Please use a monospaced font (Courier 12 point, for instance) to view this document. NATIONAL WORKFORCE ASSISTANCE COLLABORATIVE BUSINESS ASSISTANCE TOOLS DELIVERING COST EFFECTIVE SERVICES TO SMALL AND MID-SIZED COMPANIES A GUIDE FOR WORKFORCE AND WORKPLACE DEVELOPMENT PROVIDERS NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF BUSINESS NATIONAL WORKFORCE ASSISTANCE COLLABORATIVE DELIVERING COST EFFECTIVE SERVICES TO SMALL AND MID-SIZED COMPANIES By Terri Bergman and Scott Cheney SEPTEMBER 1996 NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF BUSINESS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This publication was conceived of and designed by Terri Bergman, who also oversaw its development. It was written and researched by Terri Bergman and Scott Cheney. Stephen Mitchell provided invaluable advice and guidance along the way. Brett Bixler contributed to the section on computer- based training. Louise Bertsche, Michael Puzia, and Gertrude M. Scott conducted the research on the Consortium for Supplier Training, and Michael Puzia helped draft the Consortium for Supplier Training case study. The National Workforce Assistance Collaborative and the National Alliance of Business would like to thank the people who agreed to be interviewed or provided information for the case studies: Business and Industry Services Center _ Michael Cervantes, Waste Management of Orange County _ Susan Gaer, Business and Industry Services Center _ Paul Garza, Business and Industry Services Center _ Kevin Gatewood, Gatewood Systems and Software _ Karen Klammer, Coast Community College District _ Ragu Nath, Business and Industry Services Center California Community College Workplace Education Program _ Robin Carvajal, San Diego Community College District _ Mary Schwalen, Teal Electronics Corporation _ Marian Thacher, San Diego Community College District Consortium for Supplier Training _ Glen I. Bounds, Dallas County Community College District _ Roy Carothers, Houston Community College System _ Glen Cheney, Semi/SEMATECH _ Carol J. Croft, SEMATECH _ Bill Emerson, GENRAD, Inc. _ Patti Glenn, Texas Instruments _ Joyce P. Helm, Personnel Decisions, Inc. _ Neil Hunter, Edwards High Vacuum International, Inc. _ Joe Louie, Intel Corporation _ Beverly McAndrew, TQM-BASE Council, Inc. _ Gerardo Moreno, Houston Community College System _ Jennifer Olivier, Control Systems International _ James P. Picquet, Dallas County Community College District _ Sandra Roberts, Northern Essex Community College _ Bob Stanion, SEMATECH _ Les Warren, Northern Essex Community College _ Susan B. Ziemba, Northern Essex Community College Lancaster Industrial Training Consortium _ Linda Brennan, Johnson & Johnson MERCK _ Greg Burkholder, Lancaster County Area Vo-Tech Schools _ Jan Elsen, Fenner Manheim _ John Evans, Jr., New Standard Corporation _ Steve Kelly, Electro-Platers of York, Inc. _ Doug Sisson, Jr., Clark Filter _ Judy Youngeberg, Lancaster Industrial Training Consortium Regional Manufacturing Technology Center _ Dennis Bona, Regional Manufacturing Technology Center _ Fred Cini, American Fibrit, Inc. _ Herb Fricko, Nippondenso Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc. _ Stanley Graves, Eaton Corporation _ Tom Longman, Regional Manufacturing Technology Center _ Paul Ohm, Kellogg Community College _ Jim Owens, Regional Manufacturing Technology Center We would also like to thank all of the people who provided information for the one-page summaries: _ Angie Asa-Lovstad, North Iowa Area Community College _ Jill Barrett, The Literacy Initiative _ Jack Benham, ETI _ Dennis Bona, Regional Manufacturing Technology Center _ Robin Carvajal, San Diego Community College District _ Gerry Ciavardone, The Human Resource Solution _ Donna Ennis, Georgia Institute of Technology _ Scott Epstein, Harford Community College _ Gabrielle B. Fardwell, U.S. Chamber of Commerce _ Joe C. Ferguson, Northeast Community College _ Paul Garza, Business and Industry Services Center _ Patti Glenn, Texas Instruments _ Manny Griego, Glendale Community College _ Morgan Hall, University of Maryland _ Karen Klammer, JobLink _ Judith Lashof, Vermont Institute for Self Reliance _ Ellen Laubhan, National Technological University _ Janice Lee, Ozarks Technical Community College _ Karen Maish, Gate Way Community College _ John Redmond, Front Range Community College _ Maureen Sheahan, Labor-Management Council for Economic Renewal _ Al Simmons, DeSoto County Literacy Council _ Olivia Steele, Massachusetts Department of Education _ John P. Taylor, Garden Village Professional Center _ Marian Thacher, San Diego Community College District _ Douglas Van Nostran, McHenry County College _ Judy Youngeberg, Lancaster Industrial Training Consortium Special thanks go to the people who recommended providers to include in the study and reviewed drafts of the publication: _ Priscilla Carman, Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy, The Pennsylvania State University _ Lynne Fry, U.S. Department of Labor _ Sandra L. Hodge, Cuyahoga Community College _ Ed Kowalski, Onondaga Community College _ Bertha A. Landrum, Maricopa Community Colleges _ Bruce H. Leslie, Onondaga Community College _ Inaam Mansoor, Arlington Education and Employment Program _ Arley J. Mead, Harford Systems, Inc. _ Robert P. Meyer, Work in Northeast Ohio _ Nancy Renner, Catonsville Community College _ Benjamin Schneider, University of Maryland _ Maureen Sheahan, Labor-Management Council for Economic Renewal _ Johan Uvin, Massachusetts Department of Education _ James Van Erden, National Alliance of Business This publication could not have been completed without their help. Finally, thanks go to Rosalyn Johnson, Cathy Stewart, xxx, and xxx for their editing, graphics, and production assistance. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 DELIVERY STRATEGIES 5 Learning Consortia 7 Walk-In Centers 11 Distance Learning 14 Computer-Based Training 23 Trained Volunteers 29 Conclusion 31 CASE STUDIES 33 Consortium for Supplier Training 34 Lancaster Industrial Training Consortium 42 Business and Industry Services Center 50 Regional Manufacturing Technology Center 58 California Community College Workplace Education Program 68 ONE-PAGE SUMMARIES 75 Learning Consortia - Training 76 Consortium for Supplier Training 76 JobLink 77 Lancaster Industrial Training Consortium 78 Massachusetts High Performance Manufacturing Consortium 79 Massachusetts Workplace Literacy Consortium 80 Learning Consortia - ISO 9000 81 Center for International Standards & Quality 81 ETI 82 Maryland Center for Quality and Productivity 83 NEPIRC ISO 9000 Network 84 Learning Consortia - Quality 85 Harford Quality Network 85 Learning Consortia - Labor-Management 86 Labor-Management Council for Economic Renewal 86 Walk-In Centers 87 Business and Industry Services Center 87 High Technology Centers 88 Institute for Computer Training 89 Regional Manufacturing Technology Center 90 Distance Learning 91 Front Range Community College 91 Lifelong Learning Center 92 Modern Manufacturing Video Conference Series 93 North Iowa Area Community College 94 Quality Learning Series 95 Computer-Based Training 96 California Community College Workplace Education Program 96 Library Learning Link 97 Read & Achieve Program 98 Vermont Institute for Self Reliance 99 Trained Volunteers 100 Adult Basic Education in Springfield, Missouri 100 McHenry County College Workforce Literacy Program 101 APPENDICES 102 Additional Resources 103 National Workforce Assistance Collaborative Advisory Groups National Workforce Assistance Collaborative Products and Services INTRODUCTION Service providers have always found it difficult to deliver assistance to small and mid-sized companies. There are just too few people needing services in these smaller companies to share in the costs of development and delivery. Most providers see themselves facing a choice between giving companies the services they need, but at prices they cannot afford, or giving them lower-quality services at affordable prices. This dilemma is true whether a provider is offering training, management consulting, or technology assistance. This Publication Is for _ Community colleges _ Universities _ Manufacturing technology centers _ State literacy and training programs _ State economic development and technology offices _ Labor-management associations _ Business organizations _ Trade and professional associations _ Business development centers _ Private industry councils _ Non-profit organizations _ Private consulting firms This publication is designed to help service providers find a point in between the two extremes, where they can deliver high-quality services cost effectively. While it may be impossible to eliminate the tradeoff between quality and affordability entirely, it is certainly possible to move to a point where services are more appropriate, and costs are reasonably manageable. This publication looks at five service delivery strategies: _ Learning consortia, _ Walk-in centers, _ Distance learning, _ Computer-based training, and _ Trained volunteers. Properly implemented, all of these can reduce the cost of services to companies. With some creativity, they can also provide companies with the valuable services they need. While there may be other ways to deliver high-quality services cost effectively, these five strategies offer a number of insights into how providers can both reduce costs and compensate for the negative side-effects that may be associated with cost reduction. Services Covered by this Publication Include _ Workplace literacy training _ Technical training _ Work restructuring assistance _ Labor-management relations assistance _ Management consulting _ Technology assistance Any service provider working with small and mid-sized companies should find this publication useful, including educational institutions, government programs, business and labor associations, and private organizations. With small and mid-sized businesses responsible for the bulk of America's employment and employment growth today, it is essential that all providers -- trainers and consultants -- find ways to help these smaller companies remain competitive. Cost Effective Strategies Both the words "cost" and "effective" are important components of the term "cost effective." It is easy to cut costs by lowering the quality of services; what takes skill is reducing costs while maintaining the effectiveness of services. Cost effectiveness cannot be measured by a straight comparison of prices, it must be measured by comparing prices per unit value, e.g., prices for an amount of knowledge gained, skills acquired, productivity increased, quality improved, profit raised -- whatever metric is relevant for the service being provided. Service Costs. The cost of services is made up of a number of components. For the providers, it includes: _ Time, materials, and capital costs (rooms, equipment) required for developing the services, _ Time, materials, and capital costs required for delivering the services, and _ Time and cost required for traveling to where the services are delivered. Companies receiving the services would cover all of these costs in the fees they paid the providers, plus they would incur additional costs: _ Time, materials, and capital costs involved in participating in the services, including participation in developing, promoting, scheduling, tracking, and attending, _ Time and cost required for traveling to where the services are delivered, and _ Salaries for replacement workers or lost productivity for time when employees are off the job participating in or traveling to the services. Therefore, reducing the cost of services to companies involves reducing one or more of these components -- the cost components for providers and the cost components for companies. Providers can accomplish this in a variety of ways: 1. Delivering the same services to a number of companies so that the companies effectively split the provider's development costs. 2. Delivering services to multiple companies at the same time so that the companies share the provider's delivery costs. 3. Having the provider deliver services from one location convenient to it, and the company(ies) receive the services in a different location convenient to it (them), in order to reduce travel costs for all involved. 4. Subsidizing the cost of services with government payments, outside grants, or contributions (cash or in-kind). 5. Making the services more efficient so that the provider's development and delivery costs and companies' participation costs are reduced. 6. Making the services more productive so that the provider's delivery time and companies' participation time is reduced. Service Effectiveness. The most effective services are those targeted to the specific needs of individual companies and their employees. Effective services also supply opportunities for those receiving the services to interact with the provider, participate actively in exercises, and practice what they are learning both during service delivery and when they are back on the job. Additionally, effective services are delivered by highly-skilled individuals, and at the times the companies need them. Effective Services _Target companies' needs _Target individuals' needs _Promote provider-recipient interaction _Encourage active participation _Support practice back on the job _Are conducted by skilled individuals _Are delivered when they are needed Most of the strategies for reducing costs listed above can have a negative impact on at least one of the characteristics of effective services. 1. Delivering the same services to a number of companies makes it difficult to target companies' or individuals' needs. 2. Delivering services to multiple companies at the same time compounds the problems discussed in item 1 above, by also reducing the provider's ability to promote practice back on the job, and making it nearly impossible to provide services when each company needs them. 3. Having the provider deliver and company(ies) receive services in different sites tends to reduce interaction between the provider and recipient, limit active participation, and make it difficult for the provider to facilitate practice back on the job. 4. One method of subsidizing the cost of services -- using volunteers -- may involve employing less-skilled individuals as providers. Other methods might substitute the goals of the subsidizing organization for some of those of the recipients, thus making services less well targeted to company and individual needs. 5. Making services more efficient so that both the provider's and the companies' costs are reduced should not have a negative impact on effectiveness. 6. Making services more productive so that providers' delivery and companies' participation time is reduced also should not have a negative impact on effectiveness. How providers can overcome, or at least ameliorate, these drawbacks is the focus of the rest of this publication. It includes: _ A discussion of each of the five delivery strategies -- learning consortia, walk-in centers, distance learning, computer-based training, and trained volunteers -- and how they are being implemented. _ Five detailed case studies of exemplary programs delivering high-value services at relatively lower costs. _ Twenty-six one-page summaries of programs following one or more of the five delivery strategies, along with relevant contact information on each. DELIVERY STRATEGIES This publication highlights five service delivery strategies designed to reduce the cost of services: _ Learning consortia, _ Walk-in centers, _ Distance learning, _ Computer-based training, and _ Trained volunteers. These five strategies were selected because experts in service delivery identified them as the key techniques used to serve small and mid-sized companies cost effectively. Each employs one or more of the cost-reduction methods identified in the Introduction. The chart below shows the cost-reduction methods that are necessarily a part of each service delivery strategy, though many providers have found ways to employ additional cost reduction methods in their programs. Cost Reduction Methods Employed by Different Service Delivery Strategies Cost Reduction Methods Service Delivery Strategies Serve Multiple Companies Serve Multiple Companies at the Same Time Have Provider and Companies in Different Locations Subsidize Costs0 Make Services More Efficient Make Services More Productive Learning Consortia _ _ Walk-in Centers _ _ _ Distance Learning _ _ _ Computer-Based Training _ _ _ _ Trained Volunteers _ None of these service delivery strategies is free. Many distance learning techniques and computer-based training programs require significant investments in technology and training, as well as up-front development time. Walk-in centers can require high capital investments and time for careful planning. Providers that want to work through learning consortia must first devote considerable time to forming and supporting the consortia. Even the use of volunteers, the least expensive of the service delivery strategies, requires an investment in training. Providers must keep these costs in mind, and weigh the expenses associated with these strategies against their benefits, before selecting any particular service delivery strategy. This calculation will necessarily be different for every provider and in every situation. The rest of this section looks at each of the five delivery strategies in turn. It defines them, and discusses how they are being implemented. It also discusses how they lower costs, the good and bad side effects of these cost-cutting measures, and what techniques can be employed to lessen the bad side effects. LEARNING CONSORTIA Cost Reduction Methods _ Serving multiple companies _ Serving multiple companies at the same time In general, a learning consortium is a group of companies that come together to learn from each other in order to develop new capabilities, build the skills of their employees, and increase the productive capacities of their enterprises.1 This learning can be targeted at the workforce or the workplace. A consortium's workforce development efforts concentrate on building the skills of the individuals in member companies (including management staff), while its workplace development efforts aim at improving the productivity and efficiency of the companies' workplace processes and strategies. Most learning consortia engage in both cooperative learning and collective learning. In cooperative learning, members interact, share knowledge, and learn from each other; they work together to build their productivity and competitiveness. In collective learning, members learn together from some outside authority; they pool their resources to purchase this outside expertise. Some consortia do not restrict their membership to companies, but also include other parties, such as labor, educational institutions, job training organizations, economic development agencies, or community organizations. However, even in learning consortia with broadened memberships, the cornerstone of the consortia remains making member companies more competitive. Implementation Learning consortia are "hot." When experts in service delivery were asked to suggest cost effective delivery strategies and to identify programs they considered to be exemplary models of these strategies, they identified more learning consortium examples than any other kind. Almost half of the program summaries at the end of this publication are learning consortia. If learning consortia are hot, ISO 9000 learning consortia are hotter still. While the program summaries include only four ISO 9000 consortia, many more were identified and were only excluded from the publication in order to limit repetition. The learning consortia identified for this publication were created around four distinct themes: _ Training, _ Quality practices, _ Labor-management relations, and of course _ ISO 9000. The training-focused learning consortia that were identified address a variety of subjects, including basic skills, technical skills, quality practices, and employee empowerment. The Consortium for Supplier Training, one of the training-focused consortia, was created to prepare small supplier companies to follow the quality practices of their large-company customers. In Illinois, the Industrial Training Program supports the creation of consortia by providing training grants to groups of small and mid-sized companies that have identified common training needs. Under this program, community colleges and business and industry associations have sponsored training consortia, and original equipment manufacturers have sponsored supplier training networks. The Harford Quality Network, the quality consortium identified for this publication, helps small and mid-sized companies adopt quality practices. The Labor-Management Council for Economic Renewal, the labor-management relations consortium identified for this publication, works with firms and union organizations to facilitate work restructuring and labor-management relations. ISO 9000 consortia are created with a single, clear goal -- getting member companies ISO-certified -- and usually have specified start and end dates. It is the clear focus of these consortia and the well-defined participation requirements, along with the demand for ISO certification, that make these consortia so popular. Assistance even exists to prepare people to deliver ISO 9000 assistance. EPiC's (Education Professionals in Consortium) ISO 9000 Training Program includes curricula, participant materials, facilitator training, and technical support providers can purchase and use to establish their own ISO 9000 training programs. Typical consortium services include training sessions, where new ideas and techniques are brought to consortium members (usually as a group); networking opportunities, where member companies have the chance to learn from each other; and individualized consulting services, where experts work one- on-one with member companies to help them address their own specific problems. In some consortia, service providers have functioned as conveners, pulling together the companies and helping them to define their purpose and coordinate their programs. In other consortia, the providers just deliver services to the companies, responding to the agenda the companies have set. Cost-Cutting Techniques Learning consortia are cost effective because the same services are provided to more than one company, usually at the same time. This spreads the costs of both development and delivery over a number of companies. Member companies may jointly contract for services, jointly develop services, or share their own existing services, usually training, with other members. Over time, they may build a library of resources all members can access. Service providers that work with consortia are able to build an ongoing relationship with the participating companies. This relationship lowers the providers' overhead costs by making it easier for them to reach the companies and inform them about any new services they develop. Frequently, the costs of a consortium's services are subsidized. A number of consortia have federal or state grants. The Labor-Management Council for Economic Renewal receives in-kind services from a labor union. The Consortium for Supplier Training, which is composed of large customer companies, developed training and prepared community colleges to deliver this training at its own expense -- the recipient firms only have to cover the community colleges' costs of delivery to them. Many consortia use community colleges or other government-subsidized educational institutions to deliver services, further reducing the costs that must be borne by recipients. Because ETI, a provider for ISO 9000 consortia, promises specific service providers that it will purchase a large amount of work from them, it is able to contract for the services at discount rates. The Labor-Management Council for Economic Renewal reduces contact hours -- and costs -- by focusing its services on members' "stated needs." Benefits and Costs There are a number of benefits from providing services through consortia beyond reducing costs. The process of working together as a group and learning cooperatively is extremely powerful. Members can share problems, solutions, and ideas with each other, thereby reducing the number of mistakes they make and shortening their learning curves. Consortium members can expand their access to resources by sharing curricula, facilities, and service providers or trainers. By combining their resources, members might also be able to research and design new programs that they could not develop on their own. With the leverage members gain by being part of a group, they can persuade providers to tailor services to meet their needs. The Consortium for Supplier Training provides its small supplier companies with a world- class quality training program, one that is accepted by multiple large-company customers. Many of the drawbacks associated with consortia stem from the fact that a great deal of the services provided are delivered to multiple companies at the same time. This makes it difficult to customize services to company needs, provide individualized attention, support recipients as they try to practice new techniques on the job, or deliver services precisely when they are needed by companies. In addition, some companies are uncomfortable participating in training or consulting sessions with their competitors, though this tends to be less of a problem than might be expected. Finally, and most importantly, the up-front costs associated with forming consortia can be very large, and the ongoing costs (time and money) of maintaining consortia can be challenging for both the providers and the companies. Innovations Consortia have adopted a number of techniques to counteract the drawbacks. Most consortia establish a balance between delivering services to a group of companies, and providing targeted consulting or technical assistance to individual companies. Many consortia conduct needs assessments of member companies before they begin providing services, and then help the member companies design and implement their own development plans. The Maryland Center for Quality and Productivity convenes industry sub-groups where participants in its ISO 9000 consortia can cover ISO standards particular to them. Even with their more generic programs, shared with most of the member companies, consortium providers frequently look for opportunities to incorporate information and materials specific to each of the companies into their services. Many consortium providers have found ways to vary their service delivery, in order to meet the learning styles of diverse participants. They employ group learning, one-on-one instruction, and self-led instruction. Some assess employees and create individualized workplans, tailored to each employee's needs. Effective Services Characteristics Key Advantages: _ Depends on provider's delivery strategy. Key Disadvantages: _ Depends on provider's delivery strategy. Some consortium providers even vary their schedule of services in response to companies' schedules. A number of the ISO 9000 consortia noted that the companies controlled the pace of the services. By going beyond group classroom instruction, establishing drop-in service sites, and delivering services and technical assistance to companies at their work sites, providers are able to adjust the schedule of some of their programs to meet companies' timetables. Providing some services at the company sites has also enabled a few of them to help companies apply new techniques on the job. Keys to Success _ Provide individualized as well as group services. _ Assess companies' needs and help them create their own development plans. _ Assess employees' needs and create individualized workplans. _ Incorporate individual companies' materials into training exercises _ Use a variety of instructional techniques to meet varied learning styles. WALK-IN CENTERS Cost Reduction Methods _ Serving multiple companies _ Serving multiple companies at the same time _ Making services more efficient Walk-in centers are permanent facilities, open at established hours, where companies and individuals can come in for services, when they need assistance, and at their convenience. The centers are self-contained sites, where materials, equipment, and individuals are available and ready to meet client needs. Walk-in centers may work with individual companies, and prepare to serve them, before the company employees come in for services. However, once that preparatory work is done, walk-in centers enable participants to receive services at the participants' convenience. Implementation Walk-in centers come in a variety of forms. The most comprehensive one identified for this publication is Rancho Santiago Community College District's Business and Industry Services Center. It provides an array of business assistance services at a single location, including a small business development center, business incubators, business ownership services, contract education, quality assurance training, and workplace learning. The center's workplace learning program is probably the component that best exemplifies the "drop-in" nature of walk- in centers. Here the center uses a variety of instructional techniques -- including computer-based training, audio-visual and audio tapes, and small group and individual instruction -- to provide companies and their employees with customized literacy and basic skills services. Both Glendale Community College and Gateway Community College operate large learning labs where individuals work through self-paced instructional modules on a variety of computer skills (e.g., word processing, spread sheets, data base management, graphics, computer assisted design). Instruction is provided through texts, and instructors are available at the centers to help students when they have questions. Perhaps the most innovative walk-in center identified for this publication is Kellogg Community College's Regional Manufacturing Technology Center. This center provides individualized, self-paced, instructor-directed training in the industrial trades. Here students work through individual training modules on specific skills under the guidance of experienced journeymen. Cost-Cutting Techniques Walk-in centers can keep costs low by providing the same services to multiple clients, thus spreading the costs of development and delivery over a number of companies. Costs can also be kept low through subsidies, which all of the centers highlighted in this publication receive. The Business and Industry Services Center receives government grants and operates some federally-funded programs. The Regional Manufacturing Technology Center was built and equipped with a combination of state, foundation, and corporate funding, and has received additional contributions from federal programs, the city, the community college, and corporations and vendors. All of the centers in the publication operate out of community colleges, which subsidize the costs of their services. Some walk-in centers keep costs down by being more efficient. The Business and Industry Services Center is able to keep its costs down by bringing a number of related services together at one site where they can share resources and overhead costs. The Regional Manufacturing Technology Center is able to stock, and therefore purchase, fewer pieces of equipment because it does not have to train an entire classroom of individuals on the same machines at the same time. This center's most important cost-cutting technique, though, is tailoring instruction to companies' and individuals' needs; clients pay only for the specific skills required and mastered by employees. Benefits and Costs The greatest benefit of walk-in centers is their provision of "just-in-time" services. Clients get the assistance they need when they need it. Learning in these centers also tends to be active and hands-on, a boon for retention. The greatest drawback of these programs is that they frequently provide prepackaged services, with no customization to either companies or individuals. In addition, clients generally receive no assistance in applying new skills or techniques on the job -- service stops at the center door. In a couple of areas, the benefit/cost analysis could cut either way. Clients can receive one-on-one instruction from providers, or they may shy away from asking for assistance and have little or no direct interaction with the provider. Clients might have access to highly skilled instructors in the fields they are studying (i.e., the experienced journeymen at the Regional Manufacturing Technology Center), or they may find the center staffed with instructors responsible for covering a variety of subjects, in which their level of expertise varies. Innovations Most of the drawbacks discussed above can be mitigated. Both the Business and