The Creation and Use of a State-Issued Certificate Program, Recognized and Driven

1. The Creation and Use of a State-Issued Certificate Program, Recognized and Driven by Business and Industry

2. The Creation and Use of a State-Issued Certificate Program, Recognized and Driven by Business and Industry Presenter: Patricia Bates WAGE Coordinator at South Arkansas Community College Adult Education Section & Chair of State WAGE Advisory

3. PRESENTATION HIGHLIGHTS History of the AR WAGE Certificate Program Formation of a Certificate Program Certificate Types and Requirements Forming a Community Alliance Standard Competencies, Customized Instruction Return on Investment Marketing the Program Question & Answer Period

4. History of the Arkansas WAGE Certificate Program

5. History of the AR WAGE Certificate Program • WAGE stands for Workforce Alliance for Growth in the EconomyTM • WAGE is a work-based certificate program in Arkansas • WAGE was not always WAGE, it evolved • Not surprisingly, WAGE grew out of the SCANS era in the late 1980’s when industry strongly noticed the skills shortage for competing in the new technological, global economy

6. History of the AR WAGE Certificate Program WAGE’s Logo • Employers who value and reward competent employees • Educators who respond to employers’ needs • Employees who understand the connection between employment and education

7. History of the AR WAGE Certificate Program WAGE’s Motto “Linking today’s workforce with tomorrow’s jobs.”

8. Formation of a Certificate Program

9. Formation of a Certificate Program • WAGE in Arkansas has formalized start-up manual for adult education programs • Adult education programs in Arkansas voluntarily choose to become a certified WAGE program • WAGE is supported out of a program’s regular budget

10. 1 2 3 4 5 5 6 Formation of a Certificate Program The Start-up Steps To become a WAGE Certified Center, a program must: • Form an alliance that includes no less than six (6) businesses from their community • Visit other WAGE centers • Take Literacy Task Analysis (LTA) / functional hooks training • Perform six (6) LTAs on local businesses • Acquire signed agreements from alliance members • Present start-up documentation for approval before the state committee

11. Formation of a Certificate Program Employers’ Roles • Local employers agree to: • Give added consideration to job and promotion candidates with WAGE certificates • Allow adult educators to perform literacy task analyses on critical entry level jobs within their company • Assist with providing classroom space and materials when needed

12. Formation of a Certificate Program AR State WAGE Advisory Committee Once certified, the center holds a voting position on the state WAGE advisory committee

13. KEY PLAYERS • Business & Community Support • Institutional Support • Client/Employee Participation

14. What Will it Take To Start -Necessary Components- • Collaboration • Spirit of Volunteerism • Resourcefulness • Fearless Innovation • Local Customization • Cheerleading

15. Certificate Types and Requirements

16. Certificate Types and Requirements Competencies WAGE students complete standard competencies determined by businesses statewide, but taught locally within the context of local businesses

17. Certificate Types and Requirements Certificates There are three certificates: Industrial, Clerical, and Employability • The Industrial and Clerical require all of the WAGE Competencies, along with some additional requirements • The Employability allows for flexibility in competency selection and additional requirements

18. Certificate Types and Requirements Industrial Certificate

19. Certificate Types and Requirements Clerical Certificate

20. Certificate Types and Requirements Employability Certificate

21. Certificate Types and Requirements Employability Certificate A la carte Competencies

22. Certificate Types and Requirements Who are the students? • WAGE serves those students whose reading, language, and mathematics skill levels measure less than 12.9 by the Test of Adult • Basic Education (TABE).

23. Certificate Types and Requirements • The WAGE Test • Educators have devised an Arkansas-specific WAGE test that tests all competencies using work-related scenarios and documents that came out of Arkansas businesses • Most questions on the WAGE test require an observable, constructive answer • This test ensures consistency in competency achievement since competency lessons are customized to local businesses but must be verified for a state certificate.

