ICD Impact Survey

1. ICD Impact Survey 2007-2008 Findings Dr. Robert L. Smith

2. “Change is inevitable; growth is optional.”Wellman & Lipton

3. Today’s Norms

4. Our drive towards excellence requires • that we measure where we are • that we contrast those results with where we want to be.

5. “It is irresponsible for any school to mobilize, initiate, and act without any conscious way of determining whether such expenditure of time and energy is having a desirable effect.”Carl Glickman

6. Anonymous Career Development Participants “I like having the opportunity to learn at your own pace. Anything that will help advance your career is good.” “The classes are great stress relievers after a hard day of work.” “The program makes education available that is not offered anywhere else.”

7. Examine recent data e. g., 57 degrees Construct interpretations e. g. hot? cold? Today’s goals

8. Six Key Findings • Participants are well-satisfied. • They see immediate positive impacts. • They feel more employable. • They regard themselves as better workers. • They are closer with the Union. • ICD’s mission is being achieved.

9. Finding #1: Well-satisfied Participants 89 percent of 529 survey respondents gave the Career Development Program either the top or next to the top mark for value.

10. One respondent said: “The program provides me with options for skill enhancement and hope for my future. I can be prepared for whatever may happen.”

11. Participants find the scheduling convenient and flexible. They appreciate the variety of classes. “I like the wide variety of programs offered and the way they fit into shift workers’ schedules. It gives me the confidence that I have the ability to learn.”

12. Steelworkers today • Respect the instructors & staff. • Believe the instruction builds on their existing knowledge. • Even value the basic skills component of the program.

13. Participants are fairly satisfied with their level of voice about programmatic matters.

14. Why important? Experience has shown that worker growth and development are stunted when programs are mandated from above, but flourish in an atmosphere of voluntary participation in self-designed and self-directed training and education.” -- USW/Company Contract Language

15. Steelworkers say • 7 of 10: Career Development is more useful than nearby adult education programs. • 8 of 10: Without this program, fellow workers would be less likely to take any courses.

16. Suggestions for improvement: • “Some expansion of classes and check on new fields…” • “Classes are so exciting, sometimes three hours is not long enough.” • “Softer seats”

17. Survey Process • Outside agency conducts survey from November 2007 – March 2008. • Administered in classes or mailed to tuition assistance users. • Available online to all CDP sites open for at least five years.

18. 24+ Participating USW Sites AK Steel: Ashland Allegheny Ludlum: Allvac-Lockport ArcelorMittal:Burns Harbor, Cleveland, Coatesville, I/N Tek & I/N Kote, Indiana Harbor East, Lackawanna, Riverdale, Sparrows Point USS:Clairton, Edgar Thomson, Fairless, Fairfield, Gary Works, Granite City, Great Lakes, Irvin, Midwest Operations, Minnesota Ore, Pellet/Keewatin USS POSCO:UPI WCI: Warren Wheeling-Pittsburgh: Steubenville Other: Several unspecified

19. Margin of Error/ Sampling Tolerances • Varies from 3-6 percent at confidence levels of 95 in 100

20. Finding #2: Program participantssee immediate positive impacts. • They strongly feel they are better communicators in many capacities because of their involvement.

21. How they communicate better • 42.8% claim better skills in general. • “I communicate better with co-workers.” 60.4% agreed. • 44% believe they communicate better with their supervisor.

22. Respondents remarked • “I think I communicate better with everyone that I meet. I am more expressive.” • “I am better at listening to others.”

23. Other impacts: Family • More than two thirds (68%) say that the CDP has helped them to have a “more rewarding family life” • while 80% see courses emphasizing skills that improve their personal lives.

24. Responses • “My wife and kids think I am so smart.” • “I can honestly say that I have many new friends.” • “I set a standard for my children, showing them the value of education and that a person should never stop growing.”

25. Finding #3: Participants feel more employable.

26. “I love the classes that teach trades such as heating and cooling, and locksmithing: these classes teach us how to invest and make money.”