Industry Services Center and the Regional Manufacturing Technology Center try to customize their services to companies' and individuals' needs. Prior to the start of any workplace learning program, the Business and Industry Services Center assesses the company's skill needs and collects documents that can be used to customize the curriculum. It also assesses the skill levels of each student and develops individualized learning plans for each one. The Regional Manufacturing Technology Center works with companies to determine which skills are needed on the job at their work sites. It then assesses their employees and only has them work on the training modules required by both the company and the employee. Effective Services Characteristics Key Advantages: _ Delivering services when they are needed. Key Disadvantages: _ Not supporting practice back on the job. Glendale Community College works hard to keep up the skill levels of its instructors. Instruction on the courses and software packages are provided on a continuing basis, and customer service training is provided at the time of hire. Keys to Success _ Assess companies and individuals, and target training to specific needs. _ Prepare on-site instructors to provide assistance on every topic covered in the center. DISTANCE LEARNING Cost Reduction Methods _ Serving multiple companies _ Serving multiple companies at the same time _ Having the provider and companies in different locations The most all-encompassing definition of distance learning might be: Training programs in which the instructor and students do not share the same physical space. Many other, less encompassing definitions of distance learning exist. The United States Distance Learning Association defines it as: The delivery of education or training through electronically mediated instruction including satellite, video, audiographic computer, multimedia technology and learning at a distance. Mind Extension University defines it as: The use of technology, including cable television, satellites, videotapes, telephones and computers to send educational content to students, wherever they are. The broadest definition would include educational techniques ranging from books, audiotapes, videotapes, computer-based training programs, correspondence courses, telecourses, and Internet courses to audioconferences, videoconferences, and docuconferences (people collaborating on shared documents via computers). The more narrow definitions would sort out techniques that were not electronically based or grounded in technology. Because direct interaction with an instructor is a feature of effective services, a more interesting breakdown might be based on students' access to instructors. With most books, audiotapes, videotapes, and computer-based training, all of the instructor's knowledge is conveyed through the media. Students do not have the opportunity to ask questions or get detailed, personalized feedback on their work (though the products might include questions, followed by answers, the students can use to gauge whether they are mastering the material). Of course all of these media can be used as part of a class with an instructor who answers student questions and provides feedback, but in general, these products function as stand-alone education techniques. Correspondence courses, telecourses, and Internet courses involve delayed communication between instructors and students. In most cases instructors provide information to students, students then work on their own, and finally the instructors provide feedback to the students on their work. With correspondence courses, instruction is usually provided via a product, such as a book, audiotape, or videotape. Telecourses involve broadcasts to television sets. For Internet courses, instructors use Internet e-mail to send information, assignments, practice exercises, and tests to students, possibly supplementing this instruction with books and tapes. These instructional techniques provide no opportunity for students to ask questions of the instructors while they are instructing, but they may provide forums for the students to ask questions later, perhaps by phone, fax, or over the Internet. For some of these education techniques, particularly a few of the Internet courses, the most valuable instruction occurs through feedback on student work. Only audioconferences, videoconferences, and docuconferences offer instantaneous communication between instructors and students, though a limited number of students may be able to avail themselves of it during a single class period. This instantaneous communication may take place through two-way video and audio transmission, one-way video and two-way audio transmission, two-way audio transmission, or two-way computer access. It can also involve one-way video and audio transmission with access to instructors during transmission via phone calls, faxes, or electronic response pads that allow students to ask questions and respond to instructors' questions. The following chart shows the degree of access generally associated with particular distance learning techniques, though individual distance learning programs may offer more or less access to instructors than is depicted in the chart. Degree of Access to Instructors Generally Associated with Particular Distance Learning Techniques Access to Instructors Distance Learning Techniques No Access to Instructors Delayed Access to Instructors Simultaneous Access to Instructors Books _ Audiotapes _ Videotapes _ Computer-Based Training _ Correspondence Courses _ Telecourses _ Internet Courses _ Audioconferences _ Videoconferences _ Docuconferences _ In evaluating the value of a particular distance learning technique, it may be less important to focus on the level of technology required than on the degree of interaction between the instructor and students. The rest of this distance learning discussion focuses on the delivery methods that include some interaction with an instructor: correspondence courses, telecourses, Internet courses, audioconferences, videoconferences, and docuconferences. Implementation Organizations' Use of Distance Learning Techniques Instructional Method Percentage Used Videotapes 92% Audiotapes 50% Computer-Based Training 48% Videoconferencing 18% Teleconferencing 16% Distance Learning via Computer 9% "1995 Industry Report" Training, October 1995 Many distance learning techniques have been in use for years. Some of the more technological ones are still not widely used. A 1995 survey found that organizations' use of various distance learning methods to provide instruction to their own employees ranged between 9 percent for distance learning via computer, to 92 percent for videotapes.2 Today, computer and telecommunications companies offer a range of equipment that companies or instructional institutions can purchase to set up their own distance learning programs. To date, few, if any, local providers are using distance learning to deliver services to multiple small and mid-sized companies. North Iowa Area Community College, however, arranged for the delivery, via videoconferencing, of a couple of targeted training programs to single companies. Other organizations are using distance learning in ways that might be adapted for use with multiple small and mid-sized companies. A cooperative partnership -- composed of educational and economic development institutions, resource agencies, and technology communications organizations in northeast and north central Nebraska -- is in the process of creating a Lifelong Learning Center, which will provide a variety of educational services to local citizens and businesses, including access to two-way interactive video and audio classrooms and computer labs. The center is designed to connect northeast and north central Nebraska to educational resources throughout the state, nation, and world. The federal government operates a variety of distance learning programs. The Forest Service provides supervisory training via satellite dish transmission and the Federal Aviation Administration Academy delivers instruction via one- way videoconferencing and electronic response pads. The Office of Personnel Management offers correspondence courses, the Department of Defense uses the Internet to teach dependents on different continents, and the Government Accounting Office uses fiber-optic lines during training to see and hear people in different locations. The military, of course, has been mailing instruction on computer disks, videodiscs, and CD-ROMS to service people for over two decades. Distance Learning Resources _ United States Distance Learning Association. Nonprofit association promoting the development and application of distance learning for education and training. P.O. Box 5129, San Ramon, CA 94583, phone 800/275-5162 or 510/606-5160, fax 510/606-9410, e-mail shelley@usdla.org. _ AT&T's Center for Excellence in Distance Learning (http://www.att.com/cedl/). Information about AT&T products and services, a collection of articles on distance learning, and connections to universities that provide more information. _ International Centre for Distance Learning (http://acacia.open.ac.uk/). Database of references and abstracts for over 7,500 documents. _ University of Wisconsin's Distance Education Clearinghouse (http://www.uwex.edu/disted/home.html). _ Distance Education Online Symposium (DEOS-L). Listserv with approximately 2,100 participants from 51 countries. Send e-mail to listserv@psuvm.psu.edu with message: subscribe DEOS-L Your Name. _ Distance Education Resource Guide (1993). Directory of distance education programs at over 300 community colleges. League for Innovation in the Community College, 26522 La Alameda, Suite 370, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, phone 714/367- 2884, fax 714/367-3885, e-mail johnson@league.org. _ The American Journal of Distance Education. Disseminates information and acts as a forum for criticism and debate about research in and practice of distance education in the Americas. American Center for the Study of Distance Education, the Penn State University, 403 S. Allen Street, Suite. 206, University Park, PA 16801, phone 814/863-3764, fax 814/865-5878, e-mail acsde@psuvm.psu.edu. _ The Distance Educator. Provides current information on practical applications of distance education in business, industry, public education, and government. 8680 Navajo Road, Suite 102-152, San Diego, CA 92119, phone/fax 619/461- 0625, e-mail saba@cts.com. National organizations, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Technological University are broadcasting seminars to local providers who, in turn, are bringing together local firms. Some large companies are using distance learning techniques to provide training to outlying plants. JCPenney, for example, widely recognized for its training programs, uses a mix of workbooks, classroom instruction, on-line performance support, videos, and coaching to lead its managers and associates through the company's structured training program. Satellite broadcasts, CD rom, and on-line messaging are used to update managers' knowledge and skills on an on-going basis. Texas A&M University has been providing distance learning opportunities for large companies since September 1994. The university provides classes for Texaco at its main campus in College Station, TX, and uses videoconferencing to deliver the same classes to Texaco sites in Houston and Louisiana. Texaco employees at the distant sites have the opportunity to interact with the professor, as well as with students in the other sites. Mind Extension University offers courses and degree programs from more than 30 regionally accredited universities and education providers. Instruction is primarily delivered by cable television, satellite, or videotape, though some courses use audiotapes or computer software. The university uses electronic bulletin board and voice mail systems to allow students contact with professors or classmates at anytime. The Going the Distance project, another telecourse provider, furnishes distance learning degree opportunities for adult learners via a network of public television stations and 25 colleges in Nebraska. The Telecourse People, a group of six producers/distributors of multimedia course packages, is one of many companies offering high quality video and audio programs for use in conjunction with textbooks, study guides, and other supplemental materials. They market these materials to schools, colleges, universities, government agencies, and businesses for them to use as part of their instructional efforts. Their materials may be delivered through broadcast and cable television, Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) systems (transmission of television signals between fixed locations for educational purposes), satellites, learning centers, or videocassette checkouts. A number of colleges are beginning to offer courses to students over the Internet. Honolulu Community College and Kapi'olani Community College have created courses for which remote students receive instruction over the Internet, have weekly problem-solving sessions with the instructor, and may contact the instructor via e-mail at other times. Front Range Community College has created an innovative "cybercollege" where students anywhere in the world can take courses on demand and receive support services using a personal computer and modem. Some 200 students participate in these classes each semester. While the system is ideal for delivering courses directly to business and industry participants, few such partnerships have been established. Cost-Cutting Techniques The most obvious way distance learning cuts costs is by reducing the time and other expenses associated with travel -- for the provider and/or the recipients. The Lifelong Learning Center expects that its telecommunication delivery methods will allow it to serve small numbers of learners in remote locations simultaneously, thereby engaging the critical mass necessary to keep costs low. North Iowa Area Community College used the Iowa Communications Network to deliver training in "flexography" from the Graphic Arts Technology Center in Clinton, IA, to its campus in Mason City, IA, thus saving the 30 individuals in the program ten hours of round-trip driving for each day of the training. Additionally, many distance learning efforts involve sharing the same materials with multiple recipients (which spreads out development costs), possibly at the same time (which spreads out delivery costs). North Iowa Area Community College has started to build a library of training options, including tapes of satellite downlink sessions and computer- based and multimedia-based training programs. Benefits and Costs When providing instruction to individuals spread out over large geographic areas, distance learning can have significant benefits over traditional training programs. Courses do not have to be put together as marathon cram sessions; they can be broken up into reasonable modules and delivered over longer periods of time. Because there is no need to worry about coordinating participants' travel schedules, new classes can be put on line relatively fast. And since the provider does not have to bring all of the recipients back to one site, follow-up classes can be put together more easily. The process of linking up individuals across distances can have value as well. An Oregon state-wide baccalaureate nursing program reported that nurses who became "electronically acquainted" with other nurses elsewhere in the state were then comfortable calling them for advice. In another distance learning program, linking students in remote sites up with other students gave them "virtual classmates" with whom they could interact (through e-mail). Some distance learning techniques provide participants with the opportunity to have information repeated as often as needed. A videotape, for example, can be rewound and replayed if it is not understood. Downlink sites for the National Technological University's Modern Manufacturing Video Conference Series own the rights to the broadcast videotapes, and can replay them at any time. Distance learning programs can afford access to the most skilled providers in the world. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Quality Learning Series pulls together some of the biggest names in management in the country. Much distance learning lets students control the schedule of delivery, increasing the likelihood that instruction will take place when it is needed. This flexibility in scheduling is also beneficial for employees with irregular schedules, such as those who travel frequently or do shift work. Of course distance learning has its drawbacks. Having instructors and students in different locations can limit the interaction between them. This problem is compounded when an instructor is teaching large numbers of students. While some distance learning techniques are inherently active (e.g., computer-based training), most provide passive learning experiences. Instructors reaching out to very diverse participants cannot customize materials to companies' or individuals' needs. Because instructors are not on-site with the students, it is difficult for them to help the students practice new skills on the job. While travel costs associated with distance learning programs can be much lower, design, delivery, and support costs can be much higher. Most of the more interactive distance learning techniques require a considerable up-front investment in technology. Video broadcasts tend to amplify poor teaching techniques. Instructors will need training (technical and instructional) to use technology effectively, and a wide variety of support staff will need to be prepared for their new responsibilities. In addition, most people suggest that it will also take instructors, and support personnel, more time to prepare and support distance learning programs than traditional classes. Distance learning technology is definitely a two-edged sword. On the one hand it opens up myriad possibilities for new and creative instruction. On the other hand it can overwhelm the instruction, with both the instructor and the students paying more attention to the media than the message. It can also fail. Computers crash. Internet and satellite links break off. Broadcasts delivered over cables can ghost or jump, and with some types of cable there is an audio delay. Some think that having students together in classes separate from the instructor is a benefit, others think it is a cost. All agree that these students are more likely to talk among themselves than they would in a traditional classroom situation. On the plus side, these students may help clarify points the teacher is making without disrupting the entire class. On the minus side, they may not be paying as much attention as they should. Innovations Research shows that distance learning programs are at least as effective as traditional instructional programs3 -- if they are implemented well. A good implementation requires: _ Building the program around the students. Setting it up to meet their needs. _ Providing students with access to the full range of academic and administrative resources. _ Consciously building interaction between the instructor and students into the program. _ Making the learning an active experience for the participants. _ Varying the activities over the course of a session so that the students remain engaged. _ Training the faculty. They cannot teach distance learning courses the way they teach traditional courses or they will not be able to retain students' attention. _ Providing instructors with the support -- administrative, technical, and instructional --they need. _ Making the technology as transparent as possible; helping learners forget that it is there. _ Providing a local instructor, in addition to the distance learning educator, when "hard skills" (e.g., technical skills as opposed to management skills) are taught. Distance Learning Instructors Must Be _ Dynamic _ Risk takers _ Visionaries _ Hungry _ Detail oriented _ Sensitive to learners _ Respected by other faculty _ Aware of the student community Distance Learning Instructors Must Have _ Sense of humor _ Thick skin _ Good self image _ Content knowledge _ Knowledge of instructional design _ A passion for student success Compiled by workshop participants at a National Council on Community Services & Continuing Education conference, October 1995. What makes distance learning programs effective is what makes all learning effective: interactive, participative, actively engaging instruction. Computer-based training requires active learning and usually provides students with immediate feedback. Many Internet courses are designed to provide one- on-one interaction between the instructor and the students. Docuconferencing also requires active engagement. The National Technological University consciously builds variety into its Modern Manufacturing Video Conference Series. Each session features a professional moderator, one or two subject matter specialists, and two or three manufacturers experienced with the process or equipment being highlighted. The university visits the manufacturers' sites before the broadcasts are aired to tape the processes or equipment in use. These case studies are then featured during the broadcasts. Both the National Technological University and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce encourage additional educational support at their downlink sites. Many of the university's downlink sites provide "wraparound" sessions, bringing local experts in to give attendees information on locally available resources and more opportunity for questions and answers. Some sites build on the satellite seminars with local workshops one week before and/or after the broadcasts. Some Chamber downlink sites build larger training events around Quality Learning Series seminars, including additional speakers, facilitated discussions, meals, and other activities. Using multiple media can make distance learning programs more effective. Some programs deliver pre-assessments and pre- training via computer before actual classes begin. This enables the provider to find out what the learning gaps are and bring everyone up to the same level before training begins. Computer newsgroups can be set up after classes have begun to maintain conversations among instructors and students and reinforce learning. Effective Services Characteristics Key Advantages: _ Using highly skilled providers. Key Disadvantages: _ Not supporting practice back on the job. Before jumping on the distance learning bandwagon it is important to conduct a cost-benefit analysis. Most distance learning techniques are not cheap. They frequently require delivery to large numbers of people to be cost effective. While distance learning has some distinct advantages, there may be less expensive instructional methods that are equally effective. Keys to Success _ Make sure the number of recipients you have will justify the high up-front development costs. _ Prepare instructors and support staff to use the media effectively. _ Use techniques to provide individualized assistance to participants -- companies and their employees. _ Encourage active involvement on the part of participants. _ Build variety into the program delivery. COMPUTER-BASED TRAINING Cost Reduction Methods _ Serving multiple companies _ Serving multiple companies at the same time _ Having the provider and companies in different locations _ Making services more productive Computer-based training is any training that uses a computer as the focal point for instructional delivery.4 With computer-based training, the computer provides training by serving as an electronic teacher or mentor. Computer-based training could easily be considered a form of distance learning, but because of its relatively wide-spread use and its unique attributes, it merits a separate discussion here. Most computer-based training uses one or a combination of the following techniques: _ Tutorial. Introduces new information that must be taught in a sequential manner. _ Drill and practice. Provides opportunities for practice when mastery of a new skill or information is desired. Should be used after initial instruction. _ Training games. Supplements other instruction. Used to provide motivating and engaging opportunities for practice after a skill or new information is taught. _ Simulation. Provides an opportunity for experimentation, and allows students to test assumptions in a realistic context. Used most often when practicing a skill in its real context is too costly or dangerous. Also used to model real-world situations in order to build realism and relevance into the training situation. _ Problem solving. Helps students develop skills in logic, solving problems, and following directions. Generally used to augment higher order thinking skills. _ Assessment. Places and then monitors students' progress within a curriculum. _ Demonstration or presentation. Supports the introduction of new information. Can be used as a review tool. Implementation A 1995 survey found that 48 percent of organizations use computer-based training to provide instruction to their own employees.5 Computer-based training can be quite elaborate. Many packages go beyond text-based instruction and incorporate graphics, animation, video, and/or audio into their programs. Good programs link assessment to instruction, so that students only take the training they need, and do not advance until they master each training objective. Computer-based training packages exist for both basic skills (reading, writing, math, communication), and more job-related skills, such as computer, regulatory, management, and technical skills. The IntegratorTM computer-based training series includes modules in mathematics, communication skills, interpersonal skills, and problem-solving skills using a functional context approach. This means that exercises are job-specific and have basic skills content taken directly from the workplace or occupational training programs. LexIcon sells computer-based training programs that use hypertext to link together job-related and basic skills instruction. Training modules on such topics as hazardous materials, total quality management, and communications are backed up with instruction on reading graphs or understanding difficult words and technical terms. Students work through the job-related instruction and only call up the supporting basic skills instruction, via hypertext, when they need it. Computer-based training can vary along a number of dimensions: timeliness, customizabilty, and instructional format. A Study in Contrasts _ Training Instruction. Bank loan officers receiving computer-based training instruction on filling out a new loan form would work through a sequential computer-based training package, separate from actual job performance. Upon completion of the training, the officers would be able to return to their work and complete the loan form correctly. _ Performance Support System. Bank loan officers being prepared to fill out a new loan form using a performance support system would not participate in a sequential training program. Instead, the bank would load the loan form onto officers' computers, along with optional instruction modules (the performance support system), and the officers would then call up instruction on specific aspects of the form as they were filling it out and had questions. _ Timeliness. All computer-based training provides great flexibility in when training is offered, though some is more flexible than others. For example, computer training instruction occurs separate from job performance, at times set aside during the work day or before or after work. Computer performance support systems, however, provide on- line support for actual work tasks as employees are doing their jobs (see the box "A Study in Contrasts"). _ Customizability. The degree to which computer-based training programs can be customized to company needs varies greatly. At one extreme are off-the-shelf packages where no modifications can be made. At the other extreme are customized programs, built from scratch, to company specifications, by professional computer-based training developers. In between are programs that allow companies to insert their own technical vocabulary in lessons or select the parts of a training package that are relevant to their needs, and authoring systems that let companies insert practice reading materials and create practice exercises from materials used on the job or in the employee handbook. _ Instructional format. Computer-based training can be offered as an independent study exercise, where trainees are expected to work through the instruction on their own, with little or no support. It can also be offered in a classroom environment, either at the company site or a provider's site, where trainees have access to an instructor who can provide them with assistance. A number of providers use computer-based training to serve multiple companies. The Literacy Initiative's Read & Achieve program provides computer-based, job-specific, basic skills training to company employees in Columbus, OH. An advisory committee of business representatives helped shape the Read & Achieve program, ensuring that the program met the business community's needs. The DeSoto County Literacy Council's Library Learning Link uses a wide area network to deliver computer-based training to eight northern Mississippi counties through libraries, businesses, community colleges, and Head Start centers. The Vermont Institute for Self Reliance uses a computer lab in a central learning center to provide workforce literacy training to three companies. The California community college system has developed a plan to help its Workplace Learning Resource Centers provide customized computer-based training to companies, while reducing duplication of effort. Community college workplace education providers in the state will use a common authoring system to develop customized computer-based training programs for their business clients. The modules developed will then be disseminated from a statewide library for other community colleges to use or adapt. Cost-Cutting Techniques Computer-based training can be very cost effective if it is used with a large number of individuals. The development costs for computer-based training are much higher than for traditional training, but delivery costs are much lower. The delivery costs can be virtually zero for a provider that just hands over a computer-based training package. For providers that also offer some instructional support, delivery costs are reduced because they can serve more recipients at the same time. Companies' participation costs are lower as well. Computer- based instruction requires less training time than instructor-led training. (The amount of reduction ranges from 20 to 80 percent, with 40 to 60 percent being the most common). This greater productivity is generally attributed to tighter instructional design, the option for participants to bypass content they do not need, and the opportunity for participants to focus on those sections of a course they have not yet mastered.6 All of the computer-based training programs identified for this publication receive some kind of subsidy for the services they provide. The Vermont Institute for Self Reliance is supported by a U.S. Department of Education workplace literacy grant, and a U.S. Department of Education grant helped start the Library Learning Link. The Library Learning Link now relies on state funds and volunteer assistance to cover the costs of ongoing support services, though revenue from business site license rentals is used to maintain and upgrade the system. Because California's computer-based workplace education program is being operated out of the community colleges, the state is underwriting some of the program's costs. Substantial public and private support was used to underwrite the development of the Read & Achieve program. The Literacy Initiative is in the process of patenting the Read & Achieve process, and plans to eventually make the program self- sustaining. Benefits and Costs In addition to being cost effective, computer-based training offers several advantages over other forms of training, including: _ Active engagement of the learner, _ Focus on only those skills trainees need to learn, _ Immediate feedback, _ Unlimited practice opportunities, _ Consistent, reliable instruction, and _ Flexible delivery schedule. There is very strong evidence that computer-based instruction results in an equal or higher quality of learning over traditional instruction.7 If the training is particularly content dense (many new concepts presented close together) or utilizes a hierarchy of skill acquisition (where current concept mastery is dependent on mastery of earlier concepts), computer-based training's integration of text, sound, graphics, and video facilitates the learning process. On average, people remember _ 10% of what they read, _ 20% of what they hear, _ 30% of what they see, and _ 50% of what they hear and see,8 so computer-based training's rich, multi-sensory delivery system can facilitate greater retention of new knowledge. There are two major drawbacks to computer-based training: 1) it frequently is not adequately customized to company needs, and 2) it may not provide individuals with the personalized attention they need. In addition, because development costs are higher for computer-based training, it is only cost effective if it is used by a large number of individuals. Innovations As discussed earlier, there are several ways to customize computer-based training to company needs short of developing an entire program from scratch. At the very least, providers can supplement computer-based training with work-related materials. The Read & Achieve program analyzes the skills required for specific jobs and departments, and then uses only the appropriate subset of skills from its larger computer-based instruction system as the base for each company's program. The California community colleges will be using an authoring tool to develop customized computer-based training, but will then save money by sharing their work with each other and not duplicating what others have done. Personalized attention is also possible. Most computer-based training provides some degree of individualization. Pre- assessments guide individuals to the training they need. Ongoing assessments determine whether they have mastered concepts or whether they need further instruction. The tireless nature of computer-based training allows individuals to repeat instructional units as often as necessary. In addition to this computerized personalization, many providers offer human assistance. The DeSoto County Literacy Council assigns a literacy tutor or community college teacher to work with each business using the Library Learning Link. The Vermont Institute for Self Reliance employs a literacy instructor at its learning center to provide instruction to those using its computer lab. Effective Services Characteristics Key Advantages: _ Encouraging active participation. _ Using highly skilled providers. Key Disadvantages: _ Not supporting practice back on the job. Keys to Success _ Make sure the number of recipients you have will justify the up-front development costs. _ Customize programs to company and individual needs and contexts. _ Provide live instructional options to back up computerized instruction. TRAINED VOLUNTEERS Cost Reduction Method _ Subsidizing costs Trained volunteers are used to provide workplace training services in a number of ways. In most instances, volunteers are used to supplement the work of paid professionals. These volunteers usually provide one-on-one or small group (three to five students) tutoring to students who have missed classes, are having trouble grasping particular concepts, or started training with lower skills than their peers. It is becoming more common, however, for trained volunteers to be the primary, or sole, instructional provider in workplace settings. Implementation While most trained volunteers who provide workplace education come from community-based organizations, some universities, community colleges, and adult education systems have large and active programs for volunteer tutors. Trained volunteers are most commonly used as part of a workplace delivery strategy for basic-literacy or English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) services. These programs have a long history within the volunteer social services community. The movement of volunteerism into the workplace literacy field, however, is a more recent phenomenon. Both Laubach Literacy Action and Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc., two major national literacy associations, actively support workplace literacy efforts. When asked to identify volunteer literacy programs offering workplace instruction, Laubach Literacy Action was able to generate a list of 181 programs in 37 states, while Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc., reported 176 affiliates. In addition, Laubach Literacy Action maintains a Center for Workplace Literacy, which works directly with companies that have a need to improve the literacy skills of their workers. Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc., recently published LVA Works: A Guide to Workplace Education to help its affiliates develop effective workplace education programs. While literacy is the most common need addressed by trained volunteers, there is no reason volunteers cannot be used to deliver a broad range of workplace education instruction, provided they receive the proper training, support, and resources. A number of executive volunteer services, for example, are starting to offer the services of retired business professionals to small and mid-sized businesses and nonprofits. In general, however, it may be difficult to find many individuals willing to volunteer their services in fields other than literacy. Cost-Cutting Techniques Using trained volunteers reduces the cost of services by subsidizing them. One of the major components of cost -- salaries -- is eliminated for volunteer staff. However, the use of volunteers is not free, as costs must still be paid for the training, support, and administration of volunteer services. Additional subsidies may come from other sources. The Springfield Adult Basic Education program uses state and federal dollars to cover the costs of its services, and the Ozarks Technical Community College provides space and advertising for its services. The McHenry County College Adult Education and Literacy program receives the typical subsidies inherent in being a public college program. Benefits and Costs Because the volunteers usually provide one-on-one tutoring, they can furnish participants with completely individualized assistance. This assistance involves continuous interaction between the volunteer and the student, entails active participation on the part of the student, and can be provided on an "as needed" basis. Because the volunteers work so closely with the students, they are also in a position to help the students apply their new skills to their jobs. The main drawback to this method of delivery is obvious: it frequently relies on nonprofessionals to deliver services (though it may use retired professionals), potentially lowering the quality of services clients receive. Innovations Both the Springfield Adult Basic Education program and the McHenry County College Adult Education & Literacy program try to build the skills and support the activities of their volunteers. In both programs, volunteers work under the supervision of paid instructors, one-on-one with students who need additional assistance. The Springfield Adult Basic Education program prepares its volunteer tutors with 12 hours of Laubach tutor training before beginning work, and with in- service programs scheduled for its paid instructors. Effective Services Characteristics Key Advantages: _ Targeting individuals' needs. _ Promoting provider-recipient interaction. Key Disadvantages: _ Not using highly skilled providers. The McHenry County College program provides volunteers with 16 hours of training in either general literacy or English as a Second Language. After this training, volunteers that express an interest in working in companies are provided an additional orientation -- which includes an on-the-job experience scheduled between classroom instruction -- to prepare them. Keys to Success _ Train Volunteers thoroughly. _ Provide instructional support to volunteers while they are working. CONCLUSION The five delivery strategies discussed in this publication highlight numerous opportunities for providers to serve small and mid-sized companies cost effectively. None are panaceas. Each has the potential for sacrificing quality to economy. Some, if used inappropriately, could even prove to be more costly than traditional service delivery strategies. In deciding which service delivery strategies to pursue, providers should consider a number of things: _ Their own capabilities, or competitive advantage; _ Their access to needed equipment and materials; _ Their customers' key needs, or the characteristics of effective services most important to their customers; and _ Their customers' ability to access different types of services. Providers should then look at this information in light of the benefits and costs of each strategy, in order to decide which approach, or mix of approaches, will best enable them to meet their customers' needs cost effectively. These benefits and costs, beyond the potential for reducing the costs of services, are summarized in the chart below. Benefits and Costs of Different Service Delivery Strategies Service Delivery Strategies Benefits Costs Learning Consortia -Opportunity for members to learn from each other -Opportunity to access training better suited to members' needs -Long development lead-time -Significant on-going support -Potential loss in customization -Potential loss in support at company sites Walk-in Centers -"Just-in-time" services -Hands-on, active learning -High capital investment -Significant planning effort -No support at company sites -Potential loss in customization Distance Learning All -Access to most skilled providers in the world -Can enable extremely flexible scheduling -Can allow for repeating training as often as needed -Significant development time -Limited interaction with instructors -Mostly passive learning experiences -Little possibility of support at company sites -Potential loss in customization Technology-Based -Can build links among trainees -High capital investments -High investments in training Computer-Based Training -Active engagement of the learner -Ability to repeat training as often as needed -Flexibility in scheduling -High capital investments -Significant development time -High investments in training -Potential loss in customization -Potential loss in support at company sites Trained Volunteers -Usually provide individualized instruction -Potential for providing support at company sites -Significant investments in training and supervision -Potential loss in quality Used with care and creativity, the five strategies presented in this publication could help service providers open up whole new markets for themselves -- small and mid-sized companies -- markets thought by some to be the key to America's future economic prosperity. The rest of this publication contains five detailed case studies and 26 one-page summaries of programs delivering high-value services at relatively lower costs. This information should give providers additional insights into how to set up programs like these themselves. 0While most of the examples in this publication use subsidies to reduce costs, only the use of trained volunteers requires subsidies by definition -- using volunteers subsidizes salary expenses. 1For more information on learning consortia, see the National Workforce Assistance Collaborative's publication Approaches to Forming a Learning Consortium: A Guide for Service Providers (Washington, DC: National Alliance of Business, 1996). 2"1995 Industry Report," Training, October 1995. Survey was of U.S. organizations with 100 or more employees. 3Hal Hunter, "The Opposite Sector," Training & Development, May 1995. 4For more information on computer-based training, see the National Workforce Assistance Collaborative's publication Selecting and Implementing Computer-Based Training (Washington, DC: National Alliance of Business, 1996). 5"1995 Industry Report," Training, October 1995. Survey was of U.S. organizations with 100 or more employees. 6Brandon Hall, Return-on-Investment and Multimedia Training (San Francisco: Multimedia Training Newsletter and Macromedia, Inc., 1995). 7Ibid. 8Keith Saft, How Not To Get Burned, When Lightening Strikes: A Practical Approach to Producing Interactive Media (Pittsburgh, PA: All Night Media, 1995).
CASE STUDIES
The following case studies provide information on five different programs
employing three of the cost effective service delivery strategies highlighted in
this publication: learning consortia, walk-in centers, and computer-based
training. The studies are designed to give readers an understanding of how the
programs operate and any implementation issues they might face in developing
comparable programs.
Consortium for Supplier Training 34
Lancaster Industrial Training Consortium 42
Business and Industry Services Center 50
Regional Manufacturing Technology Center 58
California Community College Workplace Education Program 68
One-page summaries of each of these programs are also included in the next
section.
CONSORTIUM FOR SUPPLIER TRAINING
Introduction
The Consortium for Supplier Training (CST) was established in late 1992 by a
handful of North American-based, quality-focused, global companies to improve
the performance of their suppliers. To achieve this goal, the Consortium
sponsors a network of supplier training centers (STCs) which offer a full
complement of performance improvement tools -- including assessments,
training courses in Total Quality, and implementation and follow-up -- to
Consortium members' suppliers, as well as non-suppliers.
A world class training system that accelerates supplier learning and improves
performance.
Vision
Consortium for Supplier Training
The Consortium was created in response to increased global market competition
requiring improved product quality at reduced prices. The Consortium's
member companies had found that they could not sufficiently improve product
quality by using quality practices in just their own firms; they also had to
promote quality practices in their suppliers. Rather than each member company
investing in upgrading all of its suppliers, Consortium members sought a way to
share the costs for and streamline the process of improving suppliers'
performance.
The process the Consortium uses to provide supplier assistance is: 1) identify
supplier needs; 2) identify and/or develop courses and other services to meet
supplier needs; and 3) offer the services as cost-effectively as possible through a
network of recognized educational institutions -- community colleges,
universities, or technical schools with active industrial outreach programs.
Consortium for Supplier Training Supplier Training Centers
_ Dallas County Community College District, Dallas, TX
_ Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
_ Finger Lakes Community College, Canandaigua, NY (Rochester area)
_ Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ
_ Monroe Community College, Rochester, NY
_ Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill, MA (Boston area)
_ Oakland Community College, Auburn Hills, MI (Detroit area)
Program Description
The Consortium currently consists of six full member companies: Bayer
Corporation, Chrysler Corporation, Eastman Kodak Company, Motorola, Texas
Instruments, and Xerox Corporation. There are also 12 associate member
companies: AEG Transportation, Alcoa, Deloite & Touche, Duquesne Light,
Kennametal, Medrad, Oberg, Price Waterhouse, Respironics, SEMATECH (a
consortium of ten U.S. semiconductor manufacturers), Texaco, Inc., and
Westinghouse.
Consortium members pair with, or sponsor, educational institutions to serve as
supplier training centers. These STCs then become the delivery point for
services.
The Consortium members' individual suppliers -- both present and future -- are
the Consortium's target customers. In most instances, participation is voluntary
for Consortium suppliers. A few members, however, require their suppliers to
take specific courses.
STCs offer three types of services: 1) assessment, 2) training (or other
interventions), and 3) implementation and follow-up. The Consortium currently
sponsors 11 courses, but expects to add more every year. Consortium courses
typically last eight to 24 hours, and may be delivered in a variety of formats,
including full-day, evening, or weekend sessions.
Consortium members undertake rigorous procedures to guarantee the quality of
the courses offered through the program. First, they control course content. Five
of the Consortium members contributed quality courses they developed for their
own internal use to the Consortium training effort.
Consortium for Supplier Training Course Curriculum
_ Using the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria to Improve Your Company's
Competitiveness
_ Introduction to Techniques for Phased Process Quality Improvement
_ Utilizing the Six Steps to Six Sigma
_ Manufacturing Cycle Management - A Systems Overview
_ Design for Manufacturability
_ Introduction to Total Quality
_ Partnering
_ Problem Solving
_ Performance Based Equipment Training
_ Business Process and Cycle Time Management
_ ISO 9000
Second, they ensure the skill of the STC course instructors by training and
certifying them. Consortium-approved master trainers use strict, standardized
guidelines, created by the Consortium based on members' own internal company
guidelines, to certify the instructors delivering courses through the STCs.
The Consortium categorizes its 11 courses as "required" or "elective." All STCs
have to have someone on staff trained to deliver each of the required courses.
And, while they need to offer all elective courses at least once a year, they may
use an instructor from another institution for delivery. This enables the STCs to
focus their attention on those courses that meet their customers' needs. STCs may
offer the Consortium training courses to the public as part of their regular course
offerings, but member companies' suppliers may be notified and given priority
for registration.
Although the Consortium focuses on quality-related services, some of the STCs
have taken the initiative to integrate other course offerings into the program to
help supplier companies become more competitive. All STCs have assessment
tools to identify a range of activities companies may need to undertake to become
high performance workplaces, including workplace literacy and skill training
programs, installation of new technologies, and adoption of new workplace
processes and workforce practices.
Results
The Consortium for Supplier Training benefits member companies, supplier
companies, and the educational institutions that serve as supplier training
centers, as well as the local economies where the companies are located and the
nation's overall competitiveness. The primary benefit for member companies is
an improvement in the performance of their suppliers. This improvement
enables them to increase customer satisfaction and gain a competitive advantage,
without each of them individually having to undertake the training of every one
of their suppliers.
Texas Instruments (TI) is a representative example of a Consortium company. TI
has over 14,000 suppliers in the U.S., approximately 10 percent of which (1,400)
supply 90 percent of all its materials and services. Of these 1,400 suppliers, 68
percent have fewer than 500, and 50 percent have fewer than 200 workers. These
companies cannot afford to provide training to their employees on a continuous
basis. The Consortium for Supplier Training was created to provide such
companies with a cost-effective alternative for improving their performance.
Supplier companies benefit as well. First, they do not have to participate in all of
the quality programs developed by each of their customers; the customers have
agreed on a single, common program. Second, the suppliers do not have to
develop courses or hire expensive consultants themselves; they can send
employees, as needed, to local STCs, or receive on-site training plus
implementation and follow-up from STC consultants. Finally, and most
importantly, the assistance suppliers receive helps them to improve their own
performance, and thus their profitability.
The educational institutions serving as STCs gain both products and markets.
Consortium member companies supply them with high-quality, business-
certified courses they can sell to all companies within their communities.
Members also encourage their suppliers to attend these courses, and even take
responsibility for promoting the STCs to their suppliers.
Educational institutions' participation in the Consortium brings them prestige
and recognition for providing high quality services. It strengthens their links
with the business community, helping them target their courses to companies'
needs and build a customer base to which they can offer additional products and
services.
The Consortium adopted Motorola's evaluation process and uses it with all
Consortium courses. Participants are asked to rate their level of satisfaction in
five areas: relevancy, learning, course design, instructor, and overall course. The
responses from suppliers have been very positive in each of the categories, and
have garnered the Consortium an overall customer satisfaction rating of 96
percent.
History
In February 1990, when the vice presidents of human resources in four
companies -- Boeing, Digital Equipment Corporation, Motorola, and Xerox
Corporation -- were meeting to discuss their companies' internal quality training
programs, they began to raise questions regarding supplier training. While two
of the companies (Motorola and Xerox) were required, as Malcolm Baldrige
Quality Award recipients, to share information on quality processes, all of the
companies were concerned about promoting quality in their suppliers. The vice
presidents agreed to form a task force to examine the need for supplier training.
As representatives of Quality-focused global companies headquartered in North
America, our mission is to provide knowledge and methodologies to our
suppliers which will enhance the quality of our products and achieve customer
satisfaction.
Mission Statement
Consortium for Supplier Training
Members of the task force decided to share among themselves, and with their
supplier companies, courses and information that were neither proprietary nor
gave away competitive advantage. Many of the courses they shared had been
developed within the task force companies, and in some cases, were already
being offered on the open market. From sharing training courses, the group
moved to evaluating the courses, and then to endorsing a set of courses as the
task force's standard.
In 1992, the task force decided to form the Consortium for Supplier Training
(CST) to manage the delivery of the training courses they had endorsed.
Lawyers from each of the founding members hammered out legal agreements to
ensure that antitrust laws would not be violated. Surmounting the legal issues
was a time-consuming and arduous process. What resulted was a six-page
membership agreement each company signed to join the Consortium.
Structure
Requirements for Full Consortium Membership
_ Sign the membership agreement.
_ Identify and qualify at least one supplier training center (STC) within one
year.
_ Allocate the equivalent of one person per STC as the "site sponsor."
_ Pay for the certification of all courses installed at the sponsored site(s).
Currently, the Consortium for Supplier Training consists of six full and 12
associate industry members, and seven supplier training centers.
Full industry members sponsor supplier training centers and/or cover the cost of
training instructors. Associate members do not have to sponsor an STC. They
can participate with full members in sponsoring an STC and/or its instructors, or
they can just contribute funds to a full member.
Most of the supplier training centers are located near sponsor companies.
Current members are planning to enlist new Consortium members from
geographic regions where their own supplier bases are strong but where they
don't yet have an STC, so that the new members can sponsor training centers in
those areas. California, for example, is home to many of the Consortium
members' suppliers, but there is not yet an STC in the state.
Consortium Advisory Board Roles and Responsibilities
_ Set the strategy and develop policies for the Consortium.
_ Determine the instructor qualification process.
_ Maintain Consortium by-laws and membership agreements.
_ Establish supplier training center model specifications.
_ Manage Consortium membership expansion and balance.
_ Facilitate Consortium communications.
_ Review STC performance provided by the training managers and facilitate
independent quality systems reviews.
_ Determine curriculum needs.
_ Establish and maintain a standardized course evaluation process.
_ Approve supplier training centers.
The Consortium for Supplier Training is managed by an advisory board --
composed of five of the companies that are full Consortium members -- which is
responsible for the strategic direction and oversight of the Consortium. This
board represents the industry members and coordinates the network of supplier
training centers.
The responsibilities associated with being a Consortium member have evolved
over time. Member companies now have to sign a simple one-page membership
agreement containing the Consortium's vision and purpose and a commitment to
establish a network of STCS and share curricula and materials. A more detailed
list of responsibilities is contained in the Consortium's bylaws, which can be
more readily amended by the Consortium's members.
Originally, industry members were required to provide quality courses for the
program and to sponsor a single training site. Now industry members do not
have to be course owners, and a single industry member may sponsor more than
one training center, or multiple industry members may pool resources to co-
sponsor a single training center.
Consortium membership still requires a substantial financial commitment. First,
each Consortium company must supply a manager to coordinate activities with
the STC it sponsors and with the Consortium. Second, each company must
contribute towards the cost of certifying instructors for the courses offered by its
STC.
The Consortium operates under strict rules of conduct. Roles and
responsibilities, some contractual, are clearly defined for all participants,
including the supplier training centers. Criteria for selecting educational
institutions as training sites and certifying instructors are strictly enforced to
ensure quality. Each STC is required to employ an on-site program manager,
and the centers must recoup their delivery costs from the fees that they charge.
The Consortium for Supplier Training is not a static entity. The advisory board is
taking on more decision-making and policy-setting functions, and new
committees are being developed to manage the Consortium's curriculum and
marketing functions.
Supplier Training Center Roles and Responsibilities
_ Be affordable.
_ Have instructors "certified" in the STC curriculum.
_ Apply tools and consult on implementation.
_ Provide an adult learning environment.
_ Handle all aspects of course delivery, staff, tuition, logistics, evaluations,
course materials, production, and enrollment.
_ Provide feedback using a common evaluation process.
_ Meet all state and federal regulatory and non-discriminatory
requirements.
_ Adhere to all copyrights and licensing agreements.
_ Provide open enrollment with preference to Consortium members'
suppliers.
The Consortium's curriculum and training delivery methods are under review.
Currently all of the Consortium's courses have been developed by member
companies, but courses from outside vendors are being considered. Consortium
assistance has expanded from simply supplying courses to offering hands-on
technical assistance as well. Some of the STCs are experimenting with delivering
courses via video, CD rom, or other distance learning techniques. If successful,
these could lead to a total restructuring of the Consortium's delivery mechanism.
Finding ways to expand the Consortium's reach continues to be a priority.
Members are looking into ways to encourage, or possibly require, their suppliers
to participate in training. They are also beginning to look into providing training
for their second and third tier suppliers (their suppliers' suppliers). The
Consortium has developed marketing materials (brochures and a video) targeted
externally to supplier (and other) companies to encourage them to participate in
Consortium programs, and internally to colleagues in their own companies to
encourage them to promote the programs to the suppliers with whom they work.
Keys to Success
The Consortium for Supplier Training is a cost-effective delivery strategy for all
of the players involved. Member companies share the costs of developing
training among themselves, rather than each developing duplicate training
courses. Supplier training centers receive high-quality training courses, and are
prepared to deliver these courses at little or no cost to themselves. And supplier
companies pay nothing towards the cost of training development, and are able to
share the costs of training delivery with other companies sending their
employees to the same sessions.
The Consortium identifies training needs within the supplier community, and
develops courses to meet those needs. Working together, member companies
ensure that the training courses they offer meet the highest standards in the
world. The Consortium continually evaluates the training sessions being
delivered, ensuring that both content and delivery are kept up to standard.
We believe what we are doing is the right thing for U.S. business and the
Consortium companies, and that it will make a difference for industrial training
in this country.
Patti Glenn
Texas Instruments
Community colleges and other educational institutions provide an ideal training
distribution system, with the potential of reaching 80 percent of the member
companies' combined supplier bases. Delivery schedules are flexible, established
to meet the needs of the local supplier companies. Consortium companies
provide direct, often personalized, marketing to their suppliers, and the STCs
may give these suppliers priority in enrollment.
Educational institutions receive multiple benefits from participation. In addition
to the curricula and its associated training, they are provided with help in
marketing their new line of services to local companies. They also can use their
new business connections as markets for other products and services, and as a
base for promoting economic development in their communities.
Issues to Consider
The Consortium for Supplier Training is an excellent example of how high-
quality training can be delivered to small and mid-sized companies cost
effectively. It is a collaborative venture that combines the knowledge base of a
number of large companies with the delivery capacity of existing educational
institutions.
As a collaborative venture, though, it has its own drawbacks. Collaborative
processes are time consuming and expensive. They require high levels of trust
and commitment from all members. Working out agreements and defining roles
within a collaborative may take several years -- several years before any of the
collaborative's objectives can be addressed.
The Consortium's main challenge today is to increase supplier company
participation. In 1995, over 200 supplier companies participated in the training,
with 12,000 individuals (from both supplier and non-supplier companies)
trained. This is a considerable improvement over the Consortium's start-up
years -- it trained only 1,100 individuals in 1993 and 1,400 in 1994 -- but far below
the Consortium's goal.
Consortium members could benefit from enlisting their colleagues as partners in
recruiting supplier companies. Frequently, it is the company production
managers who have the closest contact with suppliers and know what the
suppliers' development needs are. The Consortium is just beginning to directly
market these key "influencers" in their companies, educate them about what the
Consortium is and can do, and encourage them to promote supplier participation
in Consortium programs.
Contact
Patti Glenn
Corporate Manager for Supplier Quality
Improvement
Texas Instruments
P.O. Box 655303
Mail Station 8312
Dallas, TX 75265
phone: 800/882-6638 or 214/997-2400
fax: 214/997-2407
Finally, the Consortium must continue to work on demonstrating a link between
participation in STC programs and improved supplier performance. It takes
more than just attendance at training classes to improve performance -- the
training concepts must be applied in order to alter companies' internal work
processes. The Consortium's three phase program of assessment, training (or
other intervention), and implementation and follow-up may be the recipe for
success, but more companies need to go through all three phases, and more time
needs to pass before this can be determined conclusively.
LANCASTER INDUSTRIAL TRAINING CONSORTIUM
Introduction
Membership in the consortium allows us to share best practices with other
companies and to provide input to the local learning institutions about our skills
and training needs.
