Mapping Career Ladders in the
Aerospace Industry
Workforce Solutions:
Partnering and Career Mapping
on Long Island
Workforce New York Long Island
Regional Business Services Team
Workforce New York
Long Island Business Services Team
Mapping Career Ladders
in the Aerospace Industry
Member Organizations:
New York State Department of Labor Division of Employment Services
New York State Department of Labor Division of Research and Statistics
Town of Hempstead Workforce Investment Board (HempsteadWorks)
Workforce Investment Board of the Oyster Bay Consortium (Oyster Bay Works)
Suffolk County Workforce Investment Board (Suffolk County Department of Labor)
Long Island
A two county PMSA
East of New York City
Total population: 2.8 million
Known as the Cradle of Aviation
The region lost 50,000 defense-related
manufacturing jobs from 1986 to 2000
Many in aircraft but also in related areas such as
electronics and search and navigation equipment.
Workforce Development for High
Growth Industries
Advanced Manufacturing & Aerospace
Industry Workforce Solutions
Engineering design, electronics, machinery, fabricated metals and aircraft parts
manufacturers saw a buildup in contracts and work orders in 2002 but faced key
skill and workforce shortages. A collaborative regional business services team
was formed with the three local WIBS and led by the regional NY State
Employment Services Business Services Team. This team formed a broad set of
alliances with economic development entities, technology resource entities,
industry associations and university and community college training partners to
address these needs and expand job creation in manufacturing.
Workforce
New York careers
Long Island
Identify a promising practice
in mapping
in the aerospace industry.
Regional Business Services Team
Mapping Careers
Machinist: Is it programming or metal bending and what happens with
the shift to composite materials? The last machinist training program
closed on Long Island at the end of the 1980’s.
Project
• Mapping Careers in the Aerospace Industry
• Funded by a grant from State Workforce
Investment Board using WIA Statewide
Activities funds
Project Development Process
• NYSDOL Workforce New York Request For Qualifications
(RFQ 25-J)
• Six consultants qualified for a Future Bid
• NYSDOL Workforce RFQ 25-J Future Bid
• Town of Hempstead (TOH) Local Workforce Investment Board
(LWIB) submission of Electronic Project Request Form for
Career Mapping services of the aerospace industry on behalf of
the Long Business Services Team
• NYSDOL award of consultant contracts
Project Request/Statement of Need
•
The Long Island Aerospace industry is a major contributor to the New
York State economy
•
The growth of this critical industry depends on employee skills
development because of the expected job growth in aerospace over
the next ten years
•
Growth will be potentially limited by the ability to hire new employees,
with the required skills
•
Rapid technological advances will require incumbent worker
education/training
Career Mapping Consultants
(Selected by Workforce New York)
• Aerospace and Defense Diversification
Alliance in Peacetime Transition (ADDAPT)
(A team of ADDAPT, the Cypress Group and
Cooperating Executives Organization)
• Stony Brook Research Foundation (SBRF)
Stony Brook campus of the State University
of New York (SUNY)
There is a broadly held, erroneous perception that
Jobs in manufacturing are a dead end, not very
interesting career.
Career Mapping in Aerospace and advanced
Manufacturing seeks to identify and publicize good
jobs and ladders to further success.
Also to help companies better understand and
identify the skill and organization structure required
by a competitive manufacturing company.
There is a vision that transparency in human capital
markets will help employees and businesses
maximize their value.
