenarios ...eLearning Papers
Authors: Cornelis Adrianus (Kees-Jan) van Dorp, Alfonso Herrero de Egaña Espinosa de los Monteros
European universities are ready to materialise their strategies for post-2010. How well equipped are today’s universities for tomorrow’s demands? In the face of enormous socio-economic and demographic challenges, Europe requires a more advanced educational performance, providing a better contribution to innovation, competitiveness and economic growth.
Dr. Craig T. Follins and Darin Siley of Cuyahoga Community Colleges' (WEDD) Workforce and Economic Development make presentation at 2009 Natioanal Institute of Staff and Organizational Development International Conference (NISOD).
Article upgrade yourself or stay unemployedBogdan Negru
Academic paper on the connections between the skills gap and rising unemployment among young people. A study carried out in Romania confirming Consulting Firm McKinsey's global study.
White Paper: Addressing Worker Shortages in the Skilled TradesTulsa Welding School
The popularity of America’s skilled trade careers has been in steady decline for the past few generations, and industries that have relied on American workers across the country are now feeling the effects of that. While the shortage puts employers at a disadvantage, it also creates huge opportunities for newcomers to the industry. - See more at: http://www.weldingschool.com/blog/how-to/white-paper-addressing-worker-shortages-in-the-skilled-trades/
Presentation by Dr. Craig Follins EVP, Workforce and Economic Development, Cuyahoga Community College (Cleveland,Ohio) on Workforce Development to graduate students at Cleveland State University in Ohio (2010)
Education across Canada have seen improvement in graduation rates.
Education is not being aligned in terms of the jobs today as well as the future
Too many students lack critical thinking, interpersonal skills, time management and judgement
Too many students have been treated as special when in the fact the real world does not treat anyone special
There are systemic issues with programs being offered at the secondary level. There needs to be more emphasis on financial planning, biology, IT, chemistry, writing and physics.
Presentation summarizing the findings of the Pipeline 4 Progress Regional Workforce Action Plan, written with the help of Cornell University to support economic and workforce development in 13 counties throughout the southern tier of upstate New York.
This report report from Brookings, with Rockefeller Foundation support, shows that building up a region’s advanced industries is one such possibility with enormous potential. These industries not only create good jobs within the industry, but also up and down their massive supply chains. These jobs provide higher wages and greater opportunity to low and middle-income workers adversely affected by the economic recession.
Challenges for Open and Distance Learning in the Post-2010 Decade: Scenarios ...eLearning Papers
Authors: Cornelis Adrianus (Kees-Jan) van Dorp, Alfonso Herrero de Egaña Espinosa de los Monteros
European universities are ready to materialise their strategies for post-2010. How well equipped are today’s universities for tomorrow’s demands? In the face of enormous socio-economic and demographic challenges, Europe requires a more advanced educational performance, providing a better contribution to innovation, competitiveness and economic growth.
The Talent Gap Crisis - Is Manufacturing Sexy Enough for the Next Generations? CBIZ, Inc.
Manufacturing employment accounts for 12.8 million jobs in the U.S. Yet, currently about 452,000 manufacturing positions remain vacant across the nation – a staggering statistic. Manufacturers saw this coming more than two decades ago as the retirement of the baby boomer generation began to impact the industry. Compounding the loss of experienced workers, the introduction of new manufacturing technologies, the industry’s persistent image problem and the cultural shift in the demand for work-life balance have catapulted the talent shortage to the industry’s top challenge.
Slides to follow along to during the press conference - note that there are slides from the Vice Chancellor of UKM in Malaysia to provide additional context on the program.
Wake Technical Community College plans to train 450 people for information technology (IT) jobs in healthcare, cybersecurity, manufacturing, and financial services through Project SECURE — Supporting and Enhancing Cybersecurity through Upwardly Mobile Retraining and Education.
Freedom Communications - How to build a pipeline of industry talentFreedom Communications
Freedom Communications' feature in Comms Dealer Magazine June 2016, discussing the topic of how Freedom have built their talent pipeline with skills development and apprenticeship schemes.
Photo source iStockphoto.com42 T+D SEPTEMBER 2009.docxmattjtoni51554
Photo source iStockphoto.com42 | T+D | SEPTEMBER 2009
Help Wanted: “T-Shaped”
Skills to Meet 21st Century Needs
A handful of students within the busi-
ness and engineering schools at San
Jose State University in California are
headed for careers in service-related
industries with an expanded set of
marketable skills. A specially devised
curriculum shared by the two schools
includes instruction in such areas as
service design and computer science,
as well as soft skills electives including
leadership and communication.