Linda Brennan
Johnson & Johnson MERCK
The Lancaster Industrial Training Consortium is a membership organization of
22 manufacturing companies and six educational institutions working to develop
both incumbent and unemployed workers. The consortium acts as a major
resource for Lancaster County businesses by developing training curriculum,
sponsoring technical training programs, coordinating resources between area
educational institutions and companies, and providing a network for sharing
information and expertise on issues related to workforce development.
The level of unemployment in the Lancaster County area remains among the
lowest in the country. The economic base of the county consists primarily of
small businesses across a wide range of industries, including manufacturing,
agriculture, and service. This broad economic base has provided the area with a
stable economy which has remained strong during economic cycles and shifts.
The Lancaster Industrial Training Consortium was formally organized in 1991.
The Lancaster County Area Vocational-Technical Schools serves as the fiscal
agent for the consortium, and the Ben Franklin Partnership Program, a state-
funded foundation providing assistance to projects that improve the economic
competitiveness of Pennsylvania, provides a large part of the consortium's
financial support. The consortium is governed by an advisory board made up
solely of industry representatives, and is staffed by an executive director.
Program Description
The 22 manufacturers and six educational institutions of the Lancaster Industrial
Training Consortium seek to increase the capacity and quality of their training
and information exchange. Business membership is limited to the manufacturing
industry to preserve the consortium's focus. A number of the companies in the
consortium are older, traditional companies that are making dramatic changes in
the way they operate and train their employees. While the consortium is not
presently seeking new members, it is re-admitting some companies that had
previously been members, but had discontinued activity in the consortium for
various reasons. The education members of the consortium include vo-tech
schools, community colleges, and universities.
The consortium's advisory board plans to conduct an annual survey of its
members to determine training needs. The results of this survey will be used to
plan consortium activities and set priorities for the use of consortium funds. The
consortium's members and executive director will use the survey results to
identify, develop, and conduct workforce training sessions that will have lasting
value to both employees and the companies.
I wear many hats in my position as Human Resources Manager, and I cannot
devote my efforts full-time to training issues. The consortium members share
their successes and failures. This feedback can help keep me from going down
the wrong path.
Jan Elsen
Fenner Manheim
Training is provided through a number of avenues. First, if there is sufficient
interest among members, the consortium may choose to use its own funds to
sponsor a workshop or seminar. A nominal fee may be charged for attendance at
these events.
Second, member companies may contract with one or more of the consortium's
six education members to conduct training for specific in-house needs. A portion
of the financial support from the Ben Franklin Partnership Program is designated
to reimburse member companies for up to 20 percent of the cost of this contract
training. Disbursement of the Ben Franklin funds is handled by the consortium,
leaving the companies to pay the provider only for their share of the training
cost.
We were dissatisfied with the unanticipated politics between and within the
various educational institutions with which we worked.
Linda Brennan
Johnson & Johnson MERCK
Third, members are encouraged to share their own internal training with
employees from other companies, for a per-person charge. By sharing training,
the host company is able to defray costs, and the invited companies, often the
smaller of the consortium's companies, gain access to training they might not be
able to afford otherwise. Host companies bill participating companies directly.
Sharing internal training has become such a valued activity that some companies
schedule their internal training in consultation with other member companies.
In 1994, the consortium arranged a full-day training conference for its members.
Workshops were conducted by experts from within each member company on a
variety of topics. These topics were selected from a list of training needs
compiled from a survey of member companies. The conference allowed each
member company to highlight some of its training strengths, and to learn from
the experiences and expertise of other companies. The conference was
particularly successful because all the training came from staff within member
companies. The conference revealed the level and breadth of knowledge
contained within the member companies.
Because member companies had difficulty hiring qualified employees, the
consortium developed the Lancaster Employment Advantage Program (LEAP),
an employment preparation program for industrial maintenance occupations. In
early 1995, a task committee of two companies, two providers, and the director
identified core skills required for employment and developed the curriculum to
teach those skills.
Lancaster Employment Advantage Program
The consortium and the Lancaster County Area Vo-Tech Schools have
developed a series of pre-employment classes to introduce basic skills and work
experience to potential employees. The Lancaster Employment Advantage
Program (LEAP) helps individuals improve their knowledge and skills and
increase their chances for securing gainful employment. Participants come from
job training programs, voluntary walk-ins, and company sponsorships.
The basic training, consisting of eight courses, prepares individuals for entry
level positions in maintenance, machine operation, and machine setup.
Individuals completing each course receive a continuing education certificate.
Persons completing the eight basic courses and an additional 17 advanced
courses receive a mastery of subject certificate and job placement assistance.
Employers benefit by being assured that the graduates of LEAP have proven
competence in basic workplace skills and have demonstrated positive motivation
and a willingness to work.
The eight courses last for 69 hours, take five weeks to complete, and are
available both daytime and evening. The cost for the eight courses is $345.
LEAP's basic package has eight skills courses, while the advanced package offers
an additional 17 courses. LEAP is available to individuals who are unemployed,
underemployed, or incumbent workers. The consortium's director is actively
marketing LEAP to job training programs around the county.
Results
Since joining the consortium in 1994, Electroplaters of York, Inc., (with 100
employees) has offered four courses to upgrade the skills of 43 employees. These
courses, on problem solving, troubleshooting, team building, and physics, were
taught by the Lancaster County Area Vo-Tech Schools using Ben Franklin funds.
The course results were impressive enough for the company to invest over
$28,000 to create a training/conference room where classes could be conducted
in a clean, quiet, and comfortable environment.
As a small company, you get caught up in your own workplace issues. The
consortium allows you to see outside those issues.
Steve Kelly
Electroplaters of York
New Standard Corporation, a metal stamping firm which employs 350 workers
(275 of whom are hourly), has been a member of the consortium since it started
in 1991. New Standard has used the consortium and Ben Franklin funds to
develop complete training packages in three areas: industrial electricity (14
mechanics trained), fluid power (ten mechanics), and programmable logic
controllers (16 mechanics). New Standard credits the consortium with making
the development of these training sessions possible, and with giving it access to
faxes, phone calls, and mail notices about other companies' training sessions.
Being a member of the consortium is one of the best things we've done regarding
employee training and development.
Doug Sisson
Clark Filter
Clark Filter, Inc., has been a member of the consortium for two years. In
cooperation with the consortium and Millersville University, Clark has
implemented a career planning program for its 95 employees. This program
involves an assessment process, individual consultations, and a career planning
workshop.
Clark is also able to offer its employees access to training workshops that would
not have been available had the company not been a member of the consortium.
For instance, Clark's human resources manager has attended a training session
on pay-per-skills, taught at and by Johnson & Johnson MERCK, and a session on
calculating return on investment, taught jointly by Penn State University and the
Lancaster County Area Vo-Tech Schools.
In its first year in the consortium, Herrmidifier Company, Inc., made an $8,000
investment in training and consortium related activities, and realized a savings of
$12,000 in reduced scrap --a savings it credits to the training.
In general, member companies are taking advantage of the expertise and
opportunities available to them through the consortium. They are sharing more
of their internal training and are searching for more ways to strengthen their
network. Members see the consortium as a vital means of improving the region's
economy and competitiveness, which will benefit them all.
History
In 1984, the Lancaster County Area Vo-Tech Schools formed a business advisory
committee to help upgrade its industrial training programs for high school
students. The advisory committee was asked to help develop new curricula and
identify new equipment that the Lancaster County Area Vo-Tech Schools should
acquire.
This process was so successful and satisfying for the companies involved that, in
1985, they sought to expand the Lancaster County Area Vo-Tech Schools'
training services to incumbent workers. The companies saw in this effort a
unique opportunity to create a program that responded directly to their needs.
This program, originally called Custom Industrial Training, later developed into
the Lancaster County Area Vo-Tech Schools' Workforce Development Institute.
By 1991, the Workforce Development Institute had grown to a point where the
Lancaster County Area Vo-Tech Schools recognized a need both for more
providers to be involved and for the effort to become self-sufficient. The Vo-Tech
Schools invited five new providers to join the effort, and the active members
officially created the Lancaster Industrial Training Consortium. A proposal for
support was submitted to the Ben Franklin Partnership Program and, with the
funds it provided, the consortium began to make plans. In 1995, the consortium
hired its first executive director.
Structure
Role of the Advisory Board
1. Create and review the consortium's mission statement and objectives.
2. Review membership criteria and applications.
3. Provide guidance and direction for the consortium.
4. Facilitate communication among member companies.
5. Identify common training opportunities.
6. Respond to industry needs.
7. Perform an annual review of the director.
8. Identify opportunities to provide services to consortium members.
9. Review the allocation of resources, Ben Franklin funds, and membership
fees.
10. Make recommendations regarding membership responsibilities and dues.
The consortium is governed by an advisory board composed of four members, all
of whom represent business, and are usually the human resources or training
directors of member companies. The advisory board meets at least every two
months.
Advisory board members serve one-year terms, with one of the members' terms
ending every quarter. This assures that the entire board does not turn over at the
same time and provides consistency to the board's operation. The advisory
board is authorized to make final decisions about allocating funds from the Ben
Franklin Partnership program, but all other decisions are reviewed by the full
membership of the consortium.
The consortium hired its first executive director in January, 1995. The director is
responsible for coordinating and facilitating the consortium's training efforts,
conducting needs analyses for member companies and their employees, creating
an evaluation tool for consortium training sessions, and helping companies
calculate return on investment for the training they conduct.
The director tracks the training needed and the training sessions offered by each
company, helps match companies' needs with available training, and helps
arrange for or develop training for those needs that aren't readily met. To a large
extent the director's job is to facilitate the exchange of information between
members.
The director also works with the educational members of the consortium to
improve their ability to effectively and cost-efficiently serve businesses and to
understand training from a business perspective. She also helps coordinate
referrals between providers if one is unable to meet the needs of a particular
company.
Director's Responsibilities
1. Chair quarterly meetings.
2. Coordinate training among companies.
3. Conduct needs analyses and assessments within companies.
4. Administer grants.
5. Recruit companies and educational institutions.
6. Ensure communications among companies.
7. Develop companies.
8. Convince companies of the viability of the consortium.
9. Network with other organizations, consortia, and associations.
10. Identify other funding sources as needed.
11. Report to the advisory board.
12. Make recommendations and draft action plans for the consortium based
on individual company needs.
The consortium meets monthly at one of its members' facilities. The consortium's
budget for the 1995/1996 project year (PY) is $443,780, including $80,000 from the
Ben Franklin Partnership Program and $363,780 consortium members donate in
the form of cash, equipment, and in-kind support through their participation in
consortium activities.
The Ben Franklin Program has supported the consortium for four project years,
with grants of $120,000, $110,000, $80,000 and currently $80,000 for PY
1995/1996. The PY 1995/996 Ben Franklin funds will be used for salaries
($49,200), subcontracts ($10,000), seminars ($7,300), and other expenses ($3,500).
Historically, funding from members covered their own participation in
consortium activities, but did not directly support consortium projects. The
consortium instituted a membership fee of $250 in PY 1995/1996. The revenues
from this membership fee are earmarked to support development of a resource
library.
Presently, the consortium is run out of office space provided by the Lancaster
County Area Vo-Tech Schools. The director is paid through the Lancaster
County Area Vo-Tech Schools, but is not an employee of the Vo-Tech Schools.
While the director works closely with the Lancaster County Area Vo-Tech
Schools' president, she reports to the consortium's advisory board.
Keys to Success
The Lancaster Industrial Training Consortium is successful because it has
developed a battery of programs and services that meet members' training needs.
Having member companies pro-actively share their training is considered to be
one of the consortium's best features. While this feature was difficult to initiate
at first, now that it is becoming accepted, members agree that it alone is reason
enough to remain in the consortium.
The LEAP program also is seen as a key consortium benefit. It was developed
through the consortium, by industry representatives, to improve the work-
readiness of existing and future employees in the Lancaster area. Because
industry representatives helped develop the program, consortium members are
confident that trainees will graduates with skills needed on the job.
Consortium Goals
Short Term (6 months):
1. Design and print a brochure.
2. Secure funding for companies interested in LEAP.
3. Conduct a survey of industry training needs.
4. Organize a committee to advise on school curriculum and equipment.
5. Update the training manual.
6. Promote LEAP through the chamber, job services, etc.
Intermediate Term (12 to 19 months):
1. Evaluate LEAP.
2. Develop a structured evaluation of consortium training.
3. Increase the amount of shared training among member companies.
4. Increase peer exchange.
Long Term (3 to 5 years):
1. Expand LEAP into areas beyond industrial maintenance.
2. Make the consortium self sufficient.
3. Develop a wider customer base.
The resource library being developed for members' use will provide valuable
training support for member companies. By using membership funds to create
this library, the consortium is showing members an immediate and direct benefit
from their financial contributions.
The skills of the executive director are another key to success. The consortium's
executive director has an extensive background in industry. She is a mechanical
engineer, and spent 15 years working in Lancaster area industries. In her last job
prior to becoming the executive director of the consortium, she was the
production manager and quality control manager for a mid-sized manufacturer,
where she also had responsibility for overseeing corporate training. She brought
this company into the Lancaster consortium when she was still working there.
As a representative from industry, and as someone who has been directly
responsible for training within her company, the executive director is able to
successfully bridge the gap between the business and educational members of
the consortium.
Another key to success is the creation of a market for training services, which the
consortium fostered, in the Lancaster area. Educational members are competing
with each other to provide services to the business members. This market has
shifted more power to the companies, and has forced the educational institutions
to create services that meet the needs of business.
One characteristic that both business and educational members of the consortium
agree is a key to success is the business-only policy on the advisory board. The
lack of provider members prevents provider politics from diverting attention
away from the consortium's primary focus on meeting industry needs and
addressing industry concerns.
Issues to Consider
The consortium gives a group of companies the power to force schools to serve
the companies' needs.
Greg Burkholder
Lancaster County Area Vo-Tech Schools
The consortium's origins stem largely from the efforts of the Lancaster County
Area Vo-Tech Schools, and the consortium has continued to evolve with
significant support from the Vo-Tech Schools. As a result, the consortium is
frequently, and erroneously, seen as a part of, or at a minimum, too closely tied
to the Vo-Tech Schools. This has caused some confusion for both businesses and
other educational members of the consortium trying to understand all of the
consortium's activities and policies. It also diminishes the desired impression
that the consortium is business oriented.
During 1993 and 1994, the consortium experienced a decline in business
involvement. Members attribute this to an increase in decision making roles for
providers. The consortium became dominated by providers and moved too far
away from being industry-led and industry-focused.
Whether or not the consortium can continue to operate depends on whether it
can achieve self sufficiency. This will hinge on how the members respond to the
end of Ben Franklin funding in another year or two. Members have accepted the
introduction of $250 membership fees, but fees of at least $1,000 will probably be
needed for the consortium to be self sufficient. It is unclear whether members
will be willing to pay such fees.
Contact
Judy Youngeberg, Director
Lancaster Industrial Training Consortium
1730 Hans Herr Drive
Willow Street, PA 17584
phone: 717/653-0407
fax: 717/653-0901
Finally, the consortium's ultimate success requires that both business and
education members have the full blessing and support of their upper
management. It remains to be seen whether members will commit the significant
amounts of time and money needed to sustain the consortium beyond its period
of subsidy.
BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY SERVICES CENTER
Introduction
The Business and Industry Services Center (BISC) -- a self-supporting facility of
Rancho Santiago Community College, the largest community college in Orange
County, CA --provides one-stop assistance to the local business community. The
center houses a number of programs for small and mid-sized companies,
including the county's small business development center (SBDC), business
incubators, business ownership services (BOSS), contract education, quality
assurance training, and a workplace learning resource center.
BISC specifically targets its services at the area's small and mid-sized companies,
the number of which are growing rapidly. More than 1,000 manufacturing
businesses have opened in Orange County since 1990, most by some of the 45,000
county residents who lost their jobs at aerospace, computer, or high-tech
manufacturing companies between 1989 and 1995 (Orange County Register,
October 8, 1995).
The Business and Industry Services Center is a self-supporting facility of Rancho
Santiago Community College with an emphasis on economic development. We
provide entrepreneurs with a growth environment for newly formed ventures.
We are the community's training and consulting partner in defining creative
solutions through [our] programs of distinction.
Mission Statement
Business and Industry Services Center
To better meet the business community's needs, BISC has developed numerous
partnerships with, among others, the city of Santa Ana, Orange County, other
county community colleges, the state Employment Development Department,
and the local Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) program and private industry
council.
While this case study provides information on all of BISC's services, it contains a
more in-depth review of the Workplace Learning Resource Center and its
particular services to the business community.
Program Description
BISC's services include:
_ Workplace Learning Resource Center, a literacy and basic skills program
featuring a multi-modal learning laboratory equipped with computer
learning systems;
_ Small Business Development Center, no-cost, individualized business
consulting services for small to mid-sized businesses and entrepreneurs;
_ Contract Education, a wide range of customized training services,
delivered at the worksite on a fee-for-service basis;
_ Quality Assurance, instruction on such topics as total quality management
(TQM) and statistical process control for college students and local businesses;
_ Business Incubators, an executive suite service for small businesses that
require a supportive environment to grow and then move into the
community;
_ Business Ownership Services System, an intensive entrepreneurial
training program for laid-off and/or unemployed individuals; and
_ Labor Market Consortium, information on employment, sales, and
economic performance from 98,000 employers in the county.
BISC is generally open from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Each program housed within BISC, however, may establish its own service
hours, depending on its clientele and training schedule. Some programs also
offer courses, training, or consultations on weekends.
The workplace learning resource center (WLRC) provides English-as-a-second-
language (ESL), literacy, and basic skills services. It uses a variety of
instructional methods, including computer-aided instructional software,
laserdiscs, online learning resources, audio cassettes, video tapes, and written
texts. The center currently has ten computer stations and, funding permitting,
plans to add more in 1996.
The WLRC gains most of its students through two channels. First, employees
from companies contracting with the college and BISC for education and training
services might use the center. Second, clients from various job training programs
purchasing services from BISC may use the center.
Contract Education
Contract education offers a wide range of customized training and employee
development services delivered at a company's worksite on a fee-for-service
basis. BISC's contract training includes total quality management, statistical
process control, customer service, supervision, and computer applications.
The WLRC offers students the options of self-directed, individualized, and
classroom instruction. Its schedule and instructional philosophy allow for
immediate, just-in-time training, as well as long-term basic skills remediation.
The WLRC is open for drop-in, self-paced services from 8:00 a.m. until 8:30 p.m.,
Monday through Thursday, and on Fridays from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. In the
mornings the WLRC offers small-group instruction for job training clients who
are seeking positions as bilingual clerical support staff. Noncredit, continuing
education General Educational Development (GED) classes are held at the WLRC
every afternoon and on two evenings. Students who attend either the bilingual
clerical or the GED sessions may also use the center on a drop-in basis during the
remainder of the week.
The philosophy of the WLRC is to build instruction around transferable literacy
skills. As a result, the curriculum developed by the WLRC generally does not
emphasize job-specific learning. Students not associated with a particular
company who use the WLRC on a drop-in basis work with the WLRC
coordinator during their initial visits to establish individual learning plans, and
be introduced to the center and its various resources.
JobLink
JobLink is a workplace literacy project funded by the U.S. Department of
Education, and operated by a consortium of three colleges and nine companies.
JobLink established a satellite center at BISC to provide literacy training to
incumbent workers of small and mid-sized manufacturing companies in Orange
County. This partnership between BISC and JobLink is mutually beneficial, as
BISC gains resources, instructors, and increased public access, and JobLink gains
an additional service site for its businesses.
For those students associated with particular companies, the WLRC coordinator
works with the businesses to develop specific curricula for their employees. The
coordinator visits a company site and conducts general workplace literacy needs
assessments, as well as literacy evaluations of company employees. The
company's curriculum is then developed based on the literacy needs
assessments, and individual learning plans are developed to fill the gaps
between students'current skills and the skill requirements for their jobs.
Small and mid-sized businesses generally arrange to have their employees use
the WLRC on a drop-in basis, but specific classes may also be arranged. Students
may use the center according to their own schedules, and until they have met
their learning goals. Some companies choose to pay their employees for a certain
number of hours spent at the WLRC, while other companies require their
employees to use the WLRC on their own personal time.
Companies that use the WLRC as part of a contract for education and training
services pay a low, negotiated fee for their employees' access to the center.
WLRC staff track attendance of students who use the center, and report this to
the appropriate organization -- the college, companies, job training program --
monthly.
In 1996, the WLRC became a learning site for JobLink, a workplace literacy
project operated by the Coast Community College District. Services funded by
JobLink have expanded the resources already available at the WLRC, as well as
increased the operating hours at the center.
Results
The WLRC provides English-as-a-second-language instruction to employees
from Ingram-Micro, Inc., a distributor of computers and computer components.
Recently ten Ingram-Micro employees tested out of ESL, and seven of the ten are
beginning GED classes at the WLRC.
Waste Management needed to improve the professional skills of its managers
and supervisors, and asked BISC to conduct a formal needs assessment and
develop a training proposal. Waste Management and BISC jointly determined
that classes were needed in time management, counseling, supervisory methods,
and an introduction to TQM. These classes were variously offered at the Waste
Management worksite, at BISC, and on the main community college campus.
Waste Management paid for the training and the staff time for employees to
attend.
They worked to know our business before they offered the instruction.
Michael Cervantes
Waste Management of Orange County
Results from this training include such intangibles as better attitudes from
supervisors, enhanced pride and feelings of ownership throughout the company,
and better working relations between supervisors and company drivers.
Tangible outcomes include improved safety records, which in turn led to savings
of over $500,000 in safety-related claims for Waste Management in 1995, and
increased productivity. Employees from Waste Management have also become
invested in furthering their education and have started using the workplace
learning resource center at BISC.
I've always been a tech guy. The small business development center helped turn
my thoughts and attitudes around to business.
Kevin Gatewood
Gatewood Systems and Software
Gatewood Systems and Software is one of the companies operating out of BISC's
business incubator. Gatewood has developed a software package for medical
offices, and provides technical support to set up and maintain computer
networks and hardware.
Gatewood began working with the Small Business Development Center housed
at BISC in July, 1994. Shortly thereafter, Gatewood moved into an incubator
office space at BISC. The SBDC helped Gatewood create a business plan, develop
marketing materials and sales strategies, and establish accounting systems. The
incubator program has provided low-cost office space and light secretarial
services. Gatewood pays $1 per square foot for its office space, totaling $156 per
month. BISC's combined services have given this new-start company the
resources, advice, and time required to become successful.
History
Business Incubators
The business incubator program provides an executive suite service for small
businesses requiring a supportive environment in order to grow and move into
the community. Participating businesses receive economical lease terms and
phone answering, light secretarial, photocopying, and fax services, and have
access to assistance from the SBDC. Leases for the incubators are generally for
one to three years, and clients pay $1 per square foot for office space.
The building in which BISC is located was constructed in 1987 by the city of
Santa Ana as a dedicated facility for business incubators. Economic difficulties
and the recession of the early 1990s forced the city to seek alternative
administration for the facility, and Rancho Santiago Community College
assumed responsibility for managing it in 1994.
Prior to 1994, the college had operated its small business development center and
business ownership services system out of the city-owned building. Upon
assuming responsibility for the building in July, 1994, the college placed contract
education, quality assurance, and the workplace learning resource center there to
create a one-stop business assistance center. The labor market information
consortium, which had been a part of the small business development center,
was given its own office space in late 1994.
Small Business Development Center
A comprehensive service center for small and mid-sized businesses and
entrepreneurs, the Small Business Development Center offers seminars and
individualized assistance on topics for new and developing businesses. The
center has walk-in services, and typically offers ten hours of assistance to each
client, but is available for upwards of 60 hours per client. The SBDC serves
businesses that have less than $5 million in sales and fewer than 20 employees.
The college leases BISC's building from Santa Ana for $1 annually until the year
2000, at which time the city will give the building to the college.
