Performance Monitoring Report:

Transcription

1 Performance Monitoring Report: Apprenticeship February 17, 2015

2 Discussion and Analysis For over a century, apprenticeship has been a cornerstone of technical education and a viable post-secondary learning option in Wisconsin. On-the-job learning of an employed apprentice, coupled with the applied learning at the technical college, continues to be a productive way for employers to train their workforce and for the employee to gain crucial knowledge and ability in their career field. More than ever before, employer efficiencies in training and the pressing need for a skilled workforce make apprenticeship a favorable education and training avenue. The curriculum is either developed statewide or authorized by the individual trade associations, depending on the respective trade. Our apprenticeship faculty members keep up-to-date with modifications in their fields through professional development offered by the trade associations, seminars, conferences, and in-house technology upgrades. Apprentice completers are among the highest skilled and highest paid technical workers within the Fox Valley workforce. With the American Apprenticeship Initiative at the national level, more community colleges are being encouraged to develop coursework along with labor and employer partnerships to support this effective dimension of workforce development. Laboratory capacity, state-of-the-art technology, and innovative faculty have advanced apprenticeship training into the 21st century with more technology and the integration of flexible learning options. Delivery options such as block scheduling are among many innovations that continue to develop across many of the educational offerings. With the availability of advanced technology resources, our employers continue to turn to FVTC to provide even more effective hands-on training to apprentices. The success of the apprentices in the FVTC region is a result of partners in industry that are willing to commit their time and talent to apprenticeship. This occurs through advisory committee commitments, curriculum development resources, capital acquisition, sponsorships, