A Workforce Development Strategy a but you can and should shape your faa be cau ifyou don soomne se el il Joel Banke an independent Cobol ond fans, cold ti Phrase scare a song, Spratt powe of pa Ske sit and test onthe co porte rie asin bc toa tha aie Jo Bae’ temen bec the base drving fv behind tt of be gene cong ht he rend te wy we ne de eed Ute lt 1990s, «major pare sign shiftin the way that wos taining was eing deployed ook pce at Pen Uae Tcl preson mutase end ait Sie norco eur Founded in 197 by thee men wih ecg earl spirit Carl foes, Rober Seas and Chas Baas com penn hd is bonita Et Jone far at's wol an de shop. hos grow omer than 100 big boumss uit in 1 fal tee ing 386752 (4309 of prodctn space and podcig $otnulon nse 2007 employee In the early years, workforce train- ing was accomplished through trad tional, unstructured, on-the-job tras new-hire apprentices, taught and outs ofthe trade through a contin uous cycle of one-on-one demonstra- tions and practice, until the apprentice got it eight and could move on to the next task, At the time, this approach seemed £0 be the most logkal way to ‘rain, given the small sie of the com pany and a lopsided ratio of more jouneyemen than apprentices Furthermore, since the journeymen themselves were taught via this method, and they never received any training to become better trainers, they simply emulaced their craining paradigm and did what they thought was best—they just didn’t know any betta: In a shore time, the volume and nplexity of the work increased, and more apprentices were hired 10 meet the need. This caused the lop- sided ratio of jouneymen to appren tices to begin shifting ia the ocher isection, which in tum impacted the taining plan, Journeymen were now struggling to find a halance between producing parts, supervising workers, and training increased numbers of unskilled apprentices. Tn response to the situation, che company sought assistance from the local community college and voca- 174 wwywysme.orgimanufacturingengineering + March 2008 Chuck Guiste Training Director Penn United Technologies Saxonburg, PA E-mail charles_quiste@pennunited.com Web site: wnww-pennunited.com tional technical schools to provide 2 ‘more structured training approach for its apprentices. Additionally, corre- spondence courses were also used, and ‘on-the-job-training continued, but not to the level seen previously. The suc- cess of this approach was also short= lived, and Penn United was faced once again with having to find a new way to train apprentices. By the mid: 1990s, the staff concluded that the value of the training being provided by these sources was nor sufficient co meet the company's need eo produce highly skilled workers in a timely manner and at a reasonable cos Problems such as insufficient hands-on taining, lack of machines, outdated technology, baving to wait too long for a course to be scheduled, inflexible tions, high costs, and instructors with outdated technical skills were a few of the major obstacles that had to be overcome. Adding 10 this list of prob: Jass hours, class cancella Tems was an even bigger dilemma— these schools were also unable to ateract enough new students with the essential aptitude necessary t0 fill the workforce-pipeline needs of a fast rowing Penn United. Here's the position Penn United was in, On one hand we had the opportunity to grow 1 increase employment, On the other hhand, we did noc have the support we business andneeded from the training providers in the community to provide the hursan capital and training services necessary to expand the business. The resolu ‘ion of this difficult situation resulted in another paradigm shite, but this time the shife was much biggor and more complicated than the last one We decided ie was time vo take mat- ters into our own hands, and control our future by making training an incegral part of the business strategy of the company, Between the fall of 1998 and the summer of 1999, 2 team was formed and tasked to develop the neve train ing plon. The plan included the devel- ‘opment of cusricula hiring a training staff, purchasing machine tools and other resources and, lastly, balding a corporate training center ta house all these things, Moving quickly the tearm Gesigned nine apprenticeship programs, Tool and Die Maker, Ma- chinist: precision Grinder, Quality ‘Technician, Press Technician, Die Designer, Electroplacing Technician, Carbide Finish Grinder, and Precision Assembler, and registered cher with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Appren- ticeship Training. In July of 1999, che Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Education granted Peon United a ease ro open a Private Licensed School under the name of the LLeaming Institute for the Growth of High Technology or LLGH.T. ‘On September 1, 1999, we opened the doors to our newly constructed, $1.2 million, 17,000 f° (1579 a} ing centct, The ceater consists oF three classrooms, six laboratories {machining, grinding, CNC, metrol- ogy, chemistry, and computer), and administrative offices. Completing the training center is a staff of five people. LIGHT’s primary mission is to educate and train company ap- prentices and employees, as well as be a resource for all mamfacturers io the community For three years after the center was bult, We were hising an average ‘of 19 new apprentices per month until we reached our staffing goal Although the oumber of new ites is sow mach less, the training process that now hires were expased to back then remains in etfct today. Potential new hires come frm all walks of life wich varying sills, expe rieace, and knowledge. Candidates are tested to ensure they possess the aptiude necessary wo guarantee they can be sucessful fe dheir apprentice ship academics. Newly hired employ ces ae assigned to the LIGHT train- ing center and spend five days/week, cight hoursday for six weeks going through what we call “Basie Train ing.” During the fisst ewo weeks, apprentices [earn basic math, print reading, and how t0 use measure= ment hand tools. In the remaining ight weeks, they spend their days learning machining theories in the classroom, and then immediately apply this knowledge io che labs with 4 heavy focus 02 hands-on activities During this time, dhe apprentices are constantly being measuced with 3 «combination of theory tests and prac tical applications, The minimum acceptable passing score for any est is 83%, bur some are as high as 100%. Finally, apprentices also reccive weekly performance evalua tions from the instructors to poine oot their strengths and areas that need improvement: Following the six weeks of Basic Training, the apprentices are assigned toa manufacaring positon. Appren- tices return to the LIGHT center for three hours, one daylweek, for the reminder ofthe tee i eakes vo com- plete their respective apprenticeship. Because all of che apprenticeships have nationally recognized, portable credentials huilr into them, such as ‘National Institute for Metalworking SkllINIMS credentials or the Ameri ‘can Society for Quality certifications, wwe ace able to offer them as compe tency-based versus time-based pro- rams. This means that seat time can be reduced, and an apprentice ean finish @ program sooner thaa sched! uled, if he or she is capable of demoastcating competency in any particular study or task by passing a writen test andlor completing a proj ect. To date, LIGHT has graduated 239 journeymen and srained many focher incumbent workers, both iaside and outside the company, in a wide variety of subjects and skills ‘Training plays a key role in the health and longevity of any organiza tion. Too many organizations don't pay enough attention to it until there is a crisis or immediate need, When business is good, there is no time to train; when business i slows, there's no money ¢0 train. This atsiude contin: ues to plague many organizations. The «ime (© cain is now, Regardless of the size of the company or the nature of the business, every organization has @ continuous need for quality saining, delivered in an effective mannet, and stan affordable cost, ‘The approach Penn United took, ‘or the depth to which we took it, may or may not be the righe response to your training needs. What I ask is that you ponder these questions: ‘Who really cares if your employees are fully qualified to do their job? Who really cares if, as a result of untrained workers, you are unable ta take on new business? Who really cares if your company is in business tomorrow, next year, or decades from how? Who cares more thas. you do? Ifyou really delve into these ques tions, the answer is the same for each of them—nobody else eares as much as you do. You can, and should, shape your furure, If you can't find someone who cares as much as you do about your future, take matters into your awn hands, ‘March 2009 + wevwsmecrgimanufacturingengineering 175