Structure
While BISC is a part of the Rancho Santiago Community College, not all
programs at BISC are managed by the college. BISC's director oversees those
programs run by the community college, the outreach and marketing of BISC's
services and programs, and the daily functioning of the center. The director also
works closely with the programs at BISC that are not directly college-sponsored,
such as the Santa Ana economic development agency, in an effort to integrate
and coordinate these with other services for the business community.
The director of BISC reports directly to the Vice Chancellor of the community
college district. The director is responsible for hiring all of the staff for the
community college programs housed at BISC, including the WLRC staff. The
director looks for staff who have a background in industry, and who have
experience providing training to the business sector.
The WLRC has one permanent staff member, the center coordinator, and an
assistant, who is hired with JTPA funds. A full-time, college-paid assistant will
be hired in 1996. The coordinator develops all the curricula, establishes
individual learning plans for drop-in students, and provides instructional
assistance as required. The bilingual clerical and GED sessions are taught by
grant-funded instructors.
In an effort to foster integration of services within BISC, the director holds
weekly meetings with the staff of all BISC's programs. As a result of these
efforts, the director reports that program staff are actively working together to
address the needs and goals of their business clients. BISC plans to establish a
business advisory board, but has not as yet.
Orange County Labor Market Consortium
The consortium collects information on employment, sales, and economic
development from 98,000 employers in the county. The consortium is run
through a partnership between the local community colleges, the state
employment development department, the regional occupational program, and
the local Job Training Partnership Act program.
BSIC's marketing efforts have included print advertisements in newspapers and
mailings to the business community. Because these avenues have been less
effective than desired, BISC is hiring a staff person to specifically coordinate a
marketing plan, including mailings, telephone follow-ups, and personal visits to
potential business customers.
BISC's annual budget of $1.9 million comes from a variety of sources, including
local, state, and federal government grants, Rancho Santiago Community
College, fee-for-service contracts with companies, and leases from the business
incubators. In 1994, revenue from business contracts totaled $250,000, while in
1995 it was projected to grow to $400,000. A goal of $600,000 in revenue from
fee-for-service contracts from the business community has been set for 1996.
The workplace learning resource center had a budget of $230,200 in FY 1995.
This funding came from an economic development project ($95,200 for
equipment, instructional supplies, and staffing), JobLink ($75,000 for staffing),
and two Perkins allocations ($60,000 for staff, outreach, and technical assistance
and support).
Keys to Success
BISC's strengths are its ability to provide businesses with access to numerous
services in one location, and to develop multifaceted and coordinated assistance
plans drawing on its various programs.
Business Ownership Services System
BOSS is a 200-hour intensive entrepreneurial training program for laid-off
and/or unemployed individuals who want to start their own businesses. BOSS
provides a combination of classroom instruction and individual consulting
services, and its graduates are in business when they complete the program.
BOSS is funded through the Job Training Partnership Act, the Defense
Conversion Adjustment Act, and the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act. There are
eight BOSS training sections each year, with 15 individuals in each section.
BISC has been successful in large part due to the strong leadership and vision of
its director. The director has facilitated and put forward a creative and
cooperative plan for BISC, and is beginning to develop a common purpose
among many diverse programs and services.
A commitment to customer satisfaction has also contributed to BISC's success.
Waste Management reported that when problems arose with a series of
workshops for which it had contracted, BISC responded immediately and
resolved the issue within a matter of days. Such service and concern with quality
convinced Waste Management to continue its relationship with BISC.
We need to get to know a company well if we are going to serve it well.
Paul Garza
Business and Industry Services Center
Finally, BISC's success has been due to support from top-level administrators at
the community college. The director of BISC works directly for the Vice
Chancellor of the community college district.
The WLRC's success stems from the range of service options it offers to meet the
needs of small and mid-sized companies, including drop-in and class instruction.
Because students can start receiving drop-in services anytime, the center can
provide just-in-time training for businesses, available whenever the need arises.
The WLRC's flexibility also contributes to its success. The center is open during
much of the week, has drop-in or small-group instruction, offers self-paced or
assisted learning, and uses many different instructional tools, including
computers, written texts, laserdiscs, online services, and videos, to meet the
needs of students and businesses.
The staff and instructors at WLRC, in particular the WLRC's coordinator, are all
highly qualified in curriculum development and instruction in subjects ranging
from ESL to basic literacy to GED. In addition, these staff members are all very
experienced using computers as instructional tools. This experience, combined
with an assessment plan that matches individual skill needs with the skill
requirements of particular jobs, allows the WLRC to tailor instructional plans for
each employee who uses the center.
The low, one-time charge for use of the WLRC allows small and mid-sized
companies to receive the most benefit for their limited training dollars.
Issues to Consider
As a service center, BISC is responsible to multiple clients, including Rancho
Santiago Community College, the business community, its own internal service
programs, and the general public. As a result, BISC has had some difficulty
focusing its services and developing its sense of purpose.
Rancho Santiago College has different goals for BISC than did the city of Santa
Ana. When Santa Ana managed BISC, the center's focus was on providing
effective business incubators. With the integration of services under the college's
management, some wondered whether all of the various constituent programs
within BISC, particularly the incubator program, would receive the amount and
type of support required for optimal performance.
The Business and Industry Services Center has been struggling to integrate the
various programs and organizations that Rancho Santiago Community College
placed on site in 1994. Initially there was no sense of a unified mission. Only
with considerable time and effort have the center's programs begun to establish
integrated approaches to business services, working together to create
collaborative service plans for businesses, and make referrals to each other.
Institutions block themselves from [working collaboratively]. They don't see
ways of collaborating internally.
Paul Garza
Business and Industry Services Center
During the process of developing a unified sense of mission there have been
questions about how BISC programs represent themselves to the public. Some
program staff say they represent BISC, while others say they represent Rancho
Santiago Community College, the Small Business Development Center, or the
Santa Ana economic development agency.
Rancho Santiago Community College has facilitated cooperation by
institutionalizing many of its grants, not "walling" them off, but using them to
bring together and improve an array of programs and services.
Contact
Paul Garza, Director of Contract Education
Business and Industry Services Center
901 E. Santa Ana Boulevard
Santa Ana, CA 92701
phone: 714/564-6982
fax: 714/835-9008
Provider institutions considering developing a center similar to BISC need to be
imaginative in planning the center's design and available services. The BISC
director emphasizes that there is much common ground among programs and
providers. These commonalities need to be identified and highlighted for such a
cooperative center to be successful.
REGIONAL MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Introduction
Kellogg Community College provides individualized, self-paced, instructor-
directed training in the industrial trades at its state-of-the art Regional
Manufacturing Technology Center (RMTC) in Battle Creek, Michigan. The center
is a successful partnership between private industry, state and local
governments, and the community college to meet the corporate training and
economic development needs of Battle Creek and its surrounding area (a 50-mile
radius).
The Battle Creek region is home to a large number of manufacturing firms, many
of which are related to the automotive industry. The region has been adding jobs
since the early 1990s, after having experienced layoffs and downsizing in the late
1980s. The recent hiring trend, coupled with the move toward utilizing more
advanced equipment, has brought about a shortage of skilled-trades people in
the area. Very few people have completed apprenticeships or achieved
journeyman status, and both are in increasing demand.
From its inception, the RMTC, and its precursor at Kellogg Community College,
has concentrated on serving businesses' incumbent workers, but it also accepts
students who are presently unemployed. The RMTC has served approximately
140 companies over its five years of operation. Currently there are 96 companies
and over 1,200 students using the center's services. Of these 1,200 students, more
than 1,000 are employees sent to the RMTC for company-arranged training. An
additional 100 students are referred by agencies through programs such as the
Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), while the remaining 100 students are walk-
ins.
Program Description
The RMTC provides training in industrial maintenance skilled trades, including
electricity/electronics, machine tool/tool and die, millwright, pipe fitting,
refrigeration/air conditioning, sheet metal, welding, instrumentation, and
plastics. The center's mission is to train individuals for industrial applications,
though many of the skills taught can be used for commercial repair and
maintenance as well.
The RMTC has a modularized curriculum offering approximately 800 distinct
skills to companies and their employees. Through this design, RMTC can work
with companies to create customized training plans that include only those skills
required for the companies' production processes. Companies then send their
employees to the RMTC to study and learn the appropriate skill modules.
Companies are charged only for actual skill attainment; the RMTC bills them for
each skill acquired by each employee. The fee charged per skill is based on the
average number of contact hours required to master that skill (billed at $3.41 per
hour) plus lab fees, which vary depending on the module.
Students attending the RMTC may receive credit for prior experience and skills,
and thus be exempted from portions of the company's training plan. Students
who request such credit are interviewed by the appropriate instructor, who may
review previous certifications, or have the students demonstrate their proficiency
in the particular skills.
A Day in the Life. . .
By the time the doors open at 8:00 a.m., there are already a number of students
waiting to start their day at the RMTC. Once registered, students punch-in at the
time clock in the resource center. If the skill module they will be working on
that day requires any text reading, videos, or computer-assisted learning, the
resource center staff will help locate the materials. When these learning activities
are done, students move into the shop.
Ordinarily, instructors will start each module by demonstrating a particular
skill, then allowing the students to practice. Until instructors are comfortable
that students are able to work safely on their own with a module, they will stay
close by to keep an eye on students' work. Otherwise, students work on their
own until they have a question or want to demonstrate that they have mastered a
skill. Mastery of a particular skill is recorded (for later reporting to the students'
companies) and the students move on to the next skill module.
When students begin a training module they are given a training packet
outlining the module's activities. While the RMTC has a strong, central belief in
hands-on learning, modules may consist of a mix of learning activities, including
reading texts, watching videos, and using computer-assisted-instruction.
Modules may take from a few hours to a few weeks to complete, at which time
students take a written test or demonstrate their ability to perform a task.
Students determine on their own when they are ready to be tested. Most written
tests are open-book and open-notes, and students can re-test as necessary.
Because learning at the RMTC is competency-based and sequential, in order to
accomplish successive modules, previous modules must be mastered. So, not
only can't students fail, they recognize that it pays to learn a skill well.
Flexible scheduling is one of the RMTC's strengths. The center is open four days
a week, Monday through Thursday, from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., for a total of 52
hours per week. The center provides services 47 weeks of the year, closing only
for two weeks in the summer, two weeks during the winter holidays, and one
week in the spring. Counting all the days that the RMTC is open on a drop-in
basis along with those days the center is used for contract-education training, the
RMTC offers instruction about 225 days annually. During its hours of operation,
instructors are always available to provide students with one-on-one instruction.
The physical layout of the RMTC also contributes to its success in training. There
are few walls in the lab separating the skill areas. The result is an increased
awareness of the growing interconnectedness of the various skill areas,
reinforcing for students that success on the job requires skills in many different
fields.
Registration for training courses takes place on-site at the RMTC, minimizing the
number of trips students make between the RMTC and Kellogg Community
College's main campus. All new students are assessed on their reading and math
skills in order to determine if they are ready for the RMTC's curriculum. These
assessments are conducted at the testing center on the college's main campus.
Counseling for new registrants is available, from the center's director or one of
the instructors, to assist students who have questions about academic matters.
Workforce Readiness Program
The RMTC offers a Workforce Readiness program consisting of 162 continuing
hours of instruction and covering safety, shop math, reading gauges, and
measurements.
The program helps companies screen potential new-hires for commitment and
basic work-readiness skills. Companies generally use the program for secondary
screening, after reviewing an individual's application and interviewing him or
her. Companies often promise a job to the employment-candidates if they finish
the program and pass a drug-test.
Companies may choose all or part of the Workforce Readiness curriculum,
depending on their purposes. Eaton Corporation has sent over 150 people to the
program, with about a 50 percent successful completion rate. Eaton offers from
$11.00 to $13.00 per hour after 6 months on the job. Eaton saves money by not
putting large amounts of resources into people who do not have the commitment
or basic work readiness skills that are key indicators for job success.
The RMTC estimates that, on average, the training costs companies about $100
per individual who does not complete the full program, compared to $580 for
one who does. Companies pay for the training, but generally do not pay wages
to the individuals during the training period.
Training at the RMTC is self-paced, but not self-taught. Instructors at the RMTC,
who are all experienced journeymen, spend at least 30 hours per week on the
floor with the students (as opposed to an average of only 15 hours of contact time
between students and instructors at traditional institutions). Because the training
is self-paced, the instructors do not engage in traditional classroom teaching, but
rather make themselves readily available to answer students' questions and
demonstrate techniques. Frequently instructors remain at their desks, and wait
for students to approach them, instead of checking up on the students. This
gives students the space and the time to work through problems on their own
before asking for assistance.
The full-time faculty are supplemented by part-time instructors, who also have
journeyman status, and eight student teaching assistants. The assistants are
generally self or agency referrals seeking financial assistance to complete their
training goals. They typically do not provide instruction, but rather assist with
setting up and maintaining equipment and preparing materials for student use.
The instructors report that working in an environment of self-paced learning and
flexible training schedules places more requirements on them. They need to
work closely with the center director and with companies to ensure that training
content is current and effective. They must have broad knowledge about their
skill areas in general, and be exceptionally well prepared, at all times, in a
number of specific applications. They must be able to explain the basics in clear
and respectful ways, and remain current with new technology, new
manufacturing techniques, and new equipment.
I get up every morning looking forward to going to work. I come home every
night knowing that I have accomplished something of value.
Jim Owens
Instructional Manager, Electricity and
Electronics
Instructors accomplish these tasks in a number of ways, including subscribing to
periodicals, working closely with their area-specific advisory committees (see
below), making frequent site visits to the companies with which they work,
attending conferences and training workshops, visiting with vendors, and even
working at companies using "cutting-edge" equipment during their two-week
break in the summer.
The RMTC's support staff collects information on attendance, student progress,
and skill certification in order to send companies regular reports on their
employees' status and generate bills for the skills attained by their employees.
The RMTC also uses the data to periodically review the average amount of time
students require to master the skills offered, and update its fee structure.
Results
The impact of the RMTC's programs on our employees has been phenomenal.
With the technology we have coming in, without the RMTC we'd be in trouble.
Fred Cini
American Fibrit, Inc.
American Fibrit, Inc., an automotive interior manufacturer, has established a
continuous training course at the RMTC that it expects all of its maintenance
personnel to work through. The company reports improvements in the areas of
production, management, and employee attitudes, as well as cost savings, as a
result of its relationship with the RMTC.
Fibrit's employees better understand how their equipment works, how to
prevent mechanical failures, and how to perform repairs. The skills learned at
the RMTC have allowed Fibrit employees to undertake more complex repairs,
which represents a cost savings over using outside contractors. The employees
who have gone through training pride themselves on demonstrating their new
skills, troubleshooting problems, and working through a process in a logical
sequence. These concurrent improvements in competence and self-esteem have
allowed the plant engineering manager to spend less time in supervision, and
more time on long term projects.
Eaton Corporation's Torque Control Products Division in Marshall, MI, has 60 or
so people at the RMTC at any given time: ten working to upgrade their skills in
general, 30 taking specific CNC training, and 20 in the RMTC's pre-employment
Workforce Readiness Program. Because of the employee upgrade programs,
Eaton's employees are generally more qualified and better prepared to work in a
modern manufacturing environment. Eaton's extensive use of the RMTC's
Workforce Readiness Program has enabled it to hire people it knows have both
skills and motivation, allowing the company to increase its production capacity
without increasing its scrap rate.
The RMTC functions faultlessly.
Stan Graves
Eaton Corporation
Sixty percent of all Nippondenso's technical training is done at the RMTC,
including apprenticeship training, cross training, and upgrade training. The
training at the RMTC is inexpensive, convenient (registration takes just a phone
call, and the training schedule covers all three shifts), and in an accessible
location.
The RMTC is customer focused. With the RMTC it is "How can we help you?"
and "What can we do for you?"
Herb Fricko
Nippondenso Manufacturing U.S.A.,
Inc.
Nippondenso, the largest independent manufacturer of auto parts in the world,
credits the training received at the RMTC with contributing to its improved
working ratio (the amount of time equipment is available for use), up from
around 85 to nearly 98 percent.
History
In 1979, Kellogg Community College received a Comprehensive Employment
and Training Act (CETA) grant to provide job training services in welding,
machine tools, and electronics, which were not then being provided by the
college. In following years, the college added an apprenticeship program as well.
The modularized curriculum and the open entry/open exit format were
introduced in 1981.
In 1986, Nippondenso Manufacturing faced the decision of expanding its Battle
Creek facility or building at a new location. An offer from the state of Michigan
to support the construction of a training facility meeting Nippondenso's needs
helped convince the company to remain in Battle Creek, and marked the
beginnings of the RMTC. In 1989, the Kellogg Foundation provided $1 million to
match the state's funding for the RMTC, and the entire $2 million was granted to
the city of Battle Creek for the construction of the center. An additional $800,000
was raised through corporate donations to purchase required equipment.
During the planning stage for the RMTC, an advisory committee was established
to conduct a survey of local companies, determine the business community's
training needs, and establish a plan and vision for the center.
The RMTC has already gone through one expansion funded by local tax
revenues earmarked for economic development ($350,000) and by the
community college ($100,000). Corporations and vendors continue to donate new
equipment, and the college sometimes uses Perkins funds to purchase other
equipment.
The RMTC currently has an equipment inventory valued at approximately $2
million. Kellogg Community College leases the center from the City of Battle
Creek for $1 per year as part of an agreement to provide training services
required by local businesses. The college is scheduled to take ownership of the
RMTC in the year 2000.
Battle Creek's economic development agency, Battle Creek Unlimited, serves as
the official liaison between the city and the RMTC and the college. Battle Creek
Unlimited also markets the RMTC's services, and uses the reputation and proven
success of the RMTC as a powerful incentive to attract businesses to the
community.
Kellogg Community College is trying to replicate the RMTC's success by
encouraging some of its own academic departments to institute the instructional
approaches used at the center. To date, this is occurring more through
individual faculty members' efforts than through departmental efforts.
Structure
Arranging Services
Often when a company approaches the RMTC with training needs, it is not
exactly sure what it needs -- just that it needs training. That's where the expertise
of the RMTC comes in. First the director will sit down with the company's
representatives, explain the history and the structure of the center, and provide a
tour of the center. Then the director will begin the process of discerning the
company's training needs and designing its customized training plan.
Over the years, the RMTC has developed a series of basic "training templates"
for different occupations. The company reviews these templates in order to gain
a general sense of what might be included in, for instance, a welding
apprenticeship or a machine tools upgrading program. In most cases the director
and/or the appropriate instructor then visit the company to view its equipment
or procedures and determine what specific training is needed. Once the training
is designed, the employees are registered with the center, and the training is
ready to begin.
The RMTC has established a number of advisory committees to provide avenues
for business involvement in managing the center. The main advisory committee
for the RMTC is comprised primarily of human resource directors from a cross
section of the companies served by the center. This committee focuses on issues
such as scheduling, communications, reporting, billing, and general
administration of the center.
Each of the nine skill areas within the RMTC also has an advisory committee,
made up of content experts from companies, usually first-level supervisors, and a
number of vendors and students. These nine committees advise on curriculum
development and content, and methods for staying current with technological
advancements. Each of the advisory committees meets formally twice per year,
but is constantly active on an informal basis.
The RMTC employs one administrator, seven full-time instructors, 12 part-time
instructors, 3_ support staff, and eight student assistants. The operating budget
of approximately $800,000 supports staff (78 percent); and physical plant,
consummables and supplies, and marketing (22 percent).
The RMTC aims to generate enough revenue from tuition to cover at least _ of
the total operating budget. Actual revenues from tuition have totaled between
$350,000 and $400,000 each of the last four years. The remainder of the budget is
covered by revenues from state and local taxes.
Keys to Success
If a company is not happy with the training, fine, we'll redo it, no cost, as
acceptable and convenient for [them].
Paul Ohm, President
Kellogg Community College
Industry representatives and staff at the RMTC agree that its focus on customer
service is what makes the center successful and a high-value service for
industrial training. The RMTC is flexible, convenient, and accessible. It is open
to students from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., four days each week, and almost year-
round. These hours permit employees from all shifts to attend training on or off
the clock, as desired by employers.
The center's open entry/open exit system, as well as its uncomplicated
registration procedures, allow companies immediate access to training as the
need arises. Companies can start training programs any time of the year, and
arrange training schedules for employees according to the production and work
schedules at their plants. Employers highlight the RMTC's willingness to adjust
components of its program to meet its customers' needs.
The RMTC's modularized curriculum allows companies to customize training to
both companies' and employees' specific skill needs. The director and instructors
at the RMTC tour a company's production area, meet with company managers,
and review company equipment in order to help design the optimal training plan
for each company.
After formal math and reading testing, all students are informally assessed to
determine their level of work-related skills. Students only receive training on the
skills they lack, and companies only pay for those skills students attain. Students
may receive credit for prior experiential learning, and all credits can be used
toward a college certification or an associate's degree.
The RMTC has built strong business partnerships into every aspect of its
operation. Companies participate on advisory committees, help to determine
curriculum and training, make donations of money and equipment, and assist
with long-term planning for the center. Businesses that use the center feel a
sense of ownership of the RMTC. Support from the top administration at the
college has given the RMTC the freedom to respond to business needs.
Eaton Corporation required computerized numerical control (CNC) training on
equipment that the RMTC did not own. Eaton agreed to purchase one half the
necessary equipment for the RMTC so that training could be created and
provided at a rate that would be financially feasible for Eaton, as well as for other
companies requiring the same training.
If a company requires training that the RMTC doesn't offer, the center provides
two options. First, where the RMTC feels such training should be added to its
offerings, the center can obtain the necessary equipment and design an
appropriate module. Second, for training that falls outside of the RMTC's scope,
the college's contract training services, which are housed at the RMTC, can
design and deliver individualized company training.
The RMTC's instructors come from industrial backgrounds and have extensive
experience in their fields, which brings tremendous value to the center's services.
Instructors continually seek ways to customize their training. For instance, tool
and die instructors frequently use plans and materials from students'
workplaces. Instructors also individualize instruction and try different teaching
approaches until students have successfully mastered needed skills. Their
interpersonal skills allow them to work effectively with students from different
backgrounds and at different skill levels, as well as with engineers and
supervisors from companies.
Instructors are able to spend more time on the shop floor with their students and
staying current in their field in large part because they are not responsible for
administrative duties. The separation of duties among the RMTC staff allows the
instructors to concentrate their time on their training responsibilities, and thus to
keep the quality of training at a high level.
The quality of training is also kept high because students at the RMTC begin
working on state-of-the-art equipment right from the start. The RMTC's flexible
scheduling and year-round training enables it to purchase fewer pieces of
equipment but use them more consistently. Instead of needing 25 lathes for a
class of 25 students, the RMTC only needs, perhaps, six lathes. This helps reduce
the amount of money the center has to spend on such equipment.
And finally, the RMTC is successful because the center is located in an industrial
park and not on a college campus, which is separated from the businesses it
serves. The off-campus location makes the RMTC more accessible to companies
and their employees, and makes it more of a business center than an education
institution.
Issues to Consider
There is no way to regulate the flow of students using the center. Because
students attend when their personal schedules permit, there are occasionally
very crowded days, especially during the winter months. When the RMTC is
crowded, students may have less individual time with instructors and less or no
time on the equipment, may have to move to different modules than those for
which they are scheduled, or may, perhaps, have to come back another day.
Both instructors and students mentioned that one of the most critical issues in
keeping the RMTC's program successful is maintaining a low student/teacher
ratio.
This is not inexpensive. The most inexpensive way to train, putting one
instructor in front of 30 people, doesn't work for what we do. We provide
excellent value for the companies that require the most training for their money.
Paul Ohm, President
Kellogg Community College
Some students may not receive adequate attention from the instructors. The
center's policy of allowing students to work at their own pace means that
instructors are not always checking on the students. Some students may be too
shy to approach the instructors, and may not get all of the instruction they need.
Students with low basic skills cannot attend the RMTC. To comprehend the
RMTC's instruction, students must be algebra-ready and able to read at the
eighth-grade level. The RMTC refers those students who do not possess basic
math and English skills to community remedial instruction services.
