Ensuring a Quality Workforce Via Skill Standards and Certifications

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Ensuring a Quality Workforce Via Skill Standards
and Certifications

• Presented by the Palm Beach County Workforce
  Development Board

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Overview

• How are nationally recognized, industry-based
  skill standards and occupational certifications
  being used within the workforce investment system
  in South Florida?
• Why use skill standards and certifications? What
  benefits do we expect to derive?
• What are the implications for other workforce
  boards and states?

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Background

• Local Labor Market single county the size of
  the state of Delaware, urban/rural mix, 66 small
  business (9 of total employment) predominantly a
  service economy, IT/high tech hub, low
  unemployment)
• Key workforce issues lack of skilled workers,
  particularly in high growth IT industry, poor
  work ethic, high turnover rates in certain
  service industries
• Mission to build an integrated workforce
  development system that meets employers needs
  and is continuously improving
• Local system 5 one-stops, 27 Board-approved
  training providers, training for 100 demand
  occupations

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Why Skill Standards?

• Provide a common language and framework for
• employers - to communicate workforce skill needs
  to educators, trainers and prospective employees
• workforce boards - to communicate requirements
  for certification of of training providers
• educators/trainers - to communicate to students
  what is expected by industry
• workers - to communicate the skills they have or
  need
• Certificate portability, skill transferability
  and worker mobility

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Our Experience

• Competency-based training under JTPA
• Pre-Employment/work maturity Skills
• Basic Skills
• Job Specific Skills
• On-the-Job Training
• Customized Training

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Lessons Learned

• Positive impact on skill development
• Delineated a clear path for participant
• Employers liked training plans
• Outcomes improved
• Consistency important to success
• Employer input is critical
• Skill standards must meet industry needs and
  labor market diversity
• Cumbersome paperwork not acceptable

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The Transition to a Workforce Investment System

• Florida anticipated the Workforce Investment Act
  and moved to workforce investment system in 1996
• Created unified strategy for linking education,
  economic development and workforce development to
  School to Work, Welfare to Work and creation of
  High Skill/High Wage jobs
• Palm Beach and Treasure Coast WDBs identified
  employer as primary customer
• Conducted local, annual web-based survey of
  employers needs
• Local boards began creating unified strategies
  with economic development and education partners
  for addressing needs (Business Partnership
  Councils)
• InternetCoast established in IT industry need for
  high tech workers

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Key Concepts in Palm Beach County

• Employer as primary customer
• Continuous improvement model - ask what is needed
  and deliver
• Improve quality by creating unified approach
  (Business Partnership Councils) and basing system
  on industry-driven skill standards and
  occupational certifications
• Workforce 2020 - chamber-led initiative serves as
  broker and marketing arm to business

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Workforce Certification Project

• Purpose develop a Workforce Certification Model
  by January 2002 that includes
• locally and nationally recognized work readiness
  (soft skills) and occupational skill standards
• appropriately aligned courses of study, curricula
  and training activities, and
• related assessments and certifications that are
  accepted by local employers

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Partners

• Palm Beach County Workforce Board
• Treasure Coast Workforce Board
• Palm Beach Community College
• Indian River Community College
• and the National Skill Standards Board

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Strategies

• Partnerships between Boards, community colleges
  and NSSB (create development team)
• Employer focus groups using a team approach
• NSSB as research engine
• Extensive marketing to employers
• ERISS.com as common thread for LMI and
  dissemination

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Project Design

• 2 components - work readiness skill standards and
  occupational certifications for occupations in
  demand
• Treasure Coast WDB is lead on work readiness
  skills
• Palm Beach WDB is lead on occupational skills
• Employers from both areas will participate in
  work readiness and occupational skills focus
  groups
• Community colleges will develop curriculum based
  on employer input

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Project Overview

• Work Readiness Certification Develop local,
  industry-driven skill standards and certification
  for soft skills
• Occupational Certifications Develop model for
  certifying training providers in 4 critical
  occupations
• 3 will use existing, nationally recognized,
  industry-based skill standards and occupational
  certifications (electronic tech, machinist and
  customer service rep)
• 1 will involve development of locally driven
  skill standards and certification (software
  developer)

