Charter Communications, LLC

Transcription

1 Training Proposal for: Charter Communications, LLC Agreement Number: ET Panel Meeting of: May 24, 2012 ETP Regional Office: North Hollywood Analyst: M. Reeves PROJECT PROFILE Contract Attributes: SET Retrainee HUA Job Creation Initiative Counties Served: Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Ventura, Kern, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Shasta, Stanislaus, Tulare Industry Sector(s): Services Repeat Contractor: Yes No Union(s): Yes No Priority Industry: Yes No No. of Employees in CA: 1,250 No. of Employees Worldwide: 16,700 Turnover Rate % Manager/ Supervisor % 4% N/A FUNDING DETAIL Program Costs Substantial Contribution Total ETP Funding In-Kind Contribution $599,760 $0 $599,760 $603,806 ETP Single (02/13/12) 1 of 5

2 TRAINING PLAN TABLE Job No. 1 Retrainee SET 2 Retrainee SET HUA Job Description 3 Retrainee SET Job Creation Initiative Type of Training Business Skills, Commercial Skills, Computer Skills, Hazardous Materials Business Skills, Commercial Skills, Computer Skills, Hazardous Materials Business Skills, Commercial Skills, Computer Skills, Hazardous Materials Range of Estimated Hours No. of Trainees Class / CBT Lab Weighted Avg: 87 $1,740 $11.78 Minimum Wage by County: Job Number 1: $26.17 per hour for SET statewide average hourly wage. Job Number 2 SET/HUA Frontline Retrainees: $15.70 per hour in Los Angeles, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties; and $14.39 per hour in Kern, Riverside, San Bernardino, Shasta, Stanislaus and Tulare counties. Job Number 3 Job Creation Retrainees: $13.09 per hour in Los Angeles, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties; $11.91 per hour in Ventura County; and $11.78 per hour in Kern, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Shasta, Stanislaus and Tulare counties. Health Benefits: Yes No This is employer share of cost for healthcare premiums medical, dental, vision. Used to meet the Post-Retention Wage?: Yes No Maybe Up to $2.80 per hour may be used to meet the Post-Retention Wage Weighted Avg: Weighted Avg: 28 Average Cost per Trainee Post- Retention Wage $420 $26.17 $420 $14.39 Wage Range by Occupation Occupation Title Administrative Business Support Staff Warehouse Technician Direct Sales Representative Customer Service Sales Counter Staff Dispatch Staff Field Audit Technician Broadband Technician Construction Coordinator System Technician Headend Technician Total Quality Assurance (TQA) Inspector Investigator Wage Range ETP Single (02/13/12) 2 of 5

3 INTRODUCTION In this proposal, Charter Communications, LLC (Charter) seeks funding for retraining as outlined below: As one of the leading multiple system operators in the nation, Charter provides advanced video, high-speed internet, and telephone services to more than five million customers in 25 states. With its headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, Charter has 11 regional key market areas throughout the country, including California. The company s California market area provides installation, service calls, construction services, and customer lobby service seven days a week to residential and business customers. Charter s California locations do not face out-of-state competition. Therefore, this project will be funded under Special Employment Training (SET) for frontline workers. (Title 22, California Code of Regulations (CCR), Section 4409.) Training will take place at multiple Charter locations in California, including several sites located in designated high unemployment areas. PROJECT DETAILS To remain competitive, Charter is focused on technology upgrades such as fiber optics, new cable lines, switch gear upgrades, and customer service transformation. The company has budgeted approximately $18 million for technology upgrades this year for its California market area locations. Charter s proposed training plan has two primary objectives. The first objective is to equip workers with the knowledge and skills to properly operate and maintain the new technology upgrades the company will be implementing throughout the year. Secondly, training is intended to solidify operational standards designed to improve service efficiencies, business volume, and customer satisfaction. Charter s representative states that training will primarily be delivered by in-house subject matter experts. Business Skills training will be provided to Customer Service Sales Counter Staff, Direct Sales Representatives, Administrative Business Support Staff, Dispatch Staff, Total Quality Assurance (TQA) Inspectors and Investigators. These modules will focus on Sales Techniques, Product Knowledge, and Transaction Processing. Trainees will develop their customer relations skills and learn the benefits of effective communication. Commercial Skills training will be provided to System Technicians, Broadband Technicians, Headend Technicians, Construction Coordinators, Warehouse Technicians, TQA Inspectors, and Field Audit Technicians. This training will cover Technology and Equipment Skills related to cable distribution systems, including installation, quality control and inspection, cabling construction, and troubleshooting. Computer Skills training will be provided to all trainees and will be tailored to address computer-related functions and responsibilities by occupation. Hazardous Materials training will teach technicians the proper handling, disposal and record keeping of hazardous electronic waste. Special Employment Training Under SET, the participating employer is not required to demonstrate out-of-state competition. To qualify under SET, trainees must be earning at least the statewide average hourly wage at ETP Single (02/13/12) 3 of 5