The RMTC's instructors do not work under a traditional community college
contract. The RMTC's instructors have extensive industry experience, and are
expected to have more contact time with students than other college faculty. Due
to these and other differences, the RMTC's instructors work under a separate
contract agreement than that negotiated with the faculty on the main campus.
Finally, meeting the record keeping needs of customer clients is time consuming.
The RMTC must track attendance and skill attainment for students, and be
prepared to report such information to companies at their convenience, both on
schedule and on demand.
Successful replication of the RMTC's model in new communities requires a full
commitment from the local business community and the training institution.
While the RMTC does sell its modules, at cost, to interested providers, it stresses
that a provider can't just transport the program by buying the modules -- the
provider's community has to have the right foundation and the right
environment into which to introduce the modules. For instance, a provider must
have a long-standing working relationship with the local business community,
and the community must have an employment base that requires constant and
increasing training in the skilled trades, or whatever field the provider is
pursuing.
The RMTC model may not be appropriate in all settings. Larger community
colleges, for example, may not need to replicate this model, as their ability to
offer multiple classes at a variety of hours provides a great deal of the flexibility
that is the keystone of the RMTC model.
Contact
Dennis Bona, Director
Regional Manufacturing Technology Center
405 Hill Brady Drive
Battle Creek, MI 49015
phone: 616/965-4137 x2800
fax: 616/962-7370
The provider must be willing and able to introduce a modularized curriculum
and an instructional schedule emphasizing an increased number of contact hours
with students, and to use instructors with extensive experience in their field of
expertise, but not necessarily in the classroom. In short, for the RMTC model to
work, all parties involved must have the commitment to "go all the way."
CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE WORKPLACE EDUCATION
PROGRAM
Introduction
The ten Workplace Learning Resource Centers of the California community
college system have developed a plan for including customized computer-based
training as one of their offerings to business, and for training faculty to create
computer-based lessons. Under this plan, faculty will develop computer-based
training modules for businesses, and make the modules available through a
central library for other community colleges to adapt for use in workplace
training programs in their own communities.
The project, which is funded through a grant from the state of California, has
selected ExpressTrain_, a template-based multimedia authoring software
package developed by Princeton Center, to serve as the base for the system.
ExpressTrain, and other template-driven computer learning packages, drastically
reduce the time and programming expertise required to develop computer-based
training modules. With ExpressTrain, a 30-minute lesson requires about 40
hours to develop, as compared to about 500 hours using other software packages.
This reduction in development time and cost makes using authoring software for
small and mid-sized companies a practical alternative. Once participating
community colleges are able to share the various workplace education modules
they create, even more time and expense will be saved in the development
process.
The San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) is the lead institution in
this state-wide project, and is responsible for developing and initiating
ExpressTrain training for the remainder of the community colleges in California.
The SDCCD is the first community college in the grant project to have provided
ExpressTrain-based training to companies. Accordingly, this case study
concentrates primarily on the San Diego Community College District's
experience in using ExpressTrain in its workplace education services, while
providing an overview of the California community colleges' plans.
Program Description
ExpressTrain simplifies the curriculum design and the inclusion of a variety of
media.
Marian Thacher
San Diego Community College District
The San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) has a long and successful
history of providing customized workplace and workforce training. It developed
its ability to offer computer-based instruction in an effort to expand its service
options and increase its capacity to provide assistance to small and mid-sized
businesses. Currently, the SDCCD includes ExpressTrain instructional modules
as one on a list of options available to companies that contract for workplace
training services.
ExpressTrain, developed by Princeton Center, of Pennington, NJ, is a program
designed to create multimedia training. ExpressTrain features pre-designed
instructional events that are easily customized for specific training contexts.
Authoring programs like ExpressTrain are intended to make it possible for
people with limited computer experience or expertise to develop interactive,
multimedia training.
ExpressTrain includes options for using 13 unique instructional design
components:
_ Introduction
_ Objectives
_ Motivation
_ Readiness Check
_ Pretest
_ Presentation of Information
_ Guided Learning
_ Practice Sets
_ Review
_ Post Test
_ Performance Summary
_ Review of Content
_ Bridge to Other Lessons
ExpressTrain includes model templates for teaching various types of
information, such as procedures and concepts. All models are specific to the
desired learning outcome and provide guidelines for generalized computer-
based training components. ExpressTrain provides guidance for the following
general components: introductions and pre-instructional strategies, presentation
of information and guided learning, practice items and review, and post-
instruction activities. ExpressTrain also includes a course manager for training
delivery and tracking learner progress.
While computer-based lessons could feasibly stand alone, the SDCCD
recommends that the modules be one component of a larger training program.
ExpressTrain's developer recommends, and the SDCCD's experience confirms,
that modules should be limited to 20 to 30 minutes in duration, and each module
should focus on one specific topic. Modules that last too long or attempt to
introduce too much material lose their effectiveness.
If a company decides that it would like to use computer-based instruction as part
of its contract training, the college's curriculum developer would work with the
company to determine its training needs and goals and develop the training
program. Because the curriculum developer is usually not a content expert on all
the training companies require, the company would be asked to identify an
internal content expert to help the curriculum developer prepare the training
modules.
The company would be asked to provide a list of topics and information to be
covered in the training. The college's curriculum developer would then write a
preliminary script for the modules, complete with an outline of what media
items would be used to support the training objectives. After the company
reviewed this script, the curriculum developer and the company would meet to
finalize the content. The curriculum developer would then collect the necessary
video and audio segments, and produce the computer-based training module.
The module would be tested with a few employees, changes would be made as
necessary, and a final product would be delivered.
The college's curriculum developer would train a company representative to use
the ExpressTrain program so that on-site support would be available to
employees. The phone number to the college's workplace learning resource
center would also be posted next to the computers at the company workplace so
that employees could call the college's curriculum developer or other staff for
assistance.
The SDCCD strongly recommends that companies using their contract education
services, and especially those using computer-based training modules, establish a
learning center where employees can work on their educational development in
a quiet, private environment.
The SDCCD estimates that ExpressTrain modules will cost between $4,500 and
$10,000, depending on whether the college is asked to perform extensive needs
analyses, the amount of support services requested, and the degree of
customization required.
As more community colleges in California develop ExpressTrain modules for
workplace education, a "library" of these modules will be established.
Curriculum developers using ExpressTrain will be able to use existing modules
as foundations for re-customization for new companies. The San Diego
community college curriculum developer estimates that, on average, about one
half of each module will be generic enough to an industry or occupation that it
can remain in place in adapted versions. This reduction in the amount of
customization required will result in cost reductions and benefits for small and
mid-sized companies.
Safety Training at Teal Electronics
TEAL Electronics has established a cross-functional team of 12 staff members to
address safety issues within the company. This team is responsible for
conducting training, monitoring compliance with California Occupational Safety
and Health Administration regulations, and troubleshooting safety hazards.
This cross-functional safety team chose to use ExpressTrain modules
introducing material safety data sheets as a supplement to its group safety
training classes that all new employees take. This allows TEAL to use a multi
modal approach to safety training, and also allows individual employees to use
the ExpressTrain modules as refresher training as required.
Results
TEAL Electronics Corporation currently has about 100 full time employees. The
company produces power conditioning units that regulate and smooth the flow
of power to sensitive production and testing equipment.
As an extension of previous workplace communication classes, two ExpressTrain
modules have been created for use at TEAL. The first, which all TEAL
employees must complete, is a general introduction to material safety data sheets
in the workplace -- what they are, why and when they are used, and where they
are kept. The second module is designed for those employees who use a
particular varnish in a production process.
These two modules are part of the general safety training provided to all TEAL
employees. During this general training, the company's safety officer conducts
an initial safety training workshop for all new employees, and follows it up with
a general orientation to the company's learning center, which houses the
computers used for the ExpressTrain modules. Once the employees are
comfortable using the learning center, they are expected to complete the
ExpressTrain modules on their own. The company provides each employee with
four to six hours per week to use for quality improvement activities, including
work-related education and training. During these times TEAL employees may
use the learning lab to complete or review the company's safety training
modules.
The employees are very excited about using the ExpressTrain modules. Using
voices and pictures of TEAL employees really engages the students, unlike some
traditional computer-based training.
Mary Schwalen
TEAL Electronics
Evaluation of the ExpressTrain modules is gathered through feedback sheets that
employees fill out after completing a module, as well as through informal
conversations with employees by TEAL managers and the college's staff. The
feedback has been extremely positive. In fact, TEAL is so pleased with the
ExpressTrain safety training modules that the company is considering additional
ways to use ExpressTrain in its new employee orientation and quality training
efforts.
History
Sony Corporation uses ExpressTrain modules developed by the San Diego
Community College District as an introduction to part of its internal training
programs.
The California Community College system awarded a state distance learning
grant to the San Diego Community College District Workplace Learning
Resource Center in 1994. This one-year, renewable grant to train faculty to
develop interactive computer-based training modules is in its second year, which
is due to expire on June 30, 1996. The SDCCD does not expect to receive a third
year extension on the grant. It is anticipated that the community colleges will
replace the grant funds with revenues generated by using ExpressTrain in
contract education.
As the lead community college, San Diego has been responsible for providing
"train-the-trainer" training to 5 other community colleges:
_ American River Community College, Sacramento, CA
_ Oxnard Community College, Oxnard, CA
_ El Camino Community College, Torrance, CA
_ College of the Desert, Palm Desert, CA
_ Fullerton Community College, Fullerton, CA
The SDCCD and each of the five colleges in the initial training group were then
responsible for providing three training sessions to faculty from colleges in their
local area. As of June, 1995 (the end of the first year), a total of 127 faculty
members from 24 community colleges were trained to use ExpressTrain. The
second year's activities will include refresher training for the 127 faculty
members and further training of new faculty members from new community
colleges.
ExpressTrain requires approximately 40 hours of development time for a 30
minute training module including customized audio and video.
To date, only the San Diego Community College District has provided
ExpressTrain-based training to companies. Other community colleges in the
state plan to begin offering ExpressTrain modules as part of their contract
education by the spring of 1996.
Structure
The SDCCD Workplace Learning Resource Center reports to an Associate Dean
and the Provost of Continuing Education, and delivers contract training services
to businesses through the SDCCD Auxiliary Organization's Employee Training
Institute.
Minimum Computer System Requirements
To Run a Lesson:
_ A run time version of ExpressTrain
_ 386 PC or higher (486 recommended)
_ 4 MB RAM
_ Soundcard and speakers or headphones
_ Video driver (Video for Windows)
_ 256K color graphics board
_ 640 x 480 monitor
To Develop a Lesson (low end):
_ 486 PC with 66 MHZ processor
_ 8 MB RAM
_ 120 MB hard drive
_ VGA color monitor
_ Mouse
_ DOS 6.0 and Windows 3.1
_ ExpressTrain
_ PaintShop Pro, Windows Paintbrush
To Develop a Lesson (high end):
_ 12 MB RAM
_ 1 gigabyte hard drive
_ Color scanner
_ Audiocard, microphone and speakers
_ Video capture card
_ CD-ROM drive
_ High-end graphics software
_ Video and audio editing software (i.e., SoundBlaster or Premiere)
The Workplace Learning Resource Center has four staff members: the director,
the distance learning project coordinator, a contract specialist, and a secretary.
The director is responsible for marketing contract education to the business
community, networking with other workplace education providers, and
interfacing with the SDCCD. The distance learning project coordinator is
responsible for computer-based training development for workplace education
and for overseeing the ExpressTrain training for state community colleges.
The SDCCD's Workplace Learning Resource Center received a distance learning
grant, in the amount of $100,000 for each of two years, to operate the computer-
based workplace education project. This grant covers the salary of the project
coordinator, who works 24 hours per week on the ExpressTrain distance learning
project, the costs of training faculty at participating community colleges, and the
purchase of some software and hardware to support ExpressTrain module
development.
The SDCCD markets its workplace education services, including ExpressTrain,
by mailing brochures to companies, purchasing print advertisements, and listing
its services in the community college course catalogs. These techniques have
produced some new clients, but the best public relations and marketing has been
from satisfied clients.
Keys to Success
By giving curriculum developers the ability to create computer-based training
modules without the need for costly computer programmers, template authoring
programs save money, ensure that content issues drive design, and permit faster
and more frequent updating of training modules as workplace environments
change.
The staff at the SDCCD's Workplace Learning Resource Center has extensive
experience providing contract education to businesses. This level of experience
allows the staff to make the best use of ExpressTrain within a larger training plan
designed for the company. Further, the staff understands the need to provide
extensive support and training for employees as they begin to use computerized
training modules.
The ease with which ExpressTrain, and other authorware, can be customized
allows the San Diego Community College District to provide services to small
and mid-sized companies. The creation of a library for all ExpressTrain modules
will further reduce development time, and therefore costs to companies for
customized training.
Issues to Consider
Statewide Library of Workplace Training Modules
The California community college system plans to establish a state-wide library
of all the ExpressTrain workplace training modules, which can be applied to a
wide variety of companies and industries. Marian Thacher, ExpressTrain project
coordinator and curriculum developer with the San Diego Community College
District, estimates that only about 50 percent of most modules would need to be
newly customized for companies. Having access to modules with a transferrable
core of information would increase the cost-efficiency of using authoring
software.
Computer-based training, even if using more cost-effective applications such as
ExpressTrain, can still be rather costly. For example, the cost of the development
version of ExpressTrain, with which training modules are created, is
approximately $2,000 for companies, and $1,500 for educational institutions. The
purchase of computer hardware needed to either develop or use the modules
(see box on the previous page) would add additional costs.
In order to gain the proficiency necessary to use ExpressTrain to its fullest
potential, the SDCCD contracted with Princeton Center for training in using
ExpressTrain, which cost $7,500. The SDCCD also invested a full year of staff
time to developing the technical expertise to use ExpressTrain.
While a library of previously created modules will help reduce costs, creating
such a library may be complicated by copyright laws and businesses' concerns
about proprietary information. Providers and businesses will need to develop
agreements over ownership and use of the modules.
Contacts
Robin Carvajal, Director
Marian Thacher, Coordinator
Workplace Learning Resource Center
San Diego Community College District
4343 Ocean View Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92113
phone: 619/527-5284
fax: 619/527-5203
Users of some authoring software have expressed some dismay regarding the
quality of the documentation that accompanies the software. Phone support,
however, has generally proven to be very helpful and responsive.
Many of the real-world examples of the five delivery strategies actually employ a combination of strategies. Some of the learning consortia have service centers or use computer-based training. Some walk-in centers offer computer-based training. Distance learning programs are frequently broadcast to what are at least informal learning consortia -- groups of companies that various providers (e.g., community colleges, manufacturing technology centers, chambers of commerce) have brought together for a shared learning experience. Faced with this overlap, the publication's section of program summaries categorizes the examples by what seems to be their most predominant characteristics.
Learning Consortia - Training 76
Consortium for Supplier Training 76
JobLink 77
Lancaster Industrial Training Consortium 78
Massachusetts High Performance Manufacturing Consortium 79
Massachusetts Workplace Literacy Consortium 80
Learning Consortia - ISO 9000 81
Center for International Standards & Quality 81
ETI 82
Maryland Center for Quality and Productivity 83
NEPIRC ISO 9000 Network 84
Learning Consortia - Quality 85
Harford Quality Network 85
Learning Consortia - Labor-Management 86
Labor-Management Council for Economic Renewal 86
Walk-In Centers 87
Business and Industry Services Center 87
High Technology Centers 88
Institute for Computer Training 89
Regional Manufacturing Technology Center 90
Distance Learning 91
Front Range Community College 91
Lifelong Learning Center 92
Modern Manufacturing Video Conference Series 93
North Iowa Area Community College 94
Quality Learning Series 95
Computer-Based Training 96
California Community College Workplace Education Program 96
Library Learning Link 97
Read & Achieve Program 98
Vermont Institute for Self Reliance 99
Trained Volunteers 100
Adult Basic Education in Springfield, Missouri 100
McHenry County College Workforce Literacy Program 101
The Consortium for Supplier Training was established in late 1992 by a handful of quality-focused, global companies headquartered in North America to provide a world-class training system that accelerates supplier learning and improves performance. To achieve their mission, Consortium members compiled an initial 11 training courses in Total Quality which are made available to their suppliers and other companies through a network of member-sponsored supplier training centers (STCs).
The Consortium consists of six full member companies: Bayer Corporation, Chrysler Corporation, Eastman Kodak Company, Motorola, Texas Instruments, and Xerox Corporation. Seven STCs (community colleges, universities, or technical schools with active industrial outreach programs) deliver the Consortium's training: Dallas County Community College District (TX), Duquesne University (PA), Finger Lakes Community College (NY), Mesa Community College (AZ), Monroe Community College (NY), Northern Essex Community College (MA), and Oakland Community College (MI).
The Consortium for Supplier Training provides services to the supplier training centers, which in turn provide training to members' supplier companies, as well as to others that want to enroll in the training. The services the Consortium provides to the STCs include: 1) access to high-quality, business-certified courses; 2) training of faculty on the Consortium's quality courses; 3) marketing of the Consortium courses to members' suppliers; and 4) evaluation of the Consortium's quality courses in order to bring the "best of the best" training into the Consortium.
The Consortium/STC relationship benefits small and mid-sized companies by: 1) reducing the number of separate, customer quality training programs in which they have to participate because the large-company customers have agreed on a single, common training program; 2) having the training/course development costs borne by Consortium member companies; and 3) enabling the smaller companies to share the costs of training delivery with other businesses and individuals participating in the training.
Patti Glenn
Corporate Manager for Supplier
Quality Improvement
Texas Instruments
P.O. Box 655303
Mail Station 8312
Dallas, TX 75265
phone: 800/882-6638
or 214/997-2400
fax: 214/997-2407
?Date of Inception: 1992
Number Served: Over 200 companies and 12,000 individuals in 1995
Size of Companies: From 1 to 2 , up to several thousand employees; targeted at companies with under 500 employees
Type of Companies: All
Evaluations: Customers gave high ratings to the training, with a 96% satisfaction rate
Costs: Companies particip
ating pay approximately $75 to $200 per day per person in a course
Coast Community College District's JobLink program uses a U.S. Department of Education (ED) Workplace Literacy grant to provide training services to a partnership of nine companies, along with other manufacturing companies, in Orange County. The program, which is still under development, will include drop-in services at a learning lab, work-site training, and assistance to help companies set up programs supporting employee learning.
The learning lab will be located on site at the only large company in the consortium, and students from all member companies will be encouraged to drop in anytime during operating hours. The lab, which will be equipped with computers and staffed with teachers, tutors, and volunteers, will offer a variety of learning activities to students, including group learning, one-on-one instruction, and self-led instruction (computer work, reading, and writing).
Learning at the lab will be individualized. When they enter the lab, students will receive a workplan for that day, tailored to their learning needs, their prior lab work, and the group activities and learning opportunities scheduled for the day.
JobLink's work-site training will focus on building and supporting self-directed teams within each company. The program expects to develop 15 nine-hour modules, to be delivered in
1 ½ hour segments over three to six weeks. The first three modules are likely to be: 1) learning strategies and learning how to learn, 2) how to participate on a team, and 3) pre-statistical process control.
Finally, JobLink will help companies promote continuous learning among their employees, by helping them set up libraries, mentoring/tutoring programs, book clubs, and other activities.
JobLink will customize its services to participating companies by using templates, in both the lab and the work-site modules. These templates will allow the learners to interact with the lessons and to provide information and materials specific to their companies for each lesson.
Costs for JobLink will be entirely covered by the ED grant during its three-year duration. Once the grant period ends, JobLink could either charge companies $125.00 per hour for its services, or create a for-credit system which would allow students to apply for tuition reimbursement through their companies.
Karen Klammer
Director
JobLink
1201 Bell Avenue
Tustin, CA 92680
phone: 714/258-0418
fax: 714/258-7304
Date of Inception: Grant awarded January, 1995
Number Served: Nine companies
Size of Companies: 50 to over 1,000 employees
Type of Companies: Manufacturing
Evaluations: None
Costs: Grant amount $1 million per year
The Lancaster Industrial Training Consortium was started in 1991 by six companies and the Lancaster County Vocational Technical Schools to promote peer exchange and enable manufacturers to share the costs of training on common workforce development needs. The Consortium, now with 17 companies and six educational providers, conducts needs assessments, provides courses open to all Consortium member companies, delivers customized training classes, facilitates a process through which Consortium members can share existing training programs, and provides follow-up consulting services to member companies.
A Consortium committee developed eight basic skills courses designed to make individuals "employment ready." The Consortium's education providers offer these classes, at the cost of delivery, to: 1) workers from member companies, 2) company-sponsored dislocated workers, and 3) individuals supported by public training programs. By expanding access to these courses beyond its membership, the Consortium not only provides basic skills training for its current workforce, it also ensures the development of a qualified workforce for future years.
Most of the Consortium's shared training activity comes in the form of large companies opening available spaces in their internal training workshops to employees from small companies. This activity has been so successful that many large companies in the Consortium now consult the small firms when setting their training schedules. Both large and small companies have benefited from the training sharing. Fees paid by the small companies have defrayed training costs for the large companies, while still being less than the small companies would have had to pay to purchase such training on their own.
A state grant covers the Consortium's administrative costs, including the director's salary, and subsidizes other services, such as needs assessments and follow-up services to companies. The Consortium's education providers try to underwrite the costs of some of the training, and the Consortium's director helps member companies to acquire other training subsidies, such as state funds for customized on-the-job training.
The Consortium plans to evaluate its program in the coming year, analyzing whether the concepts taught in training have been transferred into the work-site, and helping companies to calculate their rate of return on training.
Judy Youngeberg
Director
Lancaster Industrial Training
Consortium
1730 Hans Herr Drive
Willow Street, PA 17584
phone: 717/653-0407
fax: 717/653-0901
?Date of Inception: 1991
Number Served: 17 companies and 6 education providers
Size of Companies: From less than 50 to 1,200 employees; the majority have 200 to 250 employees
Type of Companies: Manufacturing companies
Evaluations: Planned for next year
Costs: $250 annual member
ship fee for companies, will increase in 1996
Massachusetts High Performance Manufacturing Consortium
The Massachusetts High Performance Manufacturing Consortium, which is comprised of thirteen manufacturing firms (9 core, and 4 periodic), seeks to enhance the quality and efficiency of members' workforce development efforts, and to link these efforts to the firms' competitiveness. The Consortium is supported by the Bay State Skills Corporation (BSSC) in Massachusetts and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
Currently, two consultants serve as co-leaders for the Consortium, providing member companies with support and consulting services, conducting training sessions on topics of interest to multiple firms, and encouraging members to open their own internal training to other member companies. For member companies with very specific workforce training interests, the program leaders organize special working groups to research the topics and bring information and recommendations back to the larger Consortium membership.
As the Consortium was starting up, the leaders met with the CEOs, presidents, and vice presidents of member companies to determine the specific training needs within each company, as well as the companies' strengths in workplace training and education. In the spring of 1995, the Consortium held a mini-conference at which companies with identified expertise in a particular area led workshops on topics identified as important by the member companies.
The Consortium leaders are now working with teams at each company to help them reach a self-specified goal within eight weeks. A second mini-conference, planned for the fall of 1995, was built around these team efforts, providing team members an opportunity to share what they did and the lessons they learned from the process.
BSSC and the program leaders area now trying to strengthen the Consortium. The leaders are working with members to set new and expanded goals for the Consortium, including joint marketing efforts, and are helping to establish on-line services to connect each of the Consortium members and coordinate the Consortium's monthly meetings.
BSSC actively seeks the involvement of top management from each member company in all Consortium events in order to gain their support for the Consortium's continuation. Since renewal of the DOL grant is uncertain, the Consortium is working to secure other financial support.
