CONNECTIONS
An organization of CORD
EDUCATORS AND EMPLOYERS:
Discovering Solutions Through Partnering
Hiring Tech Prep
Students: The Boeing
Company’s Story
by Lynn Brown, Educational Partnerships Manager,
The Boeing Company
Tech PPrep’s
rep’s V
alue to The Boeing Company
Value
The Boeing Company is a high technology aerospace company with various
commercial and military aerospace projects in 27 states and two countries.
Boeing is the number-one aerospace company in the world; however, global
competition and demographic changes are always a challenge for the
company. Tech Prep as a long-range plan can have an impact on meeting these
challenges.
The Boeing Company
’s T
ech PPrep
rep PProgram
rogram
Company’s
Tech
Boeing started its Manufacturing Tech Prep Internship Program with 25
students in 1993. Now, during any given year, approximately 400 students
participate as Tech Prep interns in either a manufacturing program or an
engineering technician program. The progressive three-year programs provide
four weeks of training for approximately 120 students in basic manufacturing
during the summer after their eleventh grade high school year. After these
students graduate they spend four weeks in either an intermediate
manufacturing training program
or an intermediate engineering
tech program. Students are
Approximately 100 former
encouraged to continue their
Boeing Tech Prep interns have
education at community
been hired by Boeing.
colleges in manufacturing or
engineering technology-related
programs. After the first year of college, interns are asked to return to Boeing
for six weeks of training through a sponsor and mentoring experience. During
the three-year program in manufacturing, interns acquire competencies in
group dynamics, measurements, safety and health, quality assurance, print
interpretation, resource management and manufacturing computing, business
economics, shop skills, labor in industry, and product and process control.
For the engineering tech internship program, students acquire many of the
same competencies, as well as gaining skills in computer-aided drafting and
manufacturing engineering. In 1995 Boeing had its first graduating class of
See Boeing, page 5.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Volume 10; Number 2
Benefits of Business/
Education Partnerships
Page 2
10th Anniversary Profile
Page 3
Caterpillar Recognized
Page 4
Encouraging
Students to Join the
Skilled Workforce
by Tom Huey, Technical Training Manager,
Duracell
As parents, why would you encourage
your children to join the “skilled
workforce?” I can give four good
reasons—job security, earnings potential,
quality of life, and job satisfaction.
Job security may not be at the top of the
hit parade for every twenty-year-old
entering the workforce, but eventually it
will be for many. In a recent National
Association of Colleges and Employers
(NACE) poll, 72 percent of the
respondents said that they would like the
security of long-term employment with
one company. The concept of steady
employment that allows a person to grow
on the job and become part of a
community is appealing to many people,
including the newest additions to the
workforce.
These up-and-coming Generation Xers
see “the job” as a means to an end, as a
way of financing recreational and family
activities. They see their skills as
marketable commodities that will allow
them to have the quality of life that they
will use to redefine success. If the area in
which they work is the extended family’s
home base or they enjoy the recreational
activities available in the area, they may not
be disposed to ever move.
However, mobility has long been the key
to survival for today’s management team.
Very few managers who have the desire
to advance will have the opportunity to
live their lives in one place. The skilled
workforce can settle down and grow
See Encouraging, page 3.
2
Connections
Volume 10, Number 2
The Benefits of Business/Education Partnerships
by Neva Allen, Education Coordinator, Harmon Industries, Inc.
What’s in it for business? After
working for five years in the business
side of a business/education
partnership, I have heard the same
question many times: What’s in it for
business?
What’s in it for business? Ron
Breshears, Vice President of Human
Resources at Harmon Industries, Inc.,
sums it up nicely. “The Business/
Education Partnership has far exceeded
my greatest expectations. The
partnership is good
business and good
education.”
Employee morale
morale:
Within our company
we have seen
several things on
which Breshears
bases this comment.
Many of our employees like working
with students. Their
morale has improved as teachers
and students have
shown an interest in
the industry and in their jobs. Employees appear more comfortable with the
educational process, and many have
enrolled in college courses.
