BTC proposing education center to fight 'skills gap' cited by employers
JANESVILLE — A shortage of qualified workers could be the main hindrance for Rock County employers who’ve indicated that they plan to expand their operations or introduce new products in the near future.
That’s an early finding of a two-year survey of local companies by Rock County 5.0, a five-year public/private economic development initiative designed to reposition and revitalize the county’s economy.
“The same things we’re hearing locally about the skills gap is what we’re reading about nationally,” said James Otterstein, Rock County’s economic development manager.
Since early 2010, Rock County 5.0 has been meeting with the leaders of 100 county companies who employ more than 10,000 people. The goal has been to compile as much information as possible about industry needs for both the short and long terms.
A final report will be issued early next year, but Otterstein said Friday the findings are becoming clear: Growth and expansion is planned but only if employers can recruit workers with the needed technical skills.
Blackhawk Technical College is aware of the skills gap and is working to reduce it, BTC President Tom Eckert said Friday at a meeting of local employers.
The session’s purpose was to get employers’ input on their workforce needs and how BTC can help.
Eckert unveiled one idea, the creation of an off-campus “Advanced Manufacturing Training Center” that would change the face of the area’s technical education offerings, particularly as they relate to local manufacturing.
The proposal is still in a formative stage, but Eckert said BTC has partnered with the Beloit-based Hendricks Development Group to renovate about 80,000 square feet of the Iron Works complex in Beloit.
BTC will raise private money to create about 65,000 square feet of lab space and 4,000 square feet of classrooms for BTC’s manufacturing-related programs. BTC will then lease the space from Hendricks.
The center, Eckert said, will be flexible and incorporate the latest in manufacturing technology for use across several programs.
One thing it won’t do, however, is look like the stereotypical manufacturing plants of decades past.
“One of the images traditionally associated with manufacturing is that it’s dirty, dark and dangerous,” Eckert said. “We want to convince students that that these are clean, highly automated, good-paying jobs.”
That will be reflected in a portion of the center’s name.
“Advanced manufacturing” is an industry tag designed to capture the integration of technology and automation in the manufacturing process. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor defines it as “the accelerated use of high-tech processes in the manufacturing plant.”
Eckert said the center will give BTC the space necessary to make the college’s program more relevant in a new and evolving manufacturing climate.
It also will draw manufacturers to the area and help those already here with their growth and expansion.
“The center, with its expanded training facility and state-of-the-art equipment and curriculums, will be a showcase ready to meet employer needs,” Eckert said.
Reaching potential students earlier in their education is critical in changing the image and meeting employers’ needs, he said, adding that the center will work closely with area school districts to develop career pathways.
Eckert said the pavers for those pathways can be laid as early as the sixth grade, and career decisions often are solidified by the ninth grade.
That means that if technical educators are to sell advanced manufacturing as a viable career path, it needs to be done earlier, he said.
Dec 14, 2011 at 11:47 a.m.
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Crunch,
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The "career pathways" model is now what you think.
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It allows students as young as 6th graders to have some control and continue to study things they are interested in... It allows for curriculum to be "taylored", for example; so that students who like to work with their hands can have geometry and trig classes that relate to what they want to do. Accomplishing both trade education and plain old arithmitic... Teaching to the test that has practical application in real life..
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I'm not saying the "career pathways" model is perfect.. Far from it.. But the concept should not be jettisoned so quickly.
Dec 14, 2011 at 8:26 a.m.
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The companies should be training these people with the specific skills they need. Alot of the teachers at blackhawk tech college do not know how to teach. All they do is tell the students to read chapters and test them and rush them through the course. Students don't grasp or learn when they are rushed. They need hands on training on alot of the courses, not just reading and testing. Students can do that at home online at their own pace, if that's all there's to alot of the classes.
Dec 13, 2011 at 11:16 a.m.
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Skills that area manufacturers taught me that were invaluable...statistical process control, blue print reading, and the use of precision measuring equipment (i.e. CMM, Smartscope, comparators, calipers, micrometers...ect).
Dec 13, 2011 at 4:05 a.m.
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Er wait, we need to use tax dollars to fund education for entry level jobs that companies don't want to train for....but just not pay the teachers anything? I don't know how this works...
Dec 13, 2011 at 3:41 a.m.
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lmmfao What an oxymoron...
"pre trained" ENTRY level factory workers? I'd rather throw my money at improving the ice arena. Let companies train their own workers.
Dec 11, 2011 at 8:32 a.m.
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If a company needs task-specific skills, they should be on the hook to provide the training to entry-level employees. Companies tend to generalize and say that workers lack 'technical skills', but they never speak in terms of specific skills that are lacking. To expect that tax dollars to be spent to provide task-specific skills for companies is a form of corporate welfare and seems to have evolved into an entitlement.
Dec 11, 2011 at 8:07 a.m.
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Maybe if employers who need those with certain skills were more apt to train people themselves instead of relying on schools to do it, they'd find the people they need. There will still be a bottleneck, just like during the nursing shortage, or any other program that trains people in demand. Waiting lists years long to even start a program.
Dec 10, 2011 at 8:13 p.m.
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If BTC isn't in a budget crisis, it is news to students and instructors. There have been major cut backs this year. There is no money for rehiring full time instructors who were working on contracts and instead part time adjunct instructors are being hired to teach one or two classes. Programs that used to offer both classroom and on-line classes now have only the classroom option available for this coming spring semester. (So working people who want to update their skills and stay employed are out of luck.) The current plan is that summer school classes will only be offered for general ed classes (English, Math, Ethics, etc.) and none of the technical classes will be offered in summer. Students were told this past September that due to the Walker budget cuts, BTC was going to be a lot "leaner and meaner". So far that is true and quality is starting to go downhill. And area employers say they need more people with technical skills...
Dec 10, 2011 at 6:05 p.m.
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Its about time! Great idea!
Dec 10, 2011 at 5:38 p.m.
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BTC isn't in a budget crisis per se -- they actually reduced their levy this cycle.
http://www.blackhawk.edu/NewsEvents/Medi...
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The article says the center will be fitted out using (at least some) private money, and the needs assessment report isn't even due until next year, so it's premature to talk about costs. In broad strokes, though, this looks like a smart thing for BTC to be doing to support the employment needs of the district.
Dec 10, 2011 at 4:43 p.m.
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What's the cost of getting the center up and running? With the budget crisis where will the money come from?
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