Project Management Plan
•
Meetings of the Career Mapping Subcommittee will be convened on a regular
basis to evaluate the progress of the Project and to provide direction to the
ADDAPT and SBRF consultants for future activities
•
Copies of all reports submitted by the consultants to the NYSDOL Workforce
Development and Training Division will be simultaneously distributed to the
Subcommittee representatives
•
These reports, along with additional scanning information, will guide the
Subcommittee in its efforts to support and adjust the Project, as needed
•
The Subcommittee will report the progress of the Project to the Business
Services Team, the Long Island Consortium for Workforce Development, the
LWIBS and other appropriate organizations
Project Management Plan (Continued)
•
Career Mapping will be included in the portfolio of products offered to business
by the three LWIBS and the Business Services Team
•
Information regarding the services available through the project will be
included in local workforce investment system marketing material, both in hard
copy and on-line
•
Information sessions for businesses and business organizations will be
convened at local One-Stop Centers, at LWIB meetings and at other appropriate
venues, in a manner that establishes a clear connection between the Project
and the workforce investment system
Project Methodology
Participating
Company
Participating
Company
Participating
Company
Participating
Company
Consolidate in Database:
- Organization Structure
- Industry Information
- Job Descriptions
- Career Ladders
& Associated Salary
- Skill requirements
- Job Descriptions &
Salary Ranges
- Training Requirements
- Training Requirements
Provide individual and
consolidated reports
to the companies
ADDAPT / CEO / Cypress Group / Stony Brook
1.0 - 3
Steps in the development are:
1. Determine the data elements
2. Establish data relationships
3. Define the Data Model
4. Design the architecture and Schematic
5. Generate input screens
6. Develop reporting screens
7. Develop output reports
8. Test program operation
9. Test functionality with pilot data
10. Modify as needed
11. Production Test
12. Load full data set
13. Maintenance and modification
Targeted Aerospace Industry Clusters
•
•
•
•
•
Engineering Design
Engineering Services
Manufacturing (Mechatronics)
Commodities/Special Processes
Information Technology
Findings: Industry Training Needs
• There is a critical need to develop and facilitate a training
facility on Long Island to train “hands on” workers in the metal
fabrication trades
• Incumbent worker training in blue print reading
• Industry specific training for incumbent workers in
management skills, Lean Manufacturing process improvement
training and ISO 9000 training prior to company certification
• Specialized company training where training curriculum and
associated resources are difficult to identify in the local
academic and private training providers
• This training is only available from the suppliers of the
specialized and technically sophisticated capital equipment
and Manufacturing/Enterprise Resource Planning systems
(MRP/ERP)
These changes will have a dramatic impact on both the incumbent work
force and the required improvements in training and the skills that will be
required of entry level employees from K-12 public education system and
graduates of universities and colleges
Examples:
 Business and financial practices
associated with international trade
 Must speak several languages
 Understanding of Export Administration
Regulations (EAR), International Traffic and
Arms Regulations (ITAR) regulations and
documentation required for US export
compliance
The consultants had an aggressive
agenda to meet the Goals of the
Project
Short Term
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Long Term
Assess 24 companies to identify their
• Use the results of the study to identify
current organizational structure.
broader improvements in training programs
Define each company’s business
• Feedback needed industry skills to
profile such as products & services,
universities and colleges
yearly sales, number of employees,
• Feedback results of skills needed to K-12
facilities, primary customers and
strategic objectives.
• Suggest changes to curriculum so students
are better prepared to enter the workforce
Identify commonality (Composite
with skills needed by employers
organizational structure)
• Benefit employers, incumbent workers,
Define Aerospace career ladder jobs
potential new hires, & students
and their qualifications.
• Evaluate the impact of the technology driven
Define training needs for the
changes expected in the next five years and
companies and their career ladders
the resulting new skills required.
Assist DOL with categories of jobs and
career paths for job placement
Make job definitions more consistent
Increase skilled workforce based on
needs of industry
Identify potential training funding ADDAPT / CEO / Cypress Group / Stony Brook
opportunities
Company Benefits
• Study and documentation of Organization Structure
• Job Descriptions Standardized and Referenced to ONET
Categories
• Allows Comparisons and Benchmarking
• Training Requirements Recommendations
• Identify Potential Training Funding Sources at the
Federal, State and Local Levels.
ADDAPT / CEO / Cypress Group / Stony Brook
Selection of Candidate Companies for
Participation in
Mapping Career Ladder Project
Researched and generated a list of over 500 Long Island aerospace
companies.
 Selected the 24 companies for participation in the project and identified
several back up companies.
Data Collection Method
Gathered company information such as products, customers, facilities
description, organization chart, yearly sales, and the company’s strategic
plan and assessment of the business environment for the next five years,
in initial on-site interviews.
 Identified the management personnel primarily responsible for personnel,
training, and career advancement within the companies.
 Typically:
- Executive Management (President, CEO, General Manager)
Controller (CFO)
- Sales and Marketing
- Engineering
- Operations
- Quality
- Information Technology
- Human Resources
 Developed survey forms to insure consistency of data collected
-6
 Conducted interviews with 196 1.0
people.
Data Base Development
The volume of data necessitated creation of
a database to assist job and career ladder
analysis for the 24 companies participating
in the project.
Data entered for each company:
Job Titles
o Job Descriptions
o Responsibilities
o Skills Needed
o Educational Requirements
o Experience
o Salary Ranges
o Training needs to achieve competitiveness and growth
o Typical Source of Candidates (What jobs did they come
from?)
o Promotional Potential (Career Ladders)
1.0 - 8
Composite Company
A “Composite” company was developed to represent the
relationships between organizational entities in a typical LI
aerospace company doing business with both the US DOD and
the major producers of commercial airliners. This “Composite”
company has a range 50 to 200 employees and yearly sales of
$7M to $30M (see company organization chart).
Training Requirements Recommendations
• Each of the 24 companies participating in the project received a
written training requirements recommendation based on the
analysis of the data collected during the on-site interviews
conducted by ADDAPT and SBRF. Training requirements
recommendations are for both short term (one year) and long
term (two through five years).