Increased labor pool: The
partnership experience has resulted in
the Human Resource Department
expanding its traditional labor
recruitment pool. Internships have
been expanded beyond the traditional
college junior to include high school
students and teachers. In addition,
college students are recruited for
support positions as early as their
freshman year. Supervisors are very
impressed with the performance
delivered by students. When recruiting
for entry-level production positions,
the HR Department has turned to
vocational placement directors and
high school counselors to solicit those
students with good work ethic and
technical experience. A surprising
development has been the use of
classes of students to address shortterm business problems.
Improved industry image: In the
beginning, it quickly became evident
that few students, teachers, or others
within the
community really
understood our
product line or the
types of careers
that are available in
the field of
manufacturing.
Partnership
members have
been surprised to
learn of the many
high-paying,
satisfying career
opportunities
available in the
community. Teachers have referred
highly skilled students. Students
approach us when we visit schools or
when we see them in the community
to let us know that they intend to
work for our company after they
complete their education. Students
have become very competent in
matching their skills with our
employment demands because they
KNOW what we are looking for.
Additional resources: Working
regularly with schools has helped us
stay abreast of technology for longdistance learning, current assessment
tools, and curriculum development in
high-demand careers. This information
National tech prep network
has been implemented within the
company, improving counseling
practices and enabling delivery of
training in a more cost-effective
manner.
Mentoring: The greatest
underestimated benefit for the
employees and the students has been
the simple fact of bringing adults and
students together in a mentoring
relationship. School to Career has
increased the number of adults
working with students in a positive
environment. Counselors and students
have reported that this experience has
helped them become more focused in
school. Students report that they enjoy
working with employees regularly. I
honestly feel that this is one way to
address unrest within the school
districts. Mentoring has improved the
respect between young people and
adults. It appears we are dealing with
problems more realistically,
understanding that there are people to
whom we can turn for support.
Those employees actively involved in
School to Career feel that we have
only begun to benefit from the
partnership from business and
educational perspectives. We have had
five wonderful years, and we are
looking forward to another fifty. L
Neva Allen is a member of
the NTPN Advisory Board
as a representative from
industry. She is also a
founding board member of
the Employer Council for
Workforce Preparation.
Volume 10, Number 2
Encouraging...
➤ continued from page 1
roots. In our community, there is such a
shortage of skilled labor that, even if skilled
workers lose jobs because one plant closes,
they can drive down the street and move
quickly into another job.
But what is the “skilled workforce?” From our
perspective as employers, it is the group of
workers who have completed high school and
also received some postsecondary training. It
is the fastest-growing segment of the
workforce.
In 1950, 60 percent of the workforce was
unskilled and only 20 percent required
college degrees to be part of the
“professional” ranks. In 2000, there is still
only room for 20 percent to have college
degrees, but 65 percent of the workforce
needs to be skilled. Peter J. Pestillo, Ford
Vice Chairman, said recently, “Our industry
is on the brink of a devastating shortage of
talent…At every level, in all job categories,
we need more good people and we need
them today.” Lifetime job security in an
industry or skilled trade may replace
lifetime employment as the definition of
“security” to the workforce.
In the past decade, job security for the
white-collar team was tied to company
growth as well as mobility. But times are
changing. Projected employment growth in
the next ten years will be half of what we
experienced in the last ten years—20 percent
versus 40 percent, according to the Improved
Career Decision Making (ICDM) program.
That reduction is due partly to the ramping-up
of the massive enterprise resource planning
(ERP) computer systems that have exploded
onto the scene in the last decade. These
complex systems do much of the work that
was given to entry-level white-collar workers
in the past.
The computer revolution is just getting started
and we are already seeing the ability of
computing power to eliminate entry-level
white-collar jobs. By the year 2005,
bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing
clerks will have 133,000 fewer jobs
available. As the SAPs and JD Edwards of
the world begin to bear fruit, the
placement problems for recent college
graduates will only increase.