24. Forming a Community Alliance

25. Forming a Community Alliance • Starting from scratch can take 12-24 months • Use connections already in place • Ensure each stakeholder has a interest that relates to the intended outcomes of the program; choose a focused chairperson • Meeting times should be most conducive to the consensus of the group, centering it around a normal meal time (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) tends to free up most people and has an added lure of food to ensure attendance

26. Forming a Community Alliance WHO MAKES UP THE ALLIANCE? WAGE works with all community agencies: • service providers (family, human, and employment services) • local and state government (Workforce Investment Boards, mayors, city councils) • economic development (Chambers of Commerce, development boards) • job training programs and job placement agencies • other educational entities

27. “No Wrong-Door Policy” Civic Clubs ? PT & FT Employment Agencies DHS Chamber of Commerce JTPA W.A.G.E. Student Business & Industry ESD Adult Education City, County and State Government Green Thumb ? Industrial Coordinator

28. Business & Industry Support • Advisory Board - 51% • Business Chair from Business/Industry • Business Must Identify Needs • Business Must Communicate

29. Standard Competencies; Customized Instruction

30. Standard Competencies; Customized Instruction • Standard Competencies(handout) • Customized, prioritized, and proportionately emphasized based on business and industry findings from the Literacy Task Analysis • Taught within an actual workplace context, using “functional hooks” to help students “learn to learn”

31. Standard Competencies; Customized Instruction The Literacy Task Analysis • Educators work with the participating employers to determine the community’s workforce educational needs • Educators go to the workplace and analyze the basic skills needed to perform the job • Educators keep frequency charts for each competency • Educators make note of which skills impact production, profit, and safety the most

32. Standard Competencies; Customized Instruction • Contextual Lessons and Functional Hooks • Educators build contextual, customized lessons for skills considered most important and occurring most frequently • Educators develop “Functional Hooks” within the lessons to help students see the basic skills application with a real work scenario • Educators have correlated appropriate supplemental materials to the competencies

33. What does WAGE Training look like? • Assessment • Intervention/Education • Post Assessment • Referral for Job Placement

34. ASSESSMENT • TABE - 7A or 8A, full battery or Survey • Careerscope Assessment - interest and aptitude • WAGE Post Test - test of 112 WAGE Competencies • Spatial Relations Test • Dexterity Test • Computer Literacy Test

35. EDUCATION  GED Instruction &/or Basic Skills  Certified Adult Ed. Instructors  Quality Textbooks  Computer Tutorial Programs- PLATO, Passkey, SkillsBank  Computer Literacy Software  Employability Training

36. Return on Investment

37. Return on Investment THE BUSINESS TAKE ON RETURN ON INVESTMENT • Production improves. • Quality goes up. • Waste is reduced. • Profits increase. • Safety incidents are reduced. • Customer satisfaction improves. • Employee retention improves. • Recruitment costs are reduced. • Employee attitudes improves. • Employees show more interest and success at next level of technical training. • Employer competes better in a global economy; likelihood of longevity improves.

38. Return on Investment COMMUNITY RETURN ON INVESTMENT • Companies increase profits. • Increase profits improve wages. • Better wages retain better employees. • Better wages increases an individual’s • spending power. • Better employees provides increased • likelihood employer will stay in the area. • Increased spending power comes back • to improve the community through improved • tax base, tourism, economic growth. • Improved communities attract good • business and good employees.

39. Marketing the Program

40. Marketing the Program • On a shoestring with no assigned marketing dollars: • Using available web site • Using PowerPoint and speaking to groups • Making local Workforce Investment Boards aware that we already exist and invented the cooperative, collaborative approach • Do-it-yourself brochures (handout) • Newspaper articles on successful completers • Special project newspaper advertisement • Volunteer multimedia project

41. Marketing the Program Best Cheerleader: Business and industry themselves

42. Questions and Answers

43. Questions and Answers Questions Suggestions Answers

44. Contact Information

45. Patricia Bates pbates@southark.cc.ar.us 870-862-8131 ext.182 www.aalrc.org/html/we/wage.html