Technology Driven Changes Expected in the Next Five
Years and their Impact on Workforce Skills Required
4.1 Industry change is driven by technology and new business
methods in the global aerospace industry.
Major manufacturers are no longer buying just component parts or just
machined components, they are buying major subassemblies.
Small manufacturers must grow to be “mini” prime contractors or be
acquired by larger companies.
These changes will result in the need for completely different manufacturing
processes and management techniques that the typical small company
does not currently have resulting in extensive re-training of the
incumbent work force.
Major military and commercial prime contractors such as Boeing and
Lockheed Martin will be competing with the European Aerospace
companies for major US military contracts for the first time.
These contractors typically involve consortiums of foreign and US
contractors who must work together resulting in extensive training
requirements to address the difference in cultures, language, business
practices and the complexities of the US regulations including
international trade.
Changes and Impact (continued)
• These changes will have a dramatic impact on both the
incumbent work force and the improvements in training
and the skills that will be required of entry level
employees from K-12 public education system and
graduates of universities and colleges. Examples:
o The latest manufacturing techniques, such as the Lean
Manufacturing Principles, must be implemented in order to
increase productivity
o Business and financial practices associated with international
trade
o Must speak several languages
o Understanding of Export Administration Regulations (EAR),
ITAR regulations and documentation required for US export
compliance
o Proficiency with both the design & manufacturing of aircraft
4.0 - 2
structures using composite materials
Changes and Impact (continued)
o Purchasing methods upgraded by new training. A larger number
of suppliers must be developed and managed.
o ISO quality systems addressing new processes and their
procedures. Additional training will be needed both within the
company and with their suppliers.
o Cash management as a critical requirement.
o An approach to applying Lean Manufacturing techniques will now
take on different processes such as Supply Chain Management
o A higher level of Marketing capability.
4.0 - 3
ECONOMIC TRENDS IN THE LONG ISLAND
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
The aerospace industry on Long Island experienced a dramatic business reduction from
1986 through 1995 as a result of reductions in defense contracts. The industry experienced
a drop in yearly orders of $5 billion to $1 billion during this period. Employment was reduced
from 100,000 to 23,000 employees. Many people changed careers during the defense
diversification initiative causing the loss of skilled aerospace employees. Replenishment of
the skill loss through training is essential.
There are approximately 25,000 employees currently working in the Long Island aerospace
industry with 70% working for smaller companies (i.e., less than 200 employees).
The overall business trend in the Long Island aerospace industry are:
 Increasing orders from the Department of Defense (DOD), the military prime contractors and
the commercial airline OEMs (Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, and Embraer) is expected for the
next eight (8) years.
 DOD orders will be focused on military operational needs such as spare parts, upgrades of
existing weapons systems and replenishment of expendables. These orders will benefit the
smaller companies.
 Orders received by small aerospace companies for production of major components,
assemblies and systems for commercial aerospace prime contractors are also expanding
because these prime contractors are depending on the smaller aerospace contractors to help
contain the costs of commercial airliners by sharing a larger percent of product costs and the
associated risks.
TRENDS (continued)
The Long Island aerospace industry is expected to grow
by 3,000 people over the next three years. As a further
result of this anticipated increase in employment,
ADDAPT, in partnership with the NYS Dept. of Labor, has
been working on determining the near-term training
requirements for both incumbent and newly hired
employees that will be required to meet this demand for
increased employment. We have evaluated the longerterm trends that will be driven by the anticipated rapid
changes caused by major advances in aerospace
technology.
Based on the on-site interviews and assessments
conducted by ADDAPT and SBRF of 24 companies, we
see a critical demand for training incumbent aerospace
employees and major problems associated with hiring new
qualified employees as follows:
TRENDS (continued)
Every company complains about the qualifications of high
school graduates (K-12 students) and vocational school
graduates for entry level jobs in the aerospace industry.
o Verbal & written communication skills are a major problem with
both new and existing employees. This is exacerbated by the
influx of recent immigrants into the Long Island aerospace
industry where English as a second language is a major training
requirement.
o Ability to work in a “team” environment is lacking (poor
interpersonal skills).
o Understanding of basic math and science is a major
shortcoming of both high school graduates and many college
graduates entering this industry.
o There is a critical need to develop and facilitate a training facility
on Long Island to train “hands on” workers in the metal
fabrication trades and electronics
assembly (Mechatronics).
2.0 - 2
TRENDS (continued)
o There is a major demand by the aerospace companies for
incumbent worker training in blue print reading and CAD/CAM.