These are confusing times. On one hand we
have record low unemployment, but on the
other hand we have recent college graduates
armed with bachelor degrees who can’t find
work. In southeast Tennessee, we have about
3 percent unemployment. That’s good news
and bad news. The good news is that anyone
who wants to work can find a job. The only
people in this area who are really unemployed
are the hard-core unemployable citizens who
Connections
3
are truly unable to work. The bad news is that,
at the same time, we have college graduates
working in the fast food industry, flipping
burgers and going to night school because
they have found that they can’t get jobs
without experience or advanced degrees.
The second point is that the skilled workforce
actually has an advantage in earnings potential
over the college graduate. In a 1996 study, the
Florida Department of Education found that
the average starting annual salary for a
community college graduate with an associate
degree was $29,008 compared to $24,814
for a graduate of a state university with a
bachelor degree.
It gets worse. Many college graduates enter
the workforce earning less than $23,317,
the median for high school graduates.
More than 20 percent of the college
graduates in retail sales and more than 40
percent of them in service industries earn
less than their counterparts with only high
school educations. In fact, almost 20
percent of all college graduates start out
earning less than $23,317. This is a culture
shock to a generation that has been taught
that, to succeed, you must get a college
degree. Their expectations of $40,000
starting salaries evaporate in the bright light
of reality.
The third point is that quality of life may be the
See Encouraging, page 6.
10th Anniversary Profile
To commemorate Tech Prep’s 10th anniversary in 2000, Connections will feature profiles of successful
consortia. To submit information on your consortium, e-mail Teresa Rollins at trollins@cord.org.
Miami Valley Tech Prep
Consortium
academics, instructional teams, higher level of
academics including college-level mathematics
the challenge is more oriented toward funding
issues and the barriers these issues pose.
Location of consortium: Dayton, Ohio
Significant achievements:
We have noticed a significant decrease in
the need for remediation among Tech Prep
students when they take college placement
tests. The general student population
requires remediation 80 percent of the
time, while only 10 to 15 percent of Tech
Prep students require remediation.
Vision for the future of T
ech PPrep:
rep: A
Tech
larger percentage of the student population
will be in Tech Prep programs (up to 40
percent). Further, our efforts will help the
local economy by providing highly and
appropriately educated workers.
Number of T
ech PPrep
rep students in
Tech
region: 1500
Number of secondary schools
involved: 67
Number of postsecondary schools:
1 college, 1 university
Number of employer partners at
inception: 100
Currently: 200
Changes in high school structure due to
Tech PPrep:
rep: more block scheduling, applied
Greatest challenge faced: Initially it was
“selling” the idea of a Tech Prep education.
That was overcome by plugging away at
the established method and continuously
stressing the benefits of Tech Prep. Currently
National tech prep network
Contact: Tracy Jayne, 937-512-2275 or
e-mail: tjayne@sinclair.edu
4
Connections
Volume 10, Number 2
Caterpillar Recognized as Outstanding Partner by State Administrators
Caterpillar Inc. has been recognized by the
National Association of State Directors of
Vocational Technical Education Consortium
(NASDVTEC) for its exemplary commitment
to, involvement with, and support of vocational
technical education at national, state, and local
levels. During a recent meeting on Capitol Hill,
NASDVTEC honored Caterpillar with its
“Outstanding Business/Industry Contribution”
award. The company has made corporate
contributions to national efforts such as Tech
Prep and work-based learning in addition to its
commitment to the local communities in which
it operates through the development of
exemplary partnerships with educational
institutions.