The university’s goal is to help stu-
dents develop an array of skills that are
highly prized by organizations in service-
related fields, explains Stephen Kwan at
the university’s College of Business. For
example, he says, “students in the pro-
gram learn how information technolo-
gies can be used to create innovations
within all types of service companies.”
Kwan says students possessing
such versatile skills will enjoy a com-
petitive advantage in their pursuit of
promising careers in the fast-growing
service sector, which represents some
80 percent of the U.S. gross domestic
As employers clamor for
versatile workers who
can wear many hats in
the workplace, business-
es are partnering with
academic institutions
to develop them.
LISTEN TO THIS FEATURE
at www.astd.org/TD/TDpodcasts.htm
SEPTEMBER 2009 | T+D | 43
By Paul Harris
44 | T+D | SEPTEMBER 2009
product. Employers will reap the ben-
efits, he adds.
San Jose State is not alone in offering
this interdisciplinary approach, called
the Service Science, Management, and
Engineering (SSME) program. In fact,
it is one of more than 250 universities
that provide SSME-related courses
thanks in large part to IBM.
It was Big Blue that developed the
SSME curriculum in 2003 and that for
the past five years has helped uni-
versity faculties institute it as part
of the IBM Academic Initiative—a
program that helps accredited schools
throughout the world develop a more
competitive workforce. To date, the
expansive IBM initiative has helped
more than 8,500 faculties at 4,000
institutions teach 40,000 courses to
more than 2.5 million students, states
Director Kevin Faughnan.
Indeed, a growing chorus of busi-
ness and academic leaders is seeking
to ensure that tomorrow’s graduates
possess a broad repertoire of compe-
tencies that extend well beyond IT.
“Graduates who want to compete in
the global economy need to be innova-
tive and entrepreneurial, with a focus
on value creation,” says Debra Van
Opstal, senior vice president of programs
and policy with the Washington, D.C.-
based Council on Competitiveness.
“They also need leadership skills and
the flexibility to adapt quickly as
the pace of change accelerates.”
The council, an organization of
CEOs, university presidents, and labor
leaders working to ensure U.S. pros-
perity, has launched an energetic skills
initiative. Similar education and skills
dev.
Sowing the Seeds of Prosperity: Solutions to the Youth Unemployment CrisisAnthony Williams
With nearly 300 million unemployed or inactive youth around the world, youth unemployment is a serious threat to global prosperity and well-being. The social and economic repercussions of prolonged youth unemployment range from to a loss aggregate demand in the form of slower growth and less job creation to heightened pressure on fragile social support systems and even increases in crime, violence and social unrest. While single-actor interventions have largely proven ineffective, global solution networks are drawing on the resources and competencies of diverse actors in society to create new pathways for skills development, entrepreneurship and policy creation that will underpin long-term solutions for youth employment.
Business & Industry Presentation on The Stepping Stones Collaborative and Car...Gregory Cabrera
The following presentation was prepared by Gregory Cabrera, Business Partnerships Coordinator, who represents "The Stepping Stones Collaborative" in Silicon Valley and Santa Clara County ROPs. His position is funded by a grant through the California Department of Education (SB 70 CTE) to promote The Stepping Stones Collaborative and develop business partnerships with local business and industry.
Presented at the British Columbia Collaboration Event for Educators - an annual conference that discusses the future of IT and education in Canada.
Presented by Tracy Biernacki-Dusza, National Project manager of the Focus on Information Technology program (FIT); a youth inititiative developed by the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC)
Similar to Plotnick writing sample - Wake Tech Training the Corporate Workforce (20)
Plotnick writing sample - Wake Tech Training the Corporate Workforce
1. Wake Tech Training the Corporate Workforce
Business Leader Magazine (May 2008)
When Jeff Benes and Bob Mackowiak were laid off from a contract manufacturing
facility – along with about 400 other people – they decided to start their own company.
“The economy six years ago was not all that attractive in the Raleigh area,” says Benes,
who could not leave the area due to family obligations. While Benes and Mackowiak had
ample contract manufacturing skills, they did not have the general management skills
needed to run an entire company.
Enter Wake Tech Community College (WTCC), the state’s second largest community
college and the county’s premier workforce training institution. “We’ve had training at
Wake Tech for five years in both hard and soft skills,” Benes said.
The company the two men started six years ago, Catalyst Manufacturing, now has an
85,000-square-foot facility in Research Triangle Park; a 40,000-square-foot facility in
Endicott, N.Y., and a new facility in Mexico. The multimillion-dollar company employs
about 300 people.
