Putting Southeast Wisconsin’s Underemployed and Unemployed Back to Work

1. Putting Southeast Wisconsin’s Underemployed and Unemployed Back to Work in High-Tech, High-Skilled Jobs

2. Presented at 2007 Best Practices in Career and Technical Education Conference September 28, 2007  Oklahoma City, OK

3. CNC Boot Camp Presented by: Melissa Hennessy Employment Consultant Racine County Workforce Development Center Racine, WI melissa.hennessy@goracine.org Ed Knudson Executive Director Workforce and Economic Development Division Gateway Technical College Kenosha, WI Knudsone@gtc.edu

4. Racine County 193,239 pop. Kenosha County 158,219 Pop. Walworth County 98,496 pop. Workforce Development Area Kenosha County employer base • Number of businesses: 3,068 • Number of employees: 78,648 Racine County employer base • Number of businesses: 4,134 • Number of employees: 94,026 Walworth County employer base • Number of businesses: 2,697 • Number of employees: 53,718 Numbers as of December 2006. Population is 2005 estimate, source: Wisconsin DWD.

5. CATI Burlington Campus Racine Campus Bioscience Center Kenosha Campus Horizon Center Lakeview ATC Elkhorn Campus Gateway District in Workforce Development Area

6. Kenosha County Kenosha Campus • 27 Associate Degree programs • Health career labs Center for Bioscience and Information Technology • Biomedical/pharmacology • Telecommunications/computer technology • IBM I Series • Assessment Center LakeView Advanced Technology Center • Automated Manufacturing • Industrial Mechanical Tech • Certificate programs Horizon Center For Transportation Technology • Opened Fall 2007 • Automotive programs • Aeronautics

7. Racine County Burlington Campus Center • Health Careers Racine Campus • Cosmetology • Machine Tool Technician • Health Information Technology • Nursing • Engineering • Auto Shop Center For Advanced Technology and Innovation (CATI) • Business Development • Workforce Development • Technology Innovation

8. Walworth County Elkhorn Campus • 13 associate degree programs • Alternative High School • Walworth County Job Center • Walworth County Economic Development Alliance

9. Unemployment By County For Workforce Development Area: All figures are average monthly. Wisconsin DWD.

10. Employment in Manufacturing For Workforce Development Area: # Manufacturing employers: 758 # Employed in manufacturing: 38,346 DWD March 2007 As of December 2005

11. CNC Employment For Workforce Development Area: Number of CNC jobs: 630 Number of CNC jobs in surrounding counties: 2,480 Projected annual increase: 3% All figures are estimates. Wisconsin DWD.

12. Skilled worker shortage CNC BOOT CAMP Job seekers CNC program changes

13. Building a Strong Employee Base Bill McReynolds Racine County Executive Racine, WI

15. Planning the Boot Camp

16. Promoting Economic Growth

17. Needs Analysis • Machine Tool program closed • Employment remains flat • Area demand for CNC operators

18. Employer Outreach • Focus group • Demand-driven training • Skills set requirements • Establishing competencies

19. Employers Boot Camp Synergy Curriculum development Instruction Skills standards testing Focus group Completion ceremony Employer outreach Recruitment Pre-assessments Case management Job placement Job retention

20. Community Collaboration Bryan Albrecht President, Gateway Technical College Kenosha, WI

22. Workforce Development Center Promotion Recruitment Assessment Funding

23. Promotion • Notification to caseworkers and staff • Postings at job centers • Gateway Technical College website and brochures • Press releases and newspaper articles • Word-of-mouth

24. Recruitment • Orientation • Interview • Self-screening • Adult skills tutoring

25. Assessment • Basic skills assessment • TABE testing for minimum math and reading skills • NOCTI pre-test

26. Funding Adult or dislocated worker • $2,200 per student Available funding • VA • WIA • TAA • Vocational Rehab. • Community Development Block Grants • Federal Financial Aid • Self-pay • Employer-funded • Community benefactors

27. Surviving Boot Camp John Gomez Student

29. Program Design

30. Curriculum Development • Employer input • Change from on-campus program • Boot Camp is dynamic: • Added metric measurements • Added team concepts • Manufacturing Skills Standards Council (MSSC) credentialing • Student support time built in • Added Critical Core Manufacturing Skills (CCMS)

31. Boot Camp Curriculum CNC Intro/Support Equipment Basics CNC Machine Tool Operation CNC Offsets and Operations Gauging/Inspection Introduction to Manufacturing Excellence Manufacturing Shop Safety Blueprint Reading Applied Mathematics

32. Boot Camp Program Structure • 14 weeks/5 days a week • 8 hours per day • 495 hour program • Simulate work environment

33. On the Job Craig Maeschen Instructor Gateway Technical College

35. Skills Validation • National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) Precision Machining assessment • NOCTI score on student’s certificate

36. Precision Machining Assessment Competency categories assessed: Organization and Shop Practices Measurement/Inspection Metallurgical Processes and Heat Treating Blueprint Interpretation and Process Planning Layout and Bench work Band Saw Machines Drill Presses Lathes Vertical Milling Machines Precision Grinding Machines CNCProgramming, Preparation, Operations CNC Programming Using a CAM System • The NOCTI score report includes both a composite score and category scores for the assessment. Baseline skills and growth are measured in each of the categories listed above.

37. Average NOCTI Scores Boot Camps 4-7 N=60 • Pre-test scores were 31.53 points below the national average • Post-test scores were 13.35 points below the national average • Participants increased their scores by 18.18 points after 14 weeks of CNC Boot Camp

38. Boot Camp Enrollments Students enrolled compared to students finishing Boot Camp: Boot Camps 1 - 7 Total enrollments: 120 Total finishing program: 107

39. Employment Consultant • Value-added approach starts with enrollment/orientation • Identify and assist students with barriers to success • Track attendance • Assumes many roles

40. Defining The Participants • Who (participant needs) drives EC role (width and depth) • Broad range = challenges and opportunities • Age • Race • Education • Life and work experiences

41. Supporting Student Success Employment Consultant serves as: • Mentor • Coach • Cheerleader • Enforcer and Reinforcer • Drill Sergeant (shared w/GTC Lead Instructor) • Mother Confessor

42. Employment Consultant Value • Is it really necessary? • Program design challenges for the Employment Consultant • Value added approach starts with enrollment/orientation • Communication – constant throughout process • Recognizing the ‘teachable moments’

43. Contingency Planning • Something for everyone to learn • Introduced early • Another tool to prepare participants for the workplace

44. Identifying Barriers To Success • Transportation • Child care • Personal/family health • AODA • Shelter • Probation/parole required meetings • Reporting requirements from other agencies • Behavioral issues

45. Minimizing Barriers • Identify individual’s needs • Match to appropriate community resources • Homeless shelter/meal programs • Department of Corrections • Health Care Network • Women’s Resource Center • Racine Vocational Ministries • Public Defender

46. Academic Barriers • Time away from classroom • Lack of study skills • Lack of study environment • Learning disabilities

47. Employment Preparation • Job search/interviewing skills workshop • One-on-one resume assistance • Mock interviews • Business Services Team marketing efforts

48. Post-Boot Camp

49. Job Retention/Follow-Up • Employment Consultant role does not end with employment • Job search coaching continues • Some require high level of support and involvement • Locate resources for employment barriers: transportation, child care, community programs and resources and others

50. Post-Boot Camp Employment • Employment figures reflect those participants that respond to post-Boot Camp tracking • Reasons for non-employment in CNC… layoffs, job change, etc. For Boot camps1-5