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Project Goals and Objectives

• 1. Develop regional, employer-driven Work
  Readiness Certification (soft skills) for
  incorporation into one-stop system
• identify work readiness skills and skill
  standards
• develop related work readiness curricula,
  training activities, assessment and certification
  procedures
• certify one-stop providers of work readiness
  training and ensure that job seeker customers are
  Work Readiness Certified

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Project Goals and Objectives

• 2. Develop model for certifying training
  providers using existing nationally recognized,
  industry-based skill standards and occupational
  certifications for 3 demand occupations
• match occupations to nationally recognized,
  industry-based certifications
• validate skills/standards with local industry
• locate or develop matching training programs
• pilot test and refine training programs and
  certify entry-level incumbent and dislocated
  workers in these three occupations
• utilize these certifications as basis for
  selecting other WIA training providers and
  require Training Warranty provision

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Project Goals and Objectives

• 3. Develop skill standards and certification for
  the demand occupation of software developer, for
  which national standards do not currently exist.
• develop and validate local industry-driven
  software developer skill standards
• develop related software developer course of
  study, assessments and certification procedures
• pilot test and refine training program and
  certify entry-level, incumbent and dislocated
  workers
• use this certification as basis for selecting
  other WIA training providers and require
  Training Warranty

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Timeline

• Phase 1 Planning
• 6/1/00 - 8/31/00
• Phase 2 Analysis of Employer
• 9/1/00-3/31/01 Needs and Validation of
  Occupations
• Phase 3 Development and
• 4/1/01-12/31/01 Implementation, Pilot
  Testing, Evaluation and Refinement

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Current Status of Work Readiness Project

• Identified possible skill sets
• Are conducting employer focus groups for skill
  validation, identifying competency levels and
  assessment methods
• Will meet with other stakeholders to share and
  refine information and write curricula
• Will pilot test training, certify job seekers
• Will evaluate and refine products and replicate
  statewide by July 2001

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Work Readiness Skill Sets

• Pre-Employment/Career Decision Making/Career
  Advancement
• Work Maturity (Punctuality)
• Employability (Listening)
• Academic (Reading)
• Occupational/Technical (Customer Service)
• General Business Concepts (Production Profit
  Job Security)

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Current Status of Occupational Skills Project

• identified 4 critical occupations (electronic
  technician, customer service rep, machinist and
  software developer)
• NSSB researched and matched 3 occupations to
  existing, nationally recognized certifications
• next steps
• employer validation of skill standards and
  selection of certification vendors
• locate or develop training programs
• pilot test, evaluate and refine the training
  program
• train and certify entry-level, transitional or
  incumbent and dislocated workers
• Incorporate training warranty and procure
  training providers

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Expected Benefits

• Increased demand for workers trained through our
  one-stop system
• High quality training based on locally and
  nationally recognized skill standards that result
  in higher skilled job seekers whose skills are
  portable
• Recognized certifications for job seekers
• Training Warranties for employers
• Increased collaboration between Boards (regions)
  and community colleges

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Implications for other Workforce Boards

• Economic development entities and employers are
  partners in this process, which helps to ensure
  that the workforce development and economic
  development systems are converging to address key
  economic challenges
• NSSB projects are creating best practices for how
  to work with employers to utilize existing
  nationally recognized, industry-based skill
  standards occupational and certifications within
  the WIA system
• Processes and products created under this and
  other NSSB skill standards projects are highly
  replicable
• Our project takes a holistic view in addressing
  both the soft skills and technical occupational
  skill needs of the workforce

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For more information, contact

• Catherine Noel
• Palm Beach County Workforce Development Board
• 561-841-0221 or cnoel_at_pbcworks.com
• or visit website at www.pbcworks.com
• Gwenda Thompson
• Workforce Board of the Treasure Coast
• 561-335-3030 or gthompson_at_tcjobs.org
• or visit website at www.tcjobs.org