SWAMMEI BUSINESS PARTNERS

SEPTEMBER 23, 2014

❶ SWAMMEI Background❷ Cost of Education -The Status Quo❸ Big Shifts in 2-Year Colleges❹ SWAMMEI - What’s in it for you?❺ Questions

POINTS OF DISCUSSION

❶ SWAMMEI Background

POINTS OF DISCUSSION

Major Objectives of USDOL MAJOR SYSTEMIC SHIFTS THROUGH:

• Meet workforce needs of local business and industry• Robust communication

• Target low-skilled adult workers

• Align workforce development efforts of Montana Department of Labor and two-year colleges

• Reduce cost of education/debt load for students

❷ Cost of Education -The Status Quo

POINTS OF DISCUSSION

Issue Number 1BUSINESSES NEED HIGHLY SKILLED EMPLOYEES BUT MT WAGES REMAIN RELATIVELY LOW – NO RETURN ON INVESTMENT• Tuition and fees run $3,266 - $5,064 per year

• Federal “Cost of Attendance” (inc. books, housing, etc.) $5,000- $8,000/semester

• Loss of income while in school FT PT work

• Loan default rates @ 5-20% in two-year colleges

• Accepting a 4-year return on investment as reasonable:• Completed 1 semester training = $12.50/hour wage• Completed 2 semesters training (CAS) = $15/hour wage• Completed 3 semesters training = $17.50/hour wage• Completed 4 semesters training (AAS) = $20/hour wage

Issue #1 (Continued)

• In 2011, 66% of Montana’s AAS students didn’t graduate.

• For the 1 out of 3 students that do graduate:• It takes the average graduate 3.16 years to complete a “2-year” program• Earn $2.50/hour more after graduation (than high-school graduates)

• An aspect of this is that Montana wages remain relatively low in comparison to other states (very low outside of Bakken-related salaries)

• For most Montana students, the return of investment for pursuing AAS degrees is a 10+ year endeavor!

• This doesn’t serve students and won’t fill the pipeline…both the cost of education and wages need to shift for the skills-gap to get filled

Issue Number 1 (continued)WHEN ASKED WHAT SKILL-LEVEL, WHAT SET OF COMPETENCIES, WHAT EXPERIENCES DO YOU NEED IN YOUR EMPLOYEES:• We (the Workforce Development System) are excited to

train workers to any skill-proficiency level, but if your wages don’t pencil out with the cost of obtaining those skills… it will still result in a small pool of applicants to your positions

• Several ways that we can collectively begin to address this…SWAMMEI allows us to initiate several strategies to help

❸ Big Shifts in 2-Year Colleges

POINTS OF DISCUSSION

• 8 stacked credential occupational programs• More on and off ramps into programs (quicker and cheaper)

• Embedded industry-recognized credentials into academic programs

• Invest in more than $6.6 million dollars of new equipment and $6 million more in contractual services = top notch programs

• Create mechanisms to efficiently share courses across the 2-year system, particularly benefitting isolated rural students/businesses

• Pilot sector strategy partnerships as an approach for coordinating an industry-wide approach to workforce development

SWAMMEI in Brief$24.9 millionIN THREE YEARS WE WILL:

SWAMMEI8 MAIN AREAS OF ACADEMIC FOCUS (LEAD COLLEGE)

• Welding and Welding Fabrication (Great Falls College MSU)

• Manufacturing (Flathead Valley Community College)• Machining, Industrial Maintenance and Industrial Electronics

• Industrial Safety (City College)

• Energy Technician (Missoula College)

• Diesel Technology (Helena College and MSU Northern)

• CDL/Heavy Equipment Operators (no lead)

• Entrepreneurship (Missoula College) – endorsement only

❹ SWAMMEI - What’s in it for you?