(Computer Aided Design / Computer Aided Manufacturing)
o There is a major demand for industry specific training for incumbent
workers such as management skills training, lean manufacturing
process improvement training and ISO 9000 training prior to
company certification. The good news is that it appears that both
academia and private trainers can meet this demand.
o There is also a major demand for specialized company training
where training curriculum and associated resources are difficult to
identify in the local academic and private training providers. This
training is only available from the suppliers of the specialized and
technically sophisticated capital equipment and Manufacturing
Requirements Planning/Enterprise Resource Planning systems
(MRP/ERP) that are prevalent in the aerospace and other (cont’d)
TRENDS (continued)
o industries in order to remain competitive. These types of
specialized training are predominately “hands on” training
associated with the application of the specialized
production/inspection capital equipment and MRP/ERP systems to
the unique requirements of each individual company.
o Although there are many trainers available to provide the principles
of lean manufacturing and process improvements, there is a lack of
training resources that can apply these principles to the unique
processes on the factory floor of each individual company.
Career Ladder Paths – Company # 8
Career Ladder Path Steps
Job Title/Name(s)
Step 1
Step 2
President –
N.A. Owner
CEO/Managing Director –
N.A. Owner
Executive Vice President –
CEO
MIS –
N.A. – Part Time Consultant
Operations Manager:
Executive VP
CEO
Forman –
Operations Mgr.
Executive VP
Lead Person – (2 people)
Forman
Operations Mgr.
Welder – (5 people)
Lead Person or QA Inspector
Foreman
Assembler – (3 people)
Lead Person
Forman
Machinist –
Lead Person or QA Inspector
Forman
Inventory Control –
Lead Person
Forman
Shipping/Receiving Clerk –
Inventory Control
Lead Person
Quality Assurance Supervisor –
Ops. Mgr.
Executive VP
Quality Assurance Inspection (2 people)
QA Supervisor
Operations Mgr
Estimator –
Ops. Mgr.
Executive VP
Purchasing Agent –
Procurement Manager
Materials Mgr.
Project Coordinator –
Estimator
Ops Mgr.
Accts. Payable/Rec. Clerk –
Accounting Supervisor
Controller
Accts. Rec. Clerk –
Accounting Supervisor
Controller
3.0 - 7
Workforce New York Long Island Business Services Team
Vision
Our strategic, public-private partnership will continually improve the
quality
of the Long Island workforce, business climate and economy. Through
regional coordination, we will:
•
Create an enhanced business perception of the publicly funded
workforce investment system
•
Provide multiple access points where businesses can obtain
coordinated assistance in recruiting, training and developing workers
•
Maintain a customer-friendly process for leveraging available
resources from a variety of funding streams in response to business,
employment, community and economic development needs
Workforce New York Long Island Business Services Team
Mission
•
Develop a strategic, on-going approach to the delivery of business services
that combines resources and remains flexible in its ability to respond to the
business customer
•
Plan and implement business services initiatives that help hire, train, educate,
upgrade and retain skilled workers
•
Collaborate to identify and access grant funds that will assist businesses,
develop our local workforce and strengthen the economy
•
Analyze, and rapidly respond to changing business needs to ensure
maximization of all available resources of the workforce investment system
•
Measure, evaluate and continually improve services and products for
businesses, using customer feedback and other standardized performance
data
WFNY Long Island Business Services Team Response to
Phase I Final Report
• Assign companies in the study to individual workforce
investment areas, based upon geographic location, for followup business services
• Arrange LWIA business services staff consultation with
companies regarding recruitment solutions, such as listing job
openings, participating in One-Stop center employer
presentations, etc.
• Arrange LWIA business services staff consultation with
companies regarding education and training solutions, such as
customized training, on-the-job training (OJT), etc.
Team Response to Phase I Report
(continued)
• Transfer Career Ladder Data Base containing cross referenced
employers, occupations, career ladder rungs, salaries,
qualifications requirements training providers and sources of
funding to LWIA databases and post to LWIA web sites
• Correlate report findings with local labor market information
(LMI) provided by Regional Economist
• Combine consultant findings and LMI data into a summary
report
Team Response to Phase I Report (continued)
• Convene appropriate stakeholders in pursuit of High-Growth
Job Training Grants and other funding opportunities
• Present findings at Long Island LWIB meetings, to One-Stop
System/Center staff and in other venues.
• Facilitate meetings with the companies who participated in the
study and with those who are interested in participating in the
future to share findings conduct strategic planning and foster a
commitment to workforce investment actions
• Convene a summit with local school superintendents, local
university and proprietary school leaders, regents and all
interested stakeholders to share findings and describe
curricula development needs
The regional business services team has also implemented a grant for
career mapping in biotechnology
And is supporting an initiative for a skills center in retail trade
The partnerships and work in career mapping also helped leverage a
recent grant for the region in advanced manufacturing.
Workforce New York Long Island
Regional Business Services Team
Partnering and Career Mapping on
Long Island