“Training from WTCC was very critical. I’m not sure we’d be successful without it,”
Benes said. “When you are a startup, you don’t have a lot of money for training, so you
don’t do it. WTCC allowed us to grow and succeed and add depth as a company.”
He said the training Catalyst received from WTCC changed with its needs – beginning
with “hard skills” training on how to operate specialized pieces of equipment. As the
company grew and developed a more formal management and leadership structure, more
of the training dealt with soft skills, such as leadership, communications and
organizational skills. Eventually, more employees also needed basic computer skills.
“Even if free training was available from WTCC, but it was not valuable, we would not
have done it because it would have been a waste of time,” Benes said. “Time is very
important to us. We’re not going to waste our time on something just because it is
available.”
Catalyst Manufacturing is a typical WTCC success story. Others include Ford’s Fancy
Foods, makers of Bone Suckin’ Sauce. When the local mom-and-pop operation decided
to expand globally, it came to WTCC for help. Ford’s Fancy Foods now exports its
products to 26 different countries. Larger companies rely on WTCC as well, including
Fidelity Investments and Credit Suisse, each of which obtained WTCC training for more
than 400 employees over a two-year period.
“One of the real reasons they (industries) come to this area is that they know WTCC is
the premier institution for education for companies,” said Sam Strickland, WTCC vice
president for continuing education. “Workforce training through community colleges is
part of the incentives that the state works with in attracting business here. In discussions
with companies, it is always mentioned that we are here as a training tool for them.”
2. From the area’s very largest companies to its smallest startups, WTCC’s imprint on the
local economy is hard to miss. It is even providing hospitality and customer service
training for employees of the new Raleigh Convention Center.
WTCC is part of the larger N.C. Community College System, the foundation for
workforce training in the state since its inception following World War II. When the
system was founded, the challenge was to help displaced workers transition from an
agricultural to an industrial economy.
Demand has changed over time, but the tri-fold mission of the Community College
system has remained the same:
• Educating, training and retraining the workforce, including basic skills and
literacy education, occupational and pre-baccalaureate programs.
• Support for economic development through services to, and in partnership with,
business, industry and public/private colleges and universities.
• Services to communities and individuals that improve their quality of life.
Much of the demand for workforce training in the Triangle, the state’s high-tech hub, is
generated from the high-tech and life sciences sectors. According to the Research
Triangle Regional Partnership, almost half of the state’s high-tech employees work in the
13-county Research Triangle Region. Between 1990 and 2005, 66 percent of the state’s
new life sciences jobs were generated in the Triangle. Between 2005 and 2006, the life
sciences sector accounted for capital investments of more than $755 million and the
generation of more than 5,400 jobs. The electronics, data information and semiconductor
industries accounted for investments of $425 million and more than 4,900 jobs.
Much of the reason is the presence of the state’s premier research institutions – Duke
University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and N.C. State University.
However, it is hard to overestimate the impact WTCC has had on recruiting and retaining
these industries. Strickland said there is also increasing demand from international
investing firms for training in such areas as accounting, financial management and
customer service.
Naturally, many of WTCC’s students are not sent via employers. Rather they are
individuals who either need to retool to remain in a current position, desire career
advancement, or are dealing with a recent layoff. The average age of continuing
education students is between 34-40, about 25 percent of whom already have bachelor’s
degrees or higher. Much of the school’s successful Basic Law Enforcement, Fire Services
and Department of Correction’s training are populated by students who are transitioning
from other careers. “In order to stay competitive today, you have to stay in school,”
Strickland says. “People are constantly coming back and retooling and learning newer
processes.”
3. Many former manufacturing workers are also taking advantage of WTCC’s lateral entry
program for new teachers. “The county has a big shortage of new teachers each year,”
Strickland says. “We help supply their demand for teachers.”
WTCC also helps meet the unique demands of specific population groups, such as the
need for bilingual medical and construction workers. For that reason, WTCC has created
special English as a Second Language coursework for both Certified Nursing Assistants
and electrical wiring contractors. “Spanish speakers are especially in demand in medical
fields due to the need to understand the physical and medical needs of the (Spanish-
speaking) patients who come in – and prevent misdiagnosis,” Strickland said.
Demand for courses waxes and wanes with the economy. As the economy slows down,
demand naturally goes up. “Anytime you are losing jobs, people are going to have to go
back and retrain,” Strickland says. “A lot of time as the economy gets worse, people
come back to train because they are looking for the next job. They take advantage of
available training, even though they probably had not thought about it when they had a
secure job.” Through it all, Strickland says, the key is flexibility. “We don’t know if the
high-tech jobs we create today will last for three to eight generations like they did in the
past.”