The National Weld-Ed Center – National Skill Panel Efforts |
In May 2010, WII concluded twenty-four months of work with the National Center for Welding Education and Training (d.b.a. – The National Weld-Ed Center) in designing, developing, implementing and facilitating the first ever industry or sector-specific national skill panel effort. The effort was lead by WII President, Bob Visdos, who worked with 32 national leaders from the welding industry, welding equipment industry, the American Welding Society, the American Association of Community Colleges, several Federal Agencies, and manufacturing groups. The National Skill Panel was charged with identifying the short, mid and long-term hiring needs of the industry, developing competency pyramid models for the three key welding occupations, and identifying the capability and capacity of welding programs to produce enough qualified graduates to fill the hiring needs. The results of their efforts include three commissioned studies that were completed regarding the needs of the industry and the talent development pipeline’s ability to address those needs. The effort concluded with the Skill Panel’s review and recommendations regarding the “National State of the Welding Industry Report”. |
The National State of the Welding Industry Report |
In July 2010, WII completed work on the first ever “National State of the Welding Industry Report”. Mr. Visdos was the primary author of this document which is the most definitive report that has ever been written regarding the welding industry, its employment needs, trends that impact it, and strategies to recruit youth and others into the industry. The full report is over 1,600 pages in length and contains employment projections from Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. (EMSI) that are broken down nationally, regionally (based on U.S. Department of Labor regions), by state and by county. The employment projections include each of five key welding occupations and data by key sectors that employ welding personnel. The report will be available through the National Weld-Ed Center’s website in September 2010, at www.weld-ed.org. |
External Evaluation Services
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WII just completed the first year of external evaluation services on two very different, U.S. Department of Education, Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE) grants. The first grant that was evaluated was for a “Community College Textbook Rental Project” at Stark State College in Canton, Ohio. WII provided technical assistance to Stark State in designing the evaluation plan for their original grant submission and then worked with the staff in developing and implementing the evaluation plan and its supporting evaluation matrix. A full quantitative and qualitative review of the project based on the evaluation matrix occurred in June 2010 culminating with the final report being submitted to the FIPSE Project Officer that included a recommendation for continued funding based on the project exceeding all specified goals and objectives. The external evaluation of this project will continue for two more years. WII also just completed the first year of external evaluation services on Lorain County Community Colleges’ “Stimulate Your Career Program” which is a FIPSE funded special initiative project. This project provides wrap-around supportive services to adult learners who are transitioning from one career to another on their own or as a result of being laid-off. The project partners with the local workforce system, the LCCC Foundation and others. WII provided technical assistance to LCCC State in designing the evaluation plan for their original grant submission and then worked with the staff in developing and implementing the evaluation plan and its supporting evaluation matrix. A full quantitative and qualitative review of the project based on the evaluation matrix occurred in June 2010 culminating with the final report be submitted to the FIPSE Project Officer that included a recommendation for continued funding based on the project exceeding all specified goals and objectives. Based on a 95% retention rate in education and training activities, this project will set a standard for future efforts to serve adult learners in community college settings. The external evaluation of this project will continue for two more years. |
RITE Board Initiatives
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Beginning in the summer of 2009, WII facilitated skill panel meetings of Regional Information Technology Employers (RITE) across all sectors in northeast Ohio. The result of these efforts was the creation of the RITE Board which has become a catalyst for changing the role of IT advisory boards at all institutions of higher education, recommending major curricula overhauls to address the industries needs, and for the creation of viable internships for IT majors to gain valuable work experience that enhances their employment potential. Over the past year the Board has worked closely with several institutions to seek and obtain funding from the Ohio Board of Regents’ Ohio Skills Bank Initiative to begin the development of a new regional curriculum for IT that will be designed along industry standards including those covered by the “Strategic Framework for the Information Age” (SFIA). WII will continue to advise the RITE Board as appropriate and will serve as the external evaluation entity for the newly funded project. |
Designing and Delivering Customized One-Stop Center Staff Training
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WII is frequently called upon to develop and deliver training for One-Stop Center staff. Most recently, Mr. Visdos developed and delivered the training for new Employment netWork staff that was hired as part of the restructuring of One-Stop Services in Ohio WIA Area #4. The staff training was five days in length and covered the following subjects: an overview of the Workforce Investment Act; Adult and Dislocated Workers Services; WIB Board Policies and Procedures; Rapid Response Activities; customer tracking and managing performance measures. |
Grant-Writing Activities
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WII was a key author of the application submitted on behalf of the Oregon Workforce Alliance and its 24 county workforce investment area. This complex multi-regional WIB proposal relied upon the expertise and knowledge of WII to pull together the necessary planning information to complete a winning application. Awarded $2.6M in June of 2010. |