Caterpillar’s national-level contributions to
workforce education include:
■ Sponsorship of the Caterpillar Inc./
National Tech Prep Network Exemplary
Worksite Learning Award that recognizes
three outstanding local partnerships
annually
■ Representation on the National Tech Prep
Network Advisory Board
■ Representation on the National
Manufacturing Skilled Trades Occupational
Skill Standards Board
■ Founding member of CORD’s Employer
Council for Workforce Preparation
■ Founder and underwriter of the Employer
to Employer Conference. Employer to
Employer is a collaborative conference
event sponsored by NTPN, the National
School-to-Work Office, and the National
Employer Leadership Council/National
Alliance of Business
■ Financial contribution to the national
SkillsUSA-VICA competition
Caterpillar’s state-level contributions:
■ Representation on the Illinois Governor’s
Education-to-Careers Partnership Steering
Committee
■ Representation on the Illinois Workforce
Investment Board
■ Representation on the Illinois Youth
Council Task Force
■ Representation on the Illinois State Board
of Education Perkins Planning Committee
■
■
■
Representation on the Illinois Chamber of
Commerce Workforce Development
Board
Alignment of all work-based learning
training stations to the Illinois Learning
Standards and the Illinois Occupational Skill
Standards
Financial contribution and provision of
project evaluators for the Illinois SkillsUSAVICA competition
Because of its outstanding contributions to
workforce education in Illinois, Caterpillar has
been recognized with the
Illinois State Council on
Business-Education
Partnerships
Exemplary
Partnership Award,
the Connections
Award of Distinction,
and the Illinois
Community College
Trustee Award for
Business-Industry
Partnerships.
Caterpillar has developed two local workforce
preparation partnerships—the Manufacturing
Support Occupations program at its
Performance Engine Products Division in
Mossville, Illinois, and the Manufacturing Skilled
Trades program at its Central Training Facility in
East Peoria, Illinois. Both work-based learning
programs demonstrate the company’s
commitment to invest time, expertise, and
resources in its local communities. These
partnerships have helped educators understand
the rapidly changing workplace, industry needs,
and the necessity for continued curriculum
development. In turn, Caterpillar has achieved a
greater understanding of area educational
systems and articulation opportunities at
community colleges. Using linkages to schools,
community colleges, universities, business, and
industry, the programs have encouraged
interaction among educators, community
leaders, parents, and students. This has led to
increased awareness of the importance of
preparing a future workforce committed to
continuous learning and to ensuring progress in
National tech prep network
reaching the mutual goal of building leaders
through learning.
Manufacturing Support Occupations is a
competency-based program developed by
both business and education. Created by the
Caterpillar Inc. Performance Engine Products
Division (PEPD) in Mossville, this program
provides paid learning experiences for both
secondary and postsecondary students in the
areas of accounting, engineering, human
resources, information systems, logistics,
maintenance, manufacturing, and quality
control. Students have opportunities to apply
academic knowledge, develop technical skills,
and enhance personal competencies as well as
the opportunity to receive community college
scholarships. Learning experiences are aligned
with the Illinois Learning Standards and Illinois
Occupational Skill Standards.
Manufacturing Skilled TTrades
rades is a collaborative
effort among business, 46 high schools, two
community colleges, and one area
vocational center to prepare secondary and
postsecondary students for high-tech
manufacturing careers. This program
provides training three hours per day, five
days per week in industrial electrician,
maintenance mechanic, and toolmaker
skilled trades careers. Students receive
comprehensive instruction in the areas of
design processes, manufacturing processes,
quality assurance, automated material
handling, fluid power systems, electrical
systems, and mechanical systems at an
Integrated Systems Technology lab, located
at the Caterpillar Central Training Facility.
Students also attend algebra and geometry
classes and job shadow journeypersons at
local manufacturing facilities. Program
participants receive two-year college
scholarships to the local community college.
Caterpillar Inc.’s commitment to education has
benefited thousands of students in Illinois and
across the country. The model partnerships
have established the reality that the best
education programs are truly collaborative
efforts between business and education. L
Volume 10, Number 2
Boeing...
➤ continued from page 1
manufacturing Tech Prep interns; since
then approximately 160 interns have
graduated. Our company has hired
approximately 100 former Boeing Tech
Prep interns.
The Y
oung W
orker Study
Young
Worker
In 1998, the Northwest Regional
Educational Laboratory completed a
research study of the effectiveness of
Boeing manufacturing Tech Prep interns
later hired as full-time Boeing
employees.