Gerry Ciavardone
Program Leader
21 Raymond Road
Marlboro, MA 01752
phone: 508/485-3701
fax: 508/485-9296
?Date of Inception: January, 1994
Number Served: 13 companies
Size of Companies: 50 to 500 employees
Type of Companies: Manufacturing
Evaluations: None to date
Costs: A grant of over $100,000 currently covers all costs of the Consortium, except for monthly on-line fees for the computer network
Massachusetts Workplace Literacy Consortium
The Massachusetts Department of Education, with funding from a three-year U.S. Department of Education National Workplace Literacy Grant, has established the Massachusetts Workplace Literacy Consortium: eight local partnerships charged with fully integrating the planning, implementation, evaluation and institutionalization of workplace literacy programs at 27 large and small businesses. Each partnership includes an education provider, which is working with labor and/or business organizations to deliver basic education services at the worksite.
The education providers are represented by project coordinators, who administer a partnership's activities and organize its governing body. These local "Planning and Evaluation Teams," composed of representatives from management, labor (if applicable), education, and participating workers, define workplace needs, shape curricula, and evaluate their own efforts. This team-based approach to programming builds the capacity of the local partnerships to institutionalize the workplace education programs at the end of the funding period.
In addition to classroom instruction, the grant supports workplace basic skills instruction through PictureTel video conferencing technology, and teacher training through the System for Adult Basic Education Support (SABES) and the satellite-network for the Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications (MCET).
The local governance structure is mirrored at the state level. The Consortium Planning and Evaluation Team, comprised of the eight project coordinators, state-level coordinators, and two SABES liaisons, serves as the Consortium's governing body and supports individual partnerships in the following areas:
Development, implementation, evaluation, and institutionalization of programs,
Staff training, curriculum development, and evaluation approaches,
Brokering services from experienced practitioners in the field, and
Improving worker performance in jobs in key industries.
The grant will serve over 1,200 participants during each year of workplace literacy instruction. Over the grant period, partners contribute over five and a half million dollars cash and in-kind match, including employee release and donated staff time, and contributions to direct costs.
Olivia Steele
Workplace Literacy Consortium
Massachusetts Department of
Education, Adult and Community
Learning Services
350 Main Street
Malden, MA 02167
phone: 617/388-3300 x358
fax: 617/388-3394
?Date of Inception: October, 1994
Number Served: 27 companies
Size of Companies: All sizes
Type of Companies: Health care and manufacturing
Evaluations: None to date
Costs: A federal grant of $3 million covers 40% of all costs for basic skills training; any follow-up or specialized training desired by a company is on a contract basis with a provider
Center for International Standards & Quality
The Center for International Standards & Quality's (CISQ) ISO 9000 Implementation Program is a 10 to 12 month program -- including group training sessions, an on-site audit of companies' existing quality/business systems, individualized support and assistance for each participating company, and a pre-assessment audit -- to help companies prepare the quality assurance documentation they need to become ISO-certified.
Staff from CISQ and the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Alliance, the manufacturing extension program in Georgia, provide monthly, sequenced training workshops during the first nine months of the program. This training uses a combination of lecture, hands-on, and interactive instructional techniques to teach participants about ISO 9000 and how to prepare documentation and conduct internal auditing. The program also trains company supervisors and facilitators to share what they've learned with fellow employees.
At the start of the ISO Implementation Program, CISQ conducts an on-site, day-long audit of each companies' existing quality/business systems, and assigns each company a coach. The audit helps companies focus their ISO 9000 efforts on existing shortcomings. The coaches, who are staff members at the Economic Development Institute, CISQ's parent organization within the Georgia Institute of Technology, have expertise in ISO implementation in their assigned company's industry. They provide five days of no-cost, on-site assistance, and unlimited phone support throughout the program. Companies can purchase additional on-site support, beyond the initial five days.
Once each company feels ready, CISQ conducts a thorough evaluation of its new system, and prepares a written non-conformance report. CISQ's staff then helps it plan how to address any remaining shortcomings. CISQ guarantees that at the end of the program, companies will have a quality manual acceptable to an ISO 9000 registrar.
CISQ starts two ISO 9000 Implementation Programs each year -- one in January and one in July. Each Implementation Program is designed for ten companies, and companies are enrolled on a first-come, first-served basis. CISQ markets the Implementation Program through direct mail, newspaper advertising, and brochures placed in its 18 offices statewide.
Donna Ennis
Marketing Manager
Center for International Standards
& Quality
Georgia Institute of Technology
143 O'Keefe Building
Atlanta, GA 30332-0640
phone: 404/853-0968
fax: 404/894-1192
Date of Inception: July, 1994
Number Served: 31 companies
Size of Companies: Below 500 employees
Type of Companies: Open to all companies
Evaluations: Evaluations of individual training sessions have been above average
Costs: $9,950 per company
ETI's ISO 9000 program includes 26 days of group training sessions and ten days of individualized, on-site company support. A typical training session includes a presentation on an ISO topic, another presentation by an ISO 9000 registrar, small-group discussions on the day's topic, general sharing and networking time, and individual consultations with the trainers.
Individualized, on-site support is provided by ETI project managers assigned to each consortium member. The project managers conduct initial baseline assessments, and oversee their companies' training. If a company requires assistance outside the expertise of its project manager, another ETI consultant is made available.
ETI's ISO 9000 consortia have eight to 12 company members, and meet over an 18-month period, though companies can participate for less time. ETI offers smaller companies (fewer than 30 employees) the opportunity to join "mini-networks," which take less time and cost less money.
ETI is now working with its fourth ISO 9000 consortium. Experience has shown that larger companies need more individualized attention. It has also shown that, because companies are more willing to share internal information with noncompeting firms, groups composed of diverse companies are more effective.
ETI consortium services are less costly than one-on-one ISO 9000 consulting services for two reasons: 1) companies share the costs of the group training activities (for an estimated 38% reduction in cost per company), and 2) the guaranteed 18-month service contracts allow ETI to discount its prices.
ETI periodically meets with consortium member CEOs for informal evaluations, which it uses to adjust individual training plans. ETI also guarantees its services. It will help a consortium member correct any major nonconformance found during a final ISO 9000 audit as long as the company 1) attended all group training sessions, 2) completed all classroom assignments, and 3) completed mutually agreed upon client actions assigned at the end of each site visit.
Jack Benham
President
ETI
16739 Brauer Road, NE
Poulsbo, WA 98370
phone: 360/779-6721
fax: 360/779-6731
?Date of Inception: First ISO 9000 consortium in 1994
Number Served: 28 companies (in ISO consortia)
Size of Companies: 30 to 125 employees
Type of Companies: Diverse, mostly manufacturing
Evaluations: Training session evaluations, mostly positive; by the end of 1995, 80% of companies from the first consortium are nearly ready for ISO 9000 registration
Costs: Approximately $12,000 to $15,000 per com
pany
Maryland Center for Quality and Productivity
The Maryland Center for Quality and Productivity leads its ISO 9000 consortium members through 54 events (e.g., meetings, training, plan development) designed to actively engage them in building their own ISO-compliant systems. Fifteen of these events are provided in a group setting, 37 are conducted individually with each company, and two events are optional.
Companies spend the first seven months of the Center's 16-month program acquiring knowledge and developing a detailed plan for implementing the ISO standards. During the last nine months of participation, the Maryland Center introduces companies to best-practices for each ISO standard and helps consortium members tailor their own ISO systems.
Consortium meetings are generally held once every four to five weeks. Presentations on ISO standards are made by the staff of the Maryland Center, companies that have experience with the ISO 9000 standards, registrars, and an occasional outside consultant.
The Maryland Center provides phone support, individual consultations at consortium meetings, and follow-up site visits as time permits and as requested by member companies. After the first seven months of the program, companies are able to set their own pace in the program. Some companies complete the program in as little as 12 months, while others continue to work beyond the program's 16 months.
The Maryland Center is currently running three consortia, with memberships ranging from 21 to 26 companies. To augment its ISO 9000 program, the Maryland Center uses industry sub-groups, which meet periodically to cover ISO standards particular to a specific industry.
The Maryland Center establishes new ISO 9000 consortia by inviting existing organizations with established business constituencies -- such as community colleges and small business development centers -- to be sponsors. This sponsorship model frees the Maryland Center from being directly responsible for recruiting consortia participants, and gives sponsors the opportunity to provide new services to their business customers.
Morgan Hall
Senior Manufacturing Consultant
University of Maryland
217 E. Redwood Street
10th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21202
phone: 410/333-0175
fax: 410/333-6609
?Date of Inception: Pilot started in November, 1993
Number Served: 89 companies
Size of Companies: 80% have under 250 employees, with the average company having 122 employees
Type of Companies: Very diverse, including electronic, printing, general manufacturing, software, and medical
Evaluations: Informal evaluation of the ISO training and the consortium model were favorable
Costs: Companies pay $1,500 for general members
hip, and additional costs for any outside training workshops
Northeast Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center's (NEPIRC) ISO 9000 training program lasts 18 months and includes monthly meetings (15), a baseline assessment (two days), a management overview meeting, an employee overview (one day), auditor training (seven days), management status meetings (three), one-on-one consulting (five days), and a document review (two days).
NEPIRC's ISO training format was originally designed in partnership with local manufacturing firms. The monthly meetings start with a formal presentation on an element of the ISO standard by one of the four NEPIRC staff that are Registrar Accreditation Board (RAB) certified quality system auditors. To highlight ISO best practices, a prior NEPIRC ISO 9000 Network member company with an exceptional model of an element of the ISO standard being discussed at that monthly meeting is invited to make a presentation. Also, ISO registrars are invited to make presentations about their services, which helps the member companies choose a registrar with whom to work after NEPIRC's training.
Individualized company assistance is provided through the five days of on-site, one-on-one consulting, as well as in the afternoons of the monthly meetings, when NEPIRC staff are available for informal follow-ups and break-out sessions with company representatives. The staff at NEPIRC keeps each company on schedule to meet required ISO standards according to the company's own established timeline.
NEPIRC has been able to make its ISO Network cost effective by conducting as much group training as possible and holding the group training at a local utilities facility at no cost for the meeting room. At this point NEPIRC has a fixed cost for services to each ISO consortium, so the price charged to a company depends on how many companies sign up.
If a company completes NEPIRC's ISO training and is not successful in its bid for registration, NEPIRC will honor any unused one-on-one consulting days to help that company become successfully registered.
John P. Taylor
Project Coordinator
NEPIRC
Garden Village Professional Center
16 Luzerne Avenue
Suite 125
West Pittston, PA 18643
phone: 717/654-8966
fax: 717/655-8931
?
Date of Inception: Planning in April, 1992; first ISO training in September, 1992
Number Served: 34 companies in 3 ISO Networks
Size of Companies: Fewer than 500 employees
Type of Companies: General manufacturing (SICs 20-39)
Evaluations: Each ISO training session is evaluated, and rating have been increasingly favorable; 58% of the companies trying for registration have succeeded
Costs: Approximately $8,900 to $12,000 per company, depending on the number of participating companies in the ISO Network
Harford Community College's Quality Network serves 22 organizations, including 16 private companies, and 6 not-for-profits and government agencies. The Network features monthly breakfast meetings for member organization CEOs and top management, and training sessions and teleconferences for up to eight employees per participating organization. Topics presented at the monthly breakfast meetings and the training sessions are chosen by the members. Past topics have included the role of the supervisor in a TQM environment, process improvement teams, ISO 9000, gainsharing, and pay for skills.
Training is provided by Harford Community College staff, outside consultants and experts, or representatives from organizations with successful quality systems. The Network's director and technical advisor set meeting agendas and find appropriate presenters. The technical advisor also provides organizations with up to one hour of trouble-shooting and follow-up on topics presented at Network meetings.
The Network is cost effective for small and mid-sized companies for three reasons: 1) membership dues are pooled to cover the monthly meetings and standard group training, 2) the costs of any additional group training are shared among member organizations, and 3) members have access to a growing library of materials, texts, and videos on quality business practices housed at the Harford Community College.
The Network markets its services by word of mouth from current members, and contacts with organizations in other college programs. Potential new members are invited to attend a breakfast meeting. Existing members assist the director with follow-up efforts for these organizations.
Harford Community College plans to continue the Quality Network as long as organizations desire its services. Harford sees part of its mission as continually providing new training and learning opportunities on TQM and related practices. Harford is looking into starting a Human Resources Network at the request of a Quality Network member.
Scott Epstein
Director, Corporate Training
Harford Community College
Business Services Division
401 Thomas Run Road
Bel Air, MD 21015-1698
phone: 410/836-4175
fax: 410/836-4383
?Date of Inception: January, 1994, after 5 months of initial planning
Number Served: 22 organizations
Size of Companies: Between 50 and 500 employees
Type of Companies: Open to all companies
Evaluations: Training session evaluations have been favorable; no formal evaluation of the Network has been conducted
Costs: Membership fees of $300 to $500, depending on the number of employees; additional training is provided to members at discounted group rates
LEARNING CONSORTIA - LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS
Labor-Management Council for Economic Renewal
The Labor-Management Council for Economic Renewal provides its 37 member firms and 16 member union organizations with training and consulting services designed to facilitate work restructuring and labor-management relations; networking activities to foster learning across work sites; and publications to capture lessons from participating work sites.
The Council works with management staff, labor leadership, labor-management steering committees, and work teams, facilitating meetings, delivering training, developing tools, and supplying materials. Rather than providing packaged training programs, the Council first helps clients identify their needs and concerns, and then delivers the appropriate services.
The Council provides assistance on such topics as strategic planning, work restructuring, and team building. It uses membership meetings, task forces, and panel discussions to help members learn through networking and information sharing. In addition to its own programs, it co-sponsors training with the United Auto Workers (UAW) Health & Safety Department, local universities and colleges, and private providers.
The Council is 80% self supporting through membership dues, fees for services, and grant income. Membership dues are $500 to $1,000 per year, depending on the size of the company or union. On-site consulting is $50 per hour for members, $100 per hour for non-members. Training programs may be free, or cost as much a $95 for a half-day session. Most publications are free to members, $5 to non-members. Event charges vary.
The Council feels it charges members less than what comparable services would cost in the commercial market. It is able to keep its costs down in two ways. First, its services are subsidized. UAW Region 1A provides the Council with office space, equipment, mailing services, postage, and supplies, and the Council procures other grant income. Second, by providing services on the basis of clients' stated needs, it is able to reduce the number of contact hours with companies and unions.
The Council markets its services through direct mail, local newspapers, public speaking events, affiliations with other organizations, and member outreach to other potential members.
Maureen Sheahan
Executive Director
Labor-Management Council for
Economic Renewal
c/o UAW Region 1A
9650 S. Telegraph
Taylor, MI 48180
phone: 313/291-1474
fax: 313/291-2269
?Date of Inception: 1990
Number Served: 50 companies, 800 labor and management representatives
Size of Companies: Under 500 employees
Type of Companies: Manufacturing, manufacturing service, and health care
Evaluations: Members report improvements in lab
or-management relations, employee involvement, and performance
Costs: $50 to $100 per hour
The Rancho Santiago Community College District's Business and Industry Services Center provides an array of business assistance services at a single location. The Center includes the county's small business development center (SBDC), business incubators, business ownership services (BOSS), contract education, quality assurance training, and workplace learning.
The SBDC and the business incubators target start-up businesses. The SBDC offers one-on-one assistance and seminars, and the incubators provide technical assistance and subsidize companies' costs. BOSS provides 200 hours of intensive entrepreneurial training to individuals interested in starting their own businesses. Contract and quality assurance training are customized courses designed for companies and delivered at their sites. (The Center also offers for-credit quality assurance training on an open enrollment basis.)
Workplace learning provides customized literacy and basic skills services directly to the business community. Programs can be delivered on the companies' sites (generally larger companies), or at the Center (generally companies only wanting to train a few individuals). Both company- and Center-based workplace learning programs use a variety of instructional techniques -- including computer-based training, audio-visual and audio tapes, and small group and individual instruction -- to meet the diverse needs of the students.
Prior to the start of any workplace learning (or contract education) program, the Center assesses the company's skill needs, and collects documents (such as safety and procedure manuals) that can be used to customize the curriculum. The Center also assesses the skill levels of each student and develops individualized learning plans for each one. Students are able to drop in at the Center and find an instructor on-site anytime between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
The Center is able to keep its costs down by bringing a number of related services together at one site where they can share resources and overhead costs. Costs charged to companies are kept even lower because many of the services are subsidized by federal or state grants. Both the SBDC and the BOSS are free to companies. The incubator's leasing fees are approximately 25 percent below market rates. Contract and quality assurance training and workplace learning charge $125 per hour of training.
Paul Garza
Director of Contract Education
Business and Industry Services
Center
901 E. Santa Ana Boulevard
Santa Ana, CA 92701
phone: 714/564-6982
fax: 714/835-9008
?Date of Inception: Center opened July, 1994
Number Served: SBDC 600+ companies; incubators 8 co
mpanies; BOSS 122 people; contract, quality, and workplace learning 900 people
Size of Companies: Fewer than 500 employees
Type of Companies: All
Evaluations: SBDC achieving state indices; 88% of BOSS participants still in business; contract, quality, and workplace learning evaluated "effective"
Costs: See text
Glendale Community College operates two High Technology Centers, equipped with a combined total of 800 computers, where students can perform lab exercises for traditional courses, or work on self-paced, open-entry, open-exit coursework. Virtually all of the college disciplines use the High Technology Center for lab exercises. However, it is the business and technology departments' open-entry, open-exit classes that, while targeted at students pursuing an associate degree in applied sciences, are most relevant for small and mid-sized companies.
Glendale offers open-entry, open-exit classes in such courses as computer literacy, word processing, spread sheets, data base management, graphics, and computer assisted design. The primary source of instruction for the courses are text books, usually written specifically for the courses by members of the college faculty, which teach students how to navigate particular software packages.
The High Technology Centers support students' self-paced learning. The Centers are open 103 hours per week, frequently outside of traditional working hours. At least one, and up to six faculty members are in the Centers, available to assist students, at all times. The Centers also employ nine full-time instructional technicians who can assist students. Finally, the Centers employ between 80 and 135 instructional associates, or student lab assistants, who staff the Centers at an average ratio of one for every seven to twelve work stations.
The Centers work hard to ensure the quality of the services they provide. Instructional associates must have good interpersonal skills in order to be hired, and once hired, are trained in customer service. Instruction on the courses and software packages are provided on a continuing basis. Glendale's business and technology departments use Industrial Advisory Committees to ensure that their programs are preparing students for workplace requirements. The High Technology Centers survey students about how to improve courses and services.
The Centers do not market their programs directly to companies, though the college's Institute for Business and Technology does. The Centers' director believes that the costs for providing training through these open-entry, open-exit classes is considerably less than the costs for hiring a separate instructor in a separate classroom.
Manny Griego
Director
Instructional Computing
Glendale Community College
600 West Olive
Glendale, AZ 85302
phone: 602/435-3520
fax: 602/435-3329
?Date of Inception: 1983
Number Served: 3,500 open-entry, open-exit students per semester
Size of Companies: NA
Type of Companies: NA
Evaluations: In student evaluations of college services, the high Technology Centers always receive the highest ratings
Costs: County residents charged $5 registration fee, $2 to $20 department fee, and $34 per credit ho
ur
The Institute for Computer Training at Gate Way Community College offers training on word processing and graphics computer software through either a learning lab or traditional classroom instruction.
The learning lab features 100 computer stations available to students on a drop-in basis, 67 hours per week. Students can enroll at any time, and are given 16 weeks to complete a course. Instructors and student assistants are always available during lab hours to provide help for students needing it. There is no customization of training for these programs. Students work through a set book of instructions at their own pace.
An additional 100 computer stations are available in six classrooms for more structured training, offered at fixed dates and times. These programs can be customized for companies. First, the Institute will set the dates and times of the classes in response to company needs. Second, it will cut back on some sections of instruction, or expand others, in response to company requests.
The Institute serves thirty to forty companies each semester. Of the approximately 2,000 students per semester the Institute enrolls in its computer software training programs, about 450 are from company clients. Companies employ the Institute's classroom training much more frequently than its lab instruction: about 400 of the 1,000 students in classroom training are from company clients, while only about 50 of the 500 lab students are from company clients.
Because the Institute is part of Gate Way Community College, two-thirds of the program costs are born by the state. Costs are kept low by setting class sizes at 12 or more individuals. Companies only have to pay the college's tuition costs -- $1 registration fee and $34 per credit -- and purchase books.
The Institute serves mostly mid-sized and large companies, which probably explains why most of the Institute's company customers prefer the classroom training option. The open-entry, drop-in, self-paced lab might be a more convenient option for small companies, which frequently only have one, or a few employees that need instruction.
Karen Maish
Chair, Division of Business and
Information Technology
Gate Way Community College
108 N. 40th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85034
phone: 602/392-5081
fax: 602/392-5476
?Date of Inception: 1986
Number Served: Approximately 100 companies and over 10,000 individuals
Size of Companies: Medium to large
Type of Companies: Office personnel from banks, electronics firms, government agencies, and apprenticeship programs
Evaluations: Clients report improved productivi
ty
Costs: $35 per credit plus books
Kellogg Community College provides individualized, self-paced, instructor-directed training in the industrial trades at its state-of-the art Regional Manufacturing Technology Center. Students can visit the Center anytime it is open (8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday) to work on the instructional modules they need. The Center's industrial trades faculty are always on-hand to provide students with one-on-one instruction as they work.
Kellogg has successfully broken down its traditional industrial trades training classes into approximately 800 constituent skills. Because the curriculum is broken down into individual skills, each requiring from two to five hours to master, companies and students can tailor their coursework to very specific workplace needs. The Center's director helps companies create customized training programs from the available skills. College credit is earned for all classes and may be applied toward a certificate or associate degree.
Individualized instruction is provided to all students by experienced journeymen. The use of journeymen, as opposed to traditional instructors, is credited as a key to the Center's success.
Support staff handle all the necessary paperwork, freeing journeymen to spend an average of 30 hours per week with students, as opposed to an average of only 15 hours per week by instructors in traditional training programs.
A single credit at Kellogg's Center costs approximately twice as much as a credit at a traditional institution. However, companies are able to carefully target their training dollars on the specific skills they need. And, since Kellogg only charges companies for skills that are mastered, not for seat time, training dollars are not wasted on ineffective programs.
The Center moved to an industrial park in 1990, and relocation has resulted in a significant increase in both exposure for and enrollment at the Center. Battle Creek Unlimited, the local economic development agency, recognizing the positive influence the Center has in attracting and retaining businesses, actively markets the Center's services as part of its own efforts to improve the region's economic base.
Dennis Bona
Director
Regional Manufacturing Technology
Center
405 Hill Brady Drive
Battle Creek, MI 49015
phone: 616/965-4137 x2800
fax: 616/962-7370
?Date of Inception: 1981
Number Served: 140 companies and 5,000 students since the Center was opened
Size of Companies: 50 to 1,500 employees
Type of Companies: Manufacturing, and companies with internal maintenance functions
Evaluations: Reviews from the Center's Advisory Committee and participating companies are positive
Costs: Individual skill prices range from $8 (slide calipers) to $60 (wiring electrical circuits); an apprenticeship program costs up to $4,000 over 4 years
Front Range Community College (which covers the area of Colorado between Denver and Wyoming) offers on-line, customized distance learning programs over the Internet. Classes cover either writing or computer skills.
Front Range's on-line course work consists of four components: 1) information provision (from a text or video), 2) interaction (on-line discussions with the instructor about the text or video), 3) hands-on exercises (homework creating a computer program or using a piece of machinery), and 4) testing (on-line). When a company signs up for an on-line class, an instructor visits the company to determine its training and education requirements, and provides the necessary texts and videos for the course. Courses last from four to 15 weeks, depending on the subject matter.
Front Range's distance learning programs keep costs down by reducing the time instructors spend traveling and conducting site visits, and by using teaching assistants to answer many of the students' questions. Distance learning instructors spend only ¼ of the time on a company's site as is spent by instructors providing traditional training.
Front Range has learned a number of lessons about on-line classes: 1) there must be a balance between allowing companies to set the training pace and establishing deadlines; 2) traditional classroom instructors may not be effective on-line; 3) actual time required from an instructor is more than in traditional classes; and 4) students and instructors require an orientation to using, communicating, and learning in an on-line environment.
