a NEW kind of Boot Camp

When you hear the words Boot Camp, you may be thinking..no thanks. I mean, after all, Boot Camp can be correctly described in either of the following two ways according to the internet:

Boot Camp

Noun:

A military training camp for new recruits. A prison for youthful offenders, run on military lines.

Not this Boot Camp though...






W.O.W Workforce Development's Boot Camps are specific to what the workforce demands. In this case, what we have here is a CNC Boot Camp. Time and time again, we here the following phrase from employers: "I can't find any qualified and skilled workers." If you happen to browse a job board for manufacturing careers, I can almost guarantee that wherever you look- you will see openings for a CNC machinist in SE Wisconsin.

How it worked:
11 unemployed individuals are currently enrolled in the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) program. Those 11 individuals are sent to school to receive FREE training in Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machining. This specific class will endure a very intense 6 week training that, upon completion, will certify them as entry-level CNC machinists. The training takes place both in the classroom as well as in the state-of-the-art machining lab on the Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) campus. These individuals will attend training on Monday-Thursdays from 12:00pm-9:00pm and Fridays from 8:00am-5:00pm.  In depth training includes: Blueprint Reading, Math, Manual Machining, CNC Turning and CNC Machining. Upon successful completion of the 6 week crash course in CNC; Workforce Development, Inc. is working to have a 100% placement rate upon graduation.

How do we do that? About half way through the training, the Employer Relations Unit of Workforce Development Inc. (WDI) works together to bring in employers that are hiring for exactly that: CNC Machinists. Invitations were sent out to a large number of Waukesha County Employers, and the 12 company maximum filled up literally overnight. The goal of this event is to give the individuals some one on one interviewing and facetime with a potential employer. As you can see in some of the pictures- applications can and will be filled out on the spot for future employment. Alongside the Employer Visit Day, we have also arranged for two guest speakers to come in and speak to the class about Manufacturing as a whole, career paths to pursue, what it takes to be successful and job security as a skilled worker. This has shown to stabilize our retention rates of the participants under such a demanding schedule. The picture(s) above and the ones that follow were taken on Employer Visit Day. This event was held at the Waukesha County Workforce Development Center on July 25th, 2012.

The program is designed to align our current trainings with what the employers are screaming for: skilled workers. Upon successful completion, it is our goal to have all the individuals start a job with On-the-Job (OJT) funding...compliments of the TIME grant from WDI!

A special thank you goes out to those employers that came out and interviewed our fellow Boot Camp participants:

1. A.S. Pindel Corp: New Berlin
2. GE Energy: Waukesha
3. Generac Corporation: Waukesha
4. Grede Holdings LLC: Menomonee Falls
5. In-Place Machining: Milwaukee
6. Premier Paper Converting Machinery: New Berlin
7. ValveWorks USA: New Berlin
8. V&L Tool: Waukesha
9. Versevo Inc: Harland
10. Waukesha Metal Products: Sussex
11. Waukesha Foundry: Waukesha
12. Wisconsin Metal Parts: Waukesha







TIME for Collaboration

From left to right: Dale P. Kooyenga, Wisconsin Legislator-14th Assembly District Representative; Reggie Newson, Secretary, State of Wisconsin - DWD; Carrie Hersh, Program Manager -WRTP/BIG STEP; Joe Nicosia, Industry Representative -WRTP/BIG STEP; Rebecca Kleefisch, Lieutenant Governor - State of Wisconsin; Rhandi Berth, Vice President - WRTP/BIG STEP; Francisco "Paco" Sanchez, President - WOW Workforce Development Inc.; Dr. Barbara Prindiville, President - Waukesha County Technical College; Bryan Obst, Corporate Recruiter for Trace-A-Matic Corporation; and Ed Graunke, Operations Manager for Trace-A-Matic Corporation.

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Today we celebrate new beginnings. New beginnings for businesses, new beginnings for people's lives and their families, new beginnings for collaboration and new beginnings for workforce, economic and business development. Those individuals shown above, along with many others, are a prime example of what can be accomplished by working together.

We come together today for the graduation of 11 customized training graduates. 11 graduates, whom before were unemployed. 11 graduates who stuck it out through the course of a grueling training period. 11 graduates (8 men and 3 women) who will be joining the manufacturing workforce! Congratulations to you and I wish you all the very best of luck.

A brief informative workshop to explain this collaborative success:

It all starts with the company; more specifically, a company that is hiring. A company that cannot find the skilled workers that they need. A company willing to work with others; and, a company that wants to grow. Yes, Trace-A-Matic (traceamatic.com), is the driving force behind this project. Recruitment efforts through the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (WRTP) is where our students came from. WRTP performs an in-depth recruiting process- sometimes starting with as many as 300 potential candidates.

The company is established (Trace-A-Matic), the needs are identifed (CNC Machinists), and now we dip into the pots of two substantial forms of grant money available; TIME and WIA funding.  It is through the WIA funding that these individuals are sent to school, to be trained, absolutely free. While in the customized program, these individuals perform on the job shadowing at their soon-to-be employers; as well as training on machines and coursework, specific to what their job will entail.

Once the individuals graduate (8-12 weeks: in this case, 8 weeks), they start their new job with (TIME) on-the-job training dollars. The employer will be reimbursed a portion of each new hires training salary during a clearly defined training period  

To make it short and sweet; Employers are getting freshly trained workers, trained specific to that companies unique skillsets, as well as receiving between $4-5,000 in training reimbursement (per each new hire). None of this is costing the Employer a dime; in fact, if you read that correctly- they are making money while gaining fresh talent.

Sound familiar? This is our second successful project that has put people to work:  http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/barrett-to-unveil-customtailored-job-training-plan-v545b5t-139166399.html

There is training currently in session and several more in the works. If you would like to know more about how it works, just ask. For now-  It's TIME to celebrate some success. Have a great weekend!