The purposes of the study were to:
■ Improve the quality of the Boeing
student internship program by
assessing former interns’ performance
as regular Boeing employees
■ Provide high schools with concrete
information about their graduates’
workforce experience
■ Identify ways to improve the
transition process from school to
work for young people completing
high school or community college
programs in manufacturing
■ Provide information to other
companies—especially those
companies considering similar
internship programs—regarding the
value of internships
■ Identify training needs of young
workers
Two groups were compared to the
former Boeing Tech Prep interns:
workers under the age of 22 and
workers over age 30. The Boeing
Company’s Young Worker Study reveals
several benefits to the interns as
employees and to the company.
When former Boeing interns employed
as full-time workers rated themselves
and their Boeing environment, scores
reflected their performance as at least
as effective as that of other new
employees of similar age, as well as
those employees who are older.
Former interns rated themselves high in
their awareness and use of tools for
moving toward their career goals. This
information shows the ability of
employees to establish goals and move
into other skill areas or higher levels
within the company.
Boeing needs people with flexible skills.
While these characteristics are
important, the major value that former
Boeing Tech Prep interns bring to the
company is found in the information
gathered from the supervisors. Twentytwo supervisors of former Tech Prep
interns were interviewed. In eighteen
workplace performance rating items,
supervisors gave statistically higher
ratings to former interns than to other
young workers on educational
background; ability to work as part of a
team; reliability, attendance, and
punctuality; flexibility and adaptability;
specific job skills; interest in remaining
at Boeing; and understanding of
manufacturing processes.
Working T
ogether
Together
Boeing knows the value of educators
and business working together. Teachers
have the captive audience. Teachers
have expertise in working with children
and young adults. Teachers have
knowledge and talent in developing
curricula and helping students become
accountable for their learning. Teachers
have the ability to provide lifelong
learning skills to students, whereas
business sometimes is more focused on
specific business competencies.
Business has knowledge of the types of
skills needed for students to become
employable. Business has knowledge of
how to contextualize educational
theory in workplace learning situations.
Business has the ability to help students
discover where their career interests fall
in the grand scheme of things and
National tech prep network
Connections
5
where they can be most successful.
Business can put students to work and
in some instances provide funding for
them to continue their education.
Tech Prep allows teachers and business
to collaborate to bring the best of both
educational and business worlds
together. The results are students with
employable skills, a workforce to
protect the future of our American
businesses, and communities where
parents can provide a higher quality of
life for their children. It takes all of us
working together. L
Lynn Brown is the chair of the Employer Council
for Workforce Preparation.
To request a copy of The Boeing Company’s
Young Worker Study, contact Lynn Brown via
e-mail at lynn.g.brown@boeing.com
NEW SKILLS FOR THE
NEW MILLENNIUM
Top Five Entry-Level
Skill Requirements
1. Computer Literacy
2. Critical Thinking
3. Problem Solving
4. Teamwork
5. Interpersonal Relations
Barriers to Promotion
Entry-Level:
Interpersonal Skills
Middle Management:
Leadership/Teamwork
Executives:
Critical Thinking
As identified by 428 companies that
participated in a survey designed to pinpoint
the skills needed to be successful in the new
workplace. Taken from “Who Is Most Likely to
Succeed,” published by Rider University.
For a copy of the report, write to: The Center
for the Development of Leadership Skills,
Rider University, 2083 Lawrenceville Rd.,
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648-3099
6
Connections
Volume 10, Number 2
Encouraging…
➤ continued from page 3
key indicator of success for the skilled
workforce. Generation X is moving into
today’s world with a new set of assumptions
about what defines success. Success for the
new kid on the block may well be a forty-hour
week, no travel, and family focus. At a time
when management is expected to work sixty
or more hours per week, we should
anticipate that Generation Xers will not be so
willing to work extra hours without
compensation.
Family focus is starting to be discussed in
many corporations, not because it is the
right thing to do but because it has bubbled
up from the workforce as a critical issue.