A significant road block to conducting Internet-based distance learning programs is that the required infrastructure may be weakest where the technique might be most valuable: old or insufficient phone lines and limited availability of on-line access numbers are most prevalent in rural areas.
The college's existing sales force markets its on-line services by visiting companies, and making presentations to chambers, trade associations, and economic development agencies.
John Redmond
Manager
Business and Industry Services
Front Range Community College
3645 West 112th Avenue
Westminster, CO 80030
phone: 303/466-8811 x475
fax: 303/466-1623
Date of Inception: January, 1995
Number Served: 10 companies, 80 individuals
Size of Companies: Currently over 500 or under 20 employees, but plans are to focus on companies with 200 to 500 employees
Type of Companies: Mostly manufacturing
Evaluations: Evaluations at the end of each course and informal feedback have been positive
Costs: Course costs include instructor time and materials for the class; connection costs are additional
A cooperative partnership of educational and economic development institutions, resource agencies, and technology communications organizations in northeast and north central Nebraska are developing plans and raising money for the creation of a Lifelong Learning Center. This center will provide a variety of educational services to the citizens and businesses in the area, including credit and non-credit courses; workshops, seminars, and conferences; adult and continuing education classes; and customized and management training.
The Center will be a 40,433 square foot facility, including office space and an educational wing, located at Northeast Community College. The education wing would feature movable walls and state-of-the-art technology, including two-way interactive video and audio classrooms and computer labs. The Center will provide day, evening, and weekend classes via instructors or telecommunications, as well as business to business conferencing services.
In planning the Center, Wayne State College, Northeast Community College, and the University of Nebraska conducted a needs assessment to determine the educational services required by the citizens, community, and businesses in the area. They determined that the biggest impediments to education were distance and travel time to attend classes, work and school schedule incompatibility, employee resistance, and cost. What the area needed was affordable and accessible learning opportunities.
The Center will connect northeast and north central Nebraska to educational resources throughout the state, nation, and world. The Center's telecommunication delivery methods will allow it to serve small numbers of learners in remote locations simultaneously, thereby engaging the critical mass necessary to keep costs low.
To bring the Center from vision to reality, the partners have created a non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization to raise contributions to cover the capital costs of the Center's educational wing and atrium (entryway). Funds for the Center's office space will be raised by revenue bonds and paid back from lease payments. Operating and maintenance costs will be covered by the tenants, user fees, and support from Northeast Community College.
Joe C. Ferguson
Director
Business, Industry, and Economic
Development
Northeast Community College
801 E. Benjamin Ave.
Norfolk, NE 68701
phone: 402/644-0587
fax: 402/644-0650
?Date of Inception: NA
Number Served: NA
Size of Companies: NA
Type of Companies: NA
Evaluations: NA
Costs: $2.5 million to cover the capital costs of the educational wing (and atrium); office space will be covered by the tenants; operating costs will be covered by rent and service fees
Modern Manufacturing Video Conference Series
The National Technological University operates a distance learning project called Modern Manufacturing: The National Video Conference Series for Successful Small Firms. This series consists of monthly (sometimes semi-monthly) live satellite seminars designed specifically for small and mid-sized manufacturers on such topics as quality, continuous improvement, production and shop floor management, new technologies, and world class manufacturing. Occasionally, the university broadcasts training seminars for manufacturing field agents.
Sessions last from 2 ½ to 3 hours and feature a professional moderator, one or two subject matter specialists, and two or three manufacturers experienced with the process or equipment being highlighted. The university visits the manufacturers' sites before the broadcasts are aired to tape the processes or equipment in use. These case studies are then featured during the broadcasts. Each broadcast includes two question-and-answer sessions when attendees can phone or fax in their questions. The programs are broadcast from 9:00 a.m. to noon eastern time; and the university offers sites in the Pacific time zone a "tape delay" option, during which time it makes one of the expert panelists available for phone-in questions.
The series is primarily marketed to federal and state manufacturing extension programs and centers, which may partner with other organizations (such as community colleges) to establish down-link sites. Many of these sponsors provide "wrap around" sessions, bringing local experts to the down-link sites to give attendees information on locally available resources and more opportunity for questions and answers. Some sites build on the satellite seminars with local workshops one week before and/or after the broadcasts. All down-link sites own the rights to the video tapes from the broadcasts, and can replay them at any time.
The university currently has about 100 down-link sites, and is interested in expanding its services to other providers in geographic areas without manufacturing extension programs or centers. It has just completed a promotional video which describes the series and provides information on how sponsors can use and market it.
Ellen Laubhan
Director
Extension Partnership Project
National Technological University
700 Centre Ave.
Fort Collins, CO 80526
phone: 303/495-6400
fax: 303/484-0668
?Date of Inception: September, 1994
Number Served: 1,000 individuals per broadcast
Size of Companies: Under 500 employees; average 200 employees
Type of Companies: Manufacturing
Evaluations: Evaluations from site coordinator and attendees after each broadcast have been positive
Costs: $200 to $600 per broadcast for a broadcast sponsor; around $30 to $50 per person to attend a broadcast
The Continuing Education Division at North Iowa Area Community College, with a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), is using a variety of distance learning technologies to offer local companies specialized training programs not available in the area. To meet customer needs, the college surveys local businesses and pro-actively prepares itself for training requirements. It also re-actively arranges specific training events in response to company requests.
The college arranged for a two-day training program on warehouse improvement to be delivered simultaneously to four different sites. The training program, developed by the Warehouse Advisory Council, cost about $7,000 -- more than the Mason City, IA, site (which wanted the training) could handle on its own. The college worked with this local company to hook it up with its three sister companies in Chicago, Minneapolis, and San Antonio, and have the Warehouse Advisory Council deliver the program through the companies' PictureTel system. The college handled brochures, books, and logistics, and 44 individuals in four different states received the training they needed.
The college also brought training in "flexography" to a regional newspaper that had recently purchased a $2 million dollar press and needed to prepare its workers to operate it. The college used the Iowa Communications Network (ICN) to deliver training from the Graphic Arts Technology Center in Clinton, IA, to the North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City, IA, thus saving the 30 individuals in the program ten hours of round-trip driving for each day of the training. Because the ICN, which uses high-speed telephone lines, was specifically established for educational purposes, it only charged $5 per hour for use.
To prepare for future requests, the college has started to build its library of more generic training options. It has taped several satellite downlink sessions -- on such topics as the metric system, safety, work restructuring, and benchmarking -- for companies to use. It is also establishing a collection of computer-based training and/or multimedia-based training in required certification areas so that companies can train small numbers of employees more cost effectively.
Angie Asa-Lovstad
FIPSE Project Director
North Iowa Area Community
College
500 College Drive
Mason City, IA 50401
phone: 515/421-43800
fax: 515/423-1711
?
Date of Inception: 1994
Number Served: Approximately 100 companies
Size of Companies: 6 to 1,400 employees, average 203 employees
Type of Companies: Manufacturing
Evaluations: Participant evaluations have given the training programs high ratings
Costs: Supported by local, state, and federal tax dollars
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce uses satellite broadcasting to deliver its Quality Learning Series, a spring and fall series of live seminars on business management, leadership, and improvement methodologies. The Chamber makes its programs available to downlink sites (which may be local chambers of commerce, individual businesses, educational institutions, military/government sites, or others), which in turn make the sessions available to individuals.
The fall, 1995, series had eight new seminars on such topics as leadership strategies (and leadership strategies for women), teams, continuous improvement, and workplace violence. Seminar presenters were well-known experts in their fields, including Joel Barker, Brian Joiner, and Peter Scholtes. All of the seminars included handouts and offered viewers the opportunity to ask questions of the presenters, either by faxing or phoning in their questions. Participants could also earn continuing education units.
The Chamber helps subscribing downlink sites plan and deliver the seminars, providing information on room arrangement, pricing, and promotion. It also provides downlink sites with sample schedules, checklists, and promotional material. Some downlink sites just host the seminars, while others build larger training events around them, including other speakers, facilitated discussions, meals, and other activities.
The Chamber averages about 150 downlink sites per seminar, and 40 attendees per downlink site. It charges organizations between $515 and $795 per seminar to serve as downlink sites, with discounts available for multiple sites. The prices the sites charge attendees varies, but averages around $20 per person per seminar.
The Chamber's Quality Learning Series has a couple of major benefits: 1) it offers individuals the chance to learn from some of the biggest names in training today at an affordable price, and 2) it enables those living and working in remote areas the opportunity to participate in quality training.
Gabrielle B. Fardwell
Associate Director of Marketing
Quality Learning Services
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
1615 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20062-2000
phone: 800/835-4730
202/463-5566
fax: 800/952-6009
?
Date of Inception: First seminar in September, 1992
Number Served: Over 80,000 individuals
Size of Companies: 60% under 500 employees
Type of Companies: Service, manufacturing, government/military, not-for-profit, education
Evaluations: 88% of participants rated presenters, panelists, topics, handout materials, and the moderator good or excellent
Costs: $515 to $795 per s
eminar for a downlink site (or less for multiple sites); average around $20 per person per seminar to attend
California Community College Workplace Education Program
The California community college system has developed a plan to help its Workplace Learning Resource Centers provide customized computer-based training (CBT) to companies, while reducing duplication of effort. Community college workplace education providers in the state would use a common authoring system to develop customized CBT programs for their business clients. The modules developed would then be disseminated from a statewide CBT library for other community colleges to use or adapt.
The project is currently using Princeton Center's authoring tool ExpressTrainTM, a template-based computer learning package with built-in instructional design components. The benefit of ExpressTrain, and other template-based authoring programs, is that they drastically reduce the amount of time needed to develop CBT. With ExpressTrain, a 30 minute lesson that might have taken 400 hours to develop in the past, only requires about 40 hours using templates.
Template-based CBT development packages are also user-friendly, which means in-house content experts and instructional design specialists can develop effective training without the help of computer programmers. This saves money, ensures that content issues drive design, and permits quick and easy updating of content as workplace environments change.
The California community colleges are training individuals from six community colleges to be trainers, and to train interested faculty throughout the state. In the first year of the program, 126 faculty were trained, and plans are to train 144 more in FY 95/96. San Diego, the lead college for the project, has already developed CBT modules on safety topics and the use of inventory control software for two companies. Other modules on basic computer skills are being created for use with literacy students.
As the California system's library of computer-based training programs is built up, program development costs should decline. Because the CBT developers will be able to draw on existing programs customized for different industries, occupations, and companies, the amount of new development they will have to do for each new business they serve will be reduced.
Robin Carvajal, Director
Marian Thacher, Coordinator
Workplace Learning Resource Center
San Diego Community College
District
4343 Ocean View Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92113
phone: 619/527-5284
fax: 619/527-5203
Date of Inception: Grant awarded July, 1994
Number Served: 2 companies, 1 community-based organization
Size of Companies: 2 less than 50 employees, 1 greater than 500 employees
Type of Companies: 2 manufacturing, 1 community-based organization
Evaluations: None to date, plans include a cost benefit analysis
Costs: $5,000 to $10,000 to develop a 30 minute module
The DeSoto County Literacy Council's Library Learning Link is a computer-based wide area network that provides basic skills instruction in eight counties in northern Mississippi. The Library Learning Link is currently available in all the library branches in these eight counties, 17 Head Start centers, seven businesses, and community college classrooms. Library Learning Link will eventually be available at 150 sites, including 25 business facilities.
The Library Learning Link uses Solutions courseware, developed by Educational Activities, Inc. Solutions courseware includes lessons in grammar, spelling, reading comprehension, pronunciation, and basic math from grades K through 12 (all K-12 lessons require 40 to 45 megabytes). Additional courseware is available for English-as-a-Second-Language (22 megabytes). Courseware is loaded directly onto each of the computers at the remote sites, and each site is able to limit the lessons kept in its computers to those required by its users.
Students' personal records are kept on a central server. Students log onto the central server via modem at the beginning and end of their lessons to access and update their personal records. The Library Learning Link has three advantages: 1) it dramatically expands the public's access to basic skills instruction, 2) it enables students to work on lessons at any of a number of locations, and 3) it protects students' privacy by keeping all records on the central server and not at a public location like the library or a workplace.
Assessments of individual employees are available from the community college and the literacy council. Each business that uses Library Learning Link is assigned a tutor by the literacy council or a teacher by the community college. This instructor meets with the employees who are using the Library Learning Link at least once each week to provide personal instruction and to help employees use the computer system. The instructor also monitors each employee's progress by using the curriculum management system within the Solutions program. The Library Learning Link is able to provide assessments, teachers, and tutors at no additiona
l charge to the companies through use of state funds and volunteer services.
To date the Library Learning link has cost $48,000 for the software and 150 site licenses, and approximately $15,000 for hardware to run the system. A U.S. Department of Education grant of $34,000 helped start the Library Learning Link, and revenue from the business site license rentals is used to maintain and upgrade the system.
Al Simmons
Coordinator
DeSoto County Literacy Council
P.O. Box 314
Hernando, MS 38632
phone: 601/429-2354
fax: 601/429-1055
?Date of Inception: Library Learning Link in 1994
Number Served: 7 factories currently, with up to 25 site licenses for businesses permitted in Mississippi
Size of Companies: All sizes
Type of Companies: Open to all companies
Evaluations: None to date
Costs: A one-year site license rental for businesses costs $500; hardware upgrades may cost $250-$500
The Literacy Initiative's Read & Achieve program provides computer-based, job-specific, basic skills training for company employees in Columbus, OH. An advisory committee of business representatives helped shape the Read & Achieve program, ensuring that the program met the business community's needs. Read & Achieve uses the Job Skills Education Program (JSEP) software as its instructional tool.
Read & Achieve uses a four-step process: 1) individual evaluations of all interested employees, using the Educational Testing Services' Workplace Literacy Test (WLT); 2) analysis of the basic skills required for a specific job or department; 3) customization of JSEP lessons to those skills identified by the job analysis and specifically needed by the employee; and 4) basic skills training using JSEP and subsequent reevaluation with the WLT.
Based upon information from the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey, The Literacy Initiative (TLI) determined that a score of 300 (mid-level 3 on the WLT) represents the level of basic skills needed to effectively perform in the workplace. Employees who score 300 or above (on the WLT's scale of 0-500) receive a basic skills certificate. Individuals who score under 300 receive JSEP training, are then retested, and are certified if they subsequently score above 300 on the WLT. Companies participating in the Read & Achieve program receive accreditation indicating their commitment to the enhancement of their employees and the overall workforce.
TLI is in the process of patenting the Read & Achieve process and plans to eventually make the program self-sustaining. It trains a facilitator within each company to manage the program, assist students in using the software, and conduct job analyses. TLI, or another approved direct-service provider, administ
ers all tests and evaluations to ensure confidentiality.
Substantial public and private support, which has underwritten the development of Read & Achieve, has reduced the program's cost to participating companies by 1/3 to ½ compared to similar programs provided by private companies. The Literacy Initiative markets Read & Achieve through mass mailings, media coverage, and its Advisory Committee of community leaders, and by networking with professional business organizations, unions, and the Governor's Human Resource Investment Council.
Jill Barrett
President
The Literacy Initiative
Read & Achieve Program
99 North Front Street
Columbus, OH 43215
phone: 614/645-7862
fax: 614/645-3835
?Date of Inception: First pilot January, 1995; available to the public June, 1995
Number Served: 6 companies
Size of Companies: Most have 80 to 150 employees
Type of Companies: All types
Evaluations: No general evaluations on the Read & Achieve program to date
Costs: $150-$200 per person for training leading to full certification of basic skills proficiency, plus hardware requirements
The Vermont Institute for Self Reliance has established a central learning center, including a computer lab, in Brattleboro to provide workforce literacy services to three companies. The lab has only four computers, but this is sufficient for these small companies. The lab is open Monday through Thursday, from 12 to 5 p.m., during which time small groups attend classes facilitated by a literacy instructor. The businesses schedule time in the lab for their employees, and provide them with release time so that they can take advantage of the training.
The Institute invests a considerable amount of time into customizing its services and providing individualized support. It uses a committee of front line workers (and possibly supervisors) to talk with other employees and discover the topics they would want included in a workplace education program. It then uses the information gathered by the committee to construct a survey which will quantify employees' interests.
Finally, the Institute conducts a series of random and confidential interviews with line employees to develop qualitative information on employees' feelings and perspectives about a workplace education program, and to determine employees' willingness to participate in such a program. The Institute has found that seeking information from employees has a valuable side benefit: it makes the employees more interested in the program, and gives them a feeling of ownership and a sense that they have a stake in the program.
The Institute continues to involve company personnel throughout a program's operation. A committee of workers, supervisors, and human resource and other managers is formed to help the Institute oversee the training program and plan and evaluate services.
The Institute's program is supported by a U.S. Department of Education workplace literacy grant. The Institute estimates that its services cost $56.00 per hour. Half of this cost is covered by the grant, and half by the companies. Depending on the number of classes conducted, companies typically pay from $56.00 to $175.00 per week.
The Institute purposely focuses its curriculum on broadly applicable work-related basic skills in order to save on development time and cost. It emphasizes learning how to learn and problem solving, not company specific skills.
Judith Lashof
Manager, Workforce Education
Vermont Institute for Self Reliance
128 Merchants Row, 2nd Floor
Rutland, VT 05701
phone: 802/775-0617
fax: 802/773-0323
?Date of Inception: 1990
Number Served: 3 companies
Size of Companies: Less than 200 employees
Type of Companies: All types
Evaluations: None to date
Costs: $28.00 per hour to the company
The Adult Basic Education (ABE) program in Springfield, MO, uses a combination of paid, professional ABE instructors and trained volunteers to provide its literacy services. While most of the program's services are not workplace based, it has provided workplace literacy services to eight companies over the last nine years.
The workplace literacy programs last from two months to two years, depending on a company's interest. Classes are usually conducted twice a week for 2 to 2 ½ hours per session. Ideally, classes have 15 students, though most of the workplace programs have only eight to ten students. Springfield's ABE instructors try to customize services to the employees by encouraging them to bring in manuals, reports, graphs, or charts from the workplace.
Volunteers are used to supplement the paid instructors. Students reading at below a sixth grade level or with English as a Second Language frequently need one-on-one assistance. The Springfield ABE program prepares its volunteer tutors with 12 hours of Laubach tutor training before beginning work, and with in-service programs scheduled for the ABE instructors.
The Springfield program uses any free media -- from church bulletins to public service announcements on local radio stations -- to recruit volunteers. Once the volunteers are on board, the program holds support meetings and recognition events, and provides small tokens of appreciation and frequent words of thanks in an effort to retain the volunteers' assistance.
The Springfield ABE program uses state and federal dollars to cover the costs of its services. The Ozarks Technical Community College provides it with space and includes it in its program listings, but does not provide other financial support. The program's services are available to companies at no cost, but companies are asked to provide a locked cupboard for materials and a conference room for classes, and are sometimes asked to help cover costs when state reimbursements are not enough. In addition, some companies purchase materials for class use.
When the Springfield program first began marketing its services to companies, it had to go door to door. Now that it is associated with the community college, it sometimes gets referrals from the college's customized training and jo
b development program.
Janice Lee
Director
Adult Basic Education
Ozarks Technical Community
College
P.O. Box 5958
Springfield, MO 65801
phone: 417/895-7150
fax: 417/895-7161
Date of Inception: 1986
Number Served: 8 companies
Size of Companies: 300 to 600 employees
Type of Companies: Manufacturing, food service, health, agribusiness, sheltered workshop
Evaluations: Pre and post assessments showed gains in skills
Costs: $1,645 for an instructor, $2,500 for books, and $300 for testing materials for 15 students and an average of 130 hours of instruction
McHenry County College Adult Education & Literacy
The McHenry County College Adult Education & Literacy program uses trained volunteers to augment its paid workforce literacy instructors. The college's workforce literacy programs include both English language and math skills, and typically involve 90 to 120 instructional hours, delivered in 1 ½ to 2 hour sessions, twice a week. Professional instructors teach the classes of 12 to 18 students, while the volunteers provide one-on-one tutoring to students that have missed particular classes or are having trouble grasping specific concepts.
The college does not assess companies' job skill needs or customize instruction, but it does invite the companies to share materials -- such as safety and instructional training manuals -- so that the instructors can integrate company vocabulary and needs into the general instruction. The college does assess individual students' literacy skills, both before and after training, to ensure that students are getting the instructional help they need.
The college recruits and trains approximately 90 volunteers each year. Volunteers receive 16 hours of training in either general literacy or English as a Second Language. After this training, volunteers that express an interest in working in companies are provided an additional orientation -- which includes an on-the-job experience scheduled between classroom instruction -- to prepare them. Volunteers are monitored in their work by a workforce literacy coordinator and the paid instructor with whom they work.
The college recruits most of its volunteers through advertisements in its adult education schedule, which is mailed to every business and home in the county five times per year. The college conducts four or five training programs per year, with 15 to 20 students in each session. Volunteers actually have to pay the college $20 to participate in the program. The money is used to cover the volunteers' instructional materials and the recognition programs the college holds for the volunteers.
In the past, the college only worked with about four companies per year. Last year it hired someone to work full time recruiting companies, and as a result, it expects to be working with ten companies in the coming year. The college feels that it provides a good, solid workforce literacy program, of consistent quality. It hopes to be able to purchase a mobile computer learning lab, which it feels would improve the quality of its offerings.
Douglas Van Nostran
Associate Dean
Adult Education & Literacy
McHenry County College
8900 U.S. Highway 14
Crystal Lake, IL 60012
phone: 815/455-8764
fax: 815/459-0638
?Date of Inception: 1990
Number Served: 12 companies
Size of Companies: 30 to 500 employees
Type of Companies: Manufacturing, heavy industry, steel, machine parts, auto parts, printing, hotels
Evaluations: Company managers, human resource directors, and line supervisors note improvement in employees' attitudes and performance
Costs: $70 per instructional hour
Additional Resources 103
National Workforce Assistance Collaborative Advisory Groups
National Workforce Assistance Collaborative Products and Services
This list contains programs and organizations mentioned in the publication, but not highlighted in a case study or one-page summary.
EPiC ISO 9000 Training Program, Richard Tvedten, 550 Cedar Street, 100 Capitol Square Building, St. Paul, MN 55101, phone 612/296-0668, fax 612/296-0872, e-mail rtvedten@tc-top.techcol.state.mn.us.
Going the Distance, Dr. Keith Togstad, Dean of Instructional Services, Northeast Community College, 801 East Benjamin Avenue, Norfolk, NE 68702-0469, phone 402/644-0457, fax 402/644-0650, e-mail keith@alpha.necc.cc.ne.us.
Illinois Industrial Training Program, Lori J. Clark, Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, James R. Thompson Center, 100 West Randolph Street, Suite 3-400, Chicago, IL 60601, phone 312/814-2809, fax 312/814-2370.
The Integrator, The Conover Company, Ltd., P.O. Box 155, Omro, WI 54963-0155, phone 800/933-1933, fax 800/933-1943, e-mail 102354.1136@compuserve.com.
Laubach Literacy Action, 1320 Jamesville Avenue, P.O. Box 131, Syracuse, NY 13210, phone 315/422-9121, fax 315/422-6369.
LexIcon, Beaver Meadow Road, Sharon VT 05065, phone or fax 802/763-7599, e-mail lexicon@aol.com.
Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc., 5795 Widewaters Parkway, Syracuse, NY 13214, phone 315/445-8000, fax 315/445-8006, e-mail lva_nat@aol.com.
Mind Extension University, 9697 East Mineral Avenue, Post Office Box 6612, Englewood, CO 80155-6612, phone 800/777-MIND, fax 303/799-0966, world wide web http://www.meu.edu.
The Telecourse People, South Carolina ETV, Marketing Department, P.O. Box 11000, Columbia, SC 29211, phone 803/737-3441, fax 803/737-3503.
Texas A&M University Distance Learning, Nicki Harris, College Station, TX 77843-3126, phone 409/862-1789, fax 409/845-3212, e-mail dcfranci@teexnet.tamu.edu.