POINTS OF DISCUSSION

Issue Number 2I CAN’T FIND THE RIGHT EMPLOYEES (I.E. NEW EMPLOYEES DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT COMPETENCIES)

• Curriculum• Enhanced through input• Alignment across programs in the state

• Industry-Recognized Credentials• Alignment across nation

• Sector Strategies

• Apprenticeship

State-of-the-Art ProgramsCURRICULUM:

• We earnestly want your input into the skills and competencies that students should have when they graduate please get in touch with one of our Workforce Navigators

• At the foundational level – programs are being aligned across the state you can expect a worker to arrive with the same skills/competencies from any college in our program

• Sector Strategies will allow your industry to tell us (workforce development system) what you need as one voice

State-of-the-Art ProgramsCURRICULUM: INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED CREDENTIALS

• Third party accountability for colleges

• Alignment with businesses across the U.S.• Machining = National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS®)

• Industrial Electronics = Electronics Technician Association – International (ETA-I®)

• Welding = NCCER (American Welding Society (AWS Sense))

• Energy Technology = NCCER (Electronics Technicians)

• Diesel Technology = American Equipment Distributors (AED)

• Industrial Maintenance = TBD (likely NIMS)

Sector StrategiesCROSS-INDUSTRY CONSISTENCY: MANUFACTURING AND ENERGY INDUSTRIES

• Occupational Titles• Common expectation of competencies

• Common expectations @ wages

• Responsiveness of Workforce Development System

• Growth of Industry

ApprenticeshipNOT YOUR GRAND DADDY’S APPRENTICESHIP:

• If the issue is that new employee candidates:• Don’t have enough training…

• Don’t have training specific to your specific equipment/culture…

• Need a test run…

• Apprenticeship might be an answer• Collaboration between your business (on-the-job training) and

colleges (classroom education)

• Incentives

Issue Number 3I CAN’T FIND THE RIGHT EMPLOYEES

• Wages?

• Hiring• NCRC assessment• Workforce Navigators• Apprenticeship

Hiring

• National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC)

• Workforce Navigators in 14 regions across the state• Solicit input from you

• Deliver skilled candidates to your door

Issue Number 4MY CURRENT EMPLOYEES NEED ADDITIONAL TRAINING

• Continuing Ed for short-term training• Incumbent worker training dollars

• More significant training jumps• Stacked credential model

Stacked Credential Model vs. Traditional 2-year

Appr

entic

eshi

p 

Alt.

Tie

r III/

IV 

Alt. Tier II

•  Tier IV CTS or AAS• Industry-Recognized Credential• Pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship

• Tier II CTS or CAS (with both tiers)• Industry-Recognized Credential• Pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship

• Certificate of Technical Studies (CTS)• Industry-Recognized Credential• Pre-apprenticeship

• Tier II CTS • Industry-Recognized Credential• Pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship

New Outcomes

 

Tier III CTS (e.g. 16 credits)

 

Tier II CTS (e.g. 16 credits)

Stacked Credential Model 

Tier I Certificate of Technical Studies (e.g.

16 credits)

Tier IV CTS (e.g. 16 credits)

 

Certificate of Applied Science (CAS)

(e.g. 34 credits)

Associate of Applied Science (AAS*)

(e.g. 64 credits) Currently 66% of Montana’s AAS students do not complete the AAS Degree

Traditional Degrees 

• AAS Degree

• CAS Degree

Current Outcomes

 

❶ Let’s shape programs to meet your needs

❷ Let’s Pilot Some Hiring Aids° National Career Readiness Certifi cate (NCRC)

° Industry-recognized credentials ° Workforce Navigators ° Apprenticeships

❸ If you need something different – Come talk to us.

❹ Consider participating in Sector Strategy dialogue

❺ Consider cost of training when determining wage levels

❺ Questions??

POINTS OF DISCUSSION

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

MATTHEW SPRINGER SWAMMEI PROJECT DIRECTOR 2100 16TH AVENUE SOUTH GREAT FALLS, MT 59405 WWW.GFCMSU.EDUMATTHEW.SPRINGER@GFCMSU.EDU TEL: 406.771.2273

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