We all know that no one has ever
confessed on a death bed, “Gee, if I had
only spent more time at work…,” but
Generation Xers really understand the
importance of the quality of life away from
work.
Yesterday’s workers defined themselves by
what they did at work, but tomorrow’s
workers are defining their identities by
what they do away from the job.
Generation Xers will bring a skill set to the
job that they see as a marketable
commodity. If they do not get the “total
package” from one company, they will take
their skills and move on. It may sound cold,
but they learned from watching their
parents struggle in an era of downsizing
that loyalty is a very relative concept.
Generation Xers will never love the
company more than it loves them.
The last point is the job satisfaction that the
skilled workforce can have in doing tangible
work with daily visible results. There is
something to be said for seeing a finished
CONNECTIONS
Teresa R
ollins
Rollins
ollins, Editor
ay Liston
Kay
Liston,
Mark Whitney and K
Associate Editors
David Bond
Bond, Director, NTPN
Visit NTPN on the web at
www
.cord.org
www.cord.org
product leave your work area at the end of the
day. For the paper-pushing white-collar crowd,
there may never be an empty “in box.” There
is always something more to do, and more
and more office workers take the job home
with them, physically or mentally.
Many actually carry paperwork home, but
most of the damage to the family is the
result of the mental baggage that is carried
home from the office. White-collar
workers deal with conceptual problems
that often have no clear answers, and the
struggle to solve those problems does not
stay inside the office. There is a lot to be
said for a world in which the bolts always
tighten to the right and loosen to the left.
In addition to job security, earnings
potential, quality of life, and job satisfaction,
there is one other reason to encourage our
youth to enter the skilled workforce: reality.
Only one out of ten high school graduates
will ever receive a college degree. That ten
percent will be competing for jobs in a pool
that has not grown as rapidly as the need
for skilled labor. In many occupations, they
are now struggling to find work when
skilled workers are being actively recruited.
We do face a critical shortage of skilled
labor in this country. The solution is to
change locally, and Tech Prep programs
around the country are actively involved in
developing the skilled labor pool. The Tech
Prep concept helps employers grow their
own skilled labor locally by partnering with
local schools, seeking out the best
candidates, and working with them while
they are still students to develop qualified
workers. The need for a college degree is
a myth. The skilled workforce is the reality
of the future. L
Your Feedback
Requested on Worksite
Learning Projects
The Employer Council for Workforce
Preparation, a network formed by
CORD in January 2000, is planning to
develop publications and professional
development programs to assist
employers in the implementation of
worksite learning programs. Proposed
topics for the materials/programs include:
• Introduction to Worksite Training
• Educational Reform and Work-based
Learning Definitions
• High Performance Workplace Models
• SCANS Competencies
• Mentor Selection
• Role of the Worksite Mentor/Trainer
• Organizational Orientation
• One-on-One Training (Progressive
Learning)
• Legal Considerations
• Safety Issues
• Psychology of Youth
• Team-building and Conflict Resolution
• Communication Skills
• Cultural Awareness
• Feedback and Assessment
If you are interested in commenting on
or suggesting additional topics that should
be covered in either the publications or
professional development programs,
please e-mail Debra Mills, CORD Senior
Associate, at dmills@cord.org by May
15. Employers who participate in this
development effort will receive a draft of
the completed materials for review and a
free copy of the final product(s).
Article reprinted from Plant Engineering, March
2000. Copyright 2000 by Reed Elsevier, Inc. Used
with permission.
Connections is the monthly publication of the
National Tech Prep Network, a membership
organization of educators and employers
dedicated to the advancement of Tech Prep.
NTPN assists its members in planning,
implementing, evaluating, and improving
workforce education programs. NTPN was
founded by CORD, a nonprofit organization
that has been leading change in education for
over twenty years through curriculum
development, teacher training, and Tech Prep
leadership.
Questions about Connections
Connections??
Contact: Teresa Rollins, NTPN,
P.O. Box 21689, Waco, TX 76702-1689;
254-772-5095; or e-mail trollins@cord.org
200