27. More than seven in ten have earned one or more vocational skills via the CDP.

28. More than half (57%) know a former participant who has had to leave his/her employment and used skills learned in the program to find work and income. “Think of the steelworkers you know who have left a mill either through retirement or downsizing/closure. Do you know one who used skills learned through involvement in the Career Development Program to find work and income?”

29. A full 70% expect, if dislocated, to earn a living or find a new job pertaining to skills learned in the CDP. This belief was 11% more widely held than in 1999.

30. “I have a better income outside the plant which helps my family.” • “I have a second income and more security.” • “My computer skills are much improved. I am starting a small e-Bay business as a result of a class I took.”

31. Finding #4: Participants regard themselves asbetter workers. • Nearly 69% claim their job knowledge is increased along with job confidence (34%).

32. Positive Job Impacts • Well more than half (63%) agree that CDP classes help them think of “better ways to do my job” and even more (65%) agree that their ability to do their jobs has been enhanced by the classes.

33. “My work is steadier.” “The program helped me feel at ease at my job.” “I understand electricity now.” “I have more confidence in myself and I am not afraid of a challenge.” “I am a personal computer guru at work.” “My computer skills are much better which helps perform my job at the best of my ability.” “I was able to rehab in office work while recovering from a serious injury.”

34. More than half (59%) have improved their computer skills.

35. 38% already use their new computer know-how on the job.

36. More Work Outcomes • 78% feel that they react to change better after taking classes. • 81% work better with others. • Almost two-thirds (65%) admit that Career Development raises participants’ opinions of the company.

37. Basic Skills • “My writing skills have improved.” • “I am reading quite a bit more . . .” • Math?

38. Better work results • The vast majority said other companies without a voluntary education program are at a competitive disadvantage. • Almost three quarters (73%) see that CDP courses can help a person absorb job-specific training provided by the company, and • 57% even regard their CDP courses to be based upon “skills needed in the workplace.”

39. Union Impact • 69% find the program has increased their support for the Union’s efforts and goals.

40. Finding #5: Participants are closer with the Union. • 34% claim closer communication with their Local. • They hold the Union in higher esteem (69%) because of the CDP. • 68% believe solidarity is built from participation.

41. Comment • “I have educated myself in ways to help my Union brothers and sisters.”

42. What about equity across sites? “Being from a small mill it is hard to get the class size needed for some classes. I would like to see classes being offered by teleconference.”

43. Worker Comment • “I like being able to take courses on-line.”

44. Final Finding: ICD’s mission is being achieved.

45. ICD Mission Statement Employee satisfaction, worker security, and corporate success require that the workforce be capable of reacting to change, challenge, and opportunity. This, in turn, requires ongoing training, education, and personal growth. By establishing the Institute for Career Development, the United Steelworkers (USW) and the participating companies are implementing a shared vision that workers must play a significant role in the design and development of their training and education as well as their work environments. In pursuing the goal to help every worker attain his or her full potential, both as an employee and as a human being, in the competitive and challenging environment that lies ahead, the Institute will:

46. Provide leadership, guidance and expertise in the design, development and delivery of training and educational programs that will allow workers to have more stable and rewarding personal and family lives while meeting the requirements of the rapidly changing work environment within their respective industries • Support new, non-traditional approaches to learning that build on workers' accumulated knowledge and skills • Provide support services for the education, training, and personal development of workers • Seek out and make use of the most effective and modern methods and educational technologies, develop such technologies where none exist, and utilize a curriculum and instructional program based on competencies required in the workplace and in the workers' personal lives

47. This study shows • People’s work lives and personal lives are being improved.

48. Furthermore… • Workers are less vulnerable to marketplace whims because they possess portable skills and certifications/degrees.

49. Much support • 59% agree that their chances for a “secure retirement” are improved by the CDP. • 88% of respondents see the CDP as a “high bargaining priority.” • Almost all (94.7%) regard CDP courses as “a good way to ease back into education.”

50. Better educated workforce • 81% agree that steelworkers are better educated than before ICD began (1990) and • 84% of those who agreed credit ICD.