4 the end of the retention period. (Unemployment Insurance Code ; Title 22, CCR, Section 4409(a).) Trainees in Job Number 1 will meet the statewide average hourly wage of $ SET/HUA ETP Minimum Wage The trainees in Job Number 2 work in a High Unemployment Area (HUA). This is a region with unemployment exceeding the state average by 15%, under the Panel s standards at Title 22, CCR, Section 4429(b). The determination of HUA status is based on unemployment data from the Labor Market Information Division of the Employment Development Department. The company s locations in the cities of Gilroy, Long Beach, Mojave, Porterville, Redding, Riverside, San Bernardino, Turlock, Victorville and Watsonville qualify for HUA status under these standards. These trainees qualify for the ETP Minimum Wage rather than the Statewide Average Hourly Wage. (Title 22, CCR, Section 4409(a)(7).) The Panel may modify the ETP Minimum Wage for these trainees by up to 25% if post-retention wages exceed the start-of-training wages. (Title 22, CCR, Section 4429(e).) However, the company s wages (including health benefits) meet the ETP Minimum Wage requirements. Therefore, Charter is not asking for a wage modification. Retrainee - Job Creation In support of Job Creation, the Panel is offering incentives to companies that commit to hiring new employees. Under the Retrainee-Job Creation program in Fiscal Year 2011/2012, training for newly hired employees will be reimbursed at a higher rate and trainees will be subject to a lower post-retention wage. In this proposal, Charter has committed to hiring 154 new employees as shown in Job Number 3. To be eligible for reimbursement under this Job Number, the trainees must be hired within the three-month period prior to Panel approval or during the term of contract. In an effort to expand its TQA group (comprised of only TQA Inspectors) and sales force, Charter s plans to hire approximately 154 new workers by the end of New employee positions will include Field Audit Technicians, TQA Inspectors, Direct Sales Representatives and Investigators. The company s Investigators work with Field Audit Technicians to identify cable theft and fraud. Charter s TQA group inspects all work following an installation to ensure that company and regulatory standards have been met. This group is also responsible for repairing and/or modifying anything determined to be out of compliance. Charter estimates that trainees in Job Number 3 will require an average of at least 87 hours of class/lab training. Although some Job Creation trainees are expected to receive in excess of 100 total hours of training in order to achieve satisfactory competency in the proposed curriculum topics. Commitment to Training Charter represents that ETP funds will not displace the existing financial commitment to training and anticipates that the opportunity for enhanced training made possible by ETP funds will encourage an ongoing financial commitment in this area. According to Charter s representative, in California the company spent $450,000 on training during 2011 and has budgeted approximately $200,000 for Charter has provided job specific and organization-wide training consisting of classroom, on-the-job, and lab training. Charter represents that safety training is, and will continue to be, provided in accordance with all pertinent requirements under state and federal law. Charter is fully committed to training and ETP Single (02/13/12) 4 of 5

5 building the skills of its employees and will continue providing training that enhances safety and improves productivity. RECOMMENDATION For the reasons set forth above, staff recommends approval of this proposal. DEVELOPMENT SERVICES N/A ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES N/A TRAINING VENDORS To Be Determined ETP Single (02/13/12) 5 of 5

6 Charter Communications, LLC ET Exhibit B: Menu Curriculum Class/Lab Hours Trainees may receive any of the following: BUSINESS SKILLS Sales Techniques Product Knowledge Customer Complaints Transaction Processing Customer Relations Report Writing and Editing Interpersonal/Communication Skills Inventory Control Wage and Hour/Electronic Timekeeping Information Security and Privacy COMMERCIAL SKILLS New Equipment/Technology Skills Troubleshooting Data Collection Customer Experience Skills Quality Control Installation Skills Construction Skills (site drawings, underground cable installation) Pole Climbing Signal Meter CB (Charter Business) Channel internet, hotel HD, video, phone, Ethernet over coaxial wireless COMPUTER SKILLS Microsoft Excel (Intermediate) Tablet Navigation (order entry and site map) HAZARDOUS MATERIALS E-Waste (proper handling, disposal and record keeping of electronic waste) Note: Reimbursement for retraining is capped at 200 total training hours per trainee, regardless of the method of delivery. ETP 100 Exhibit B Menu Curriculum (02/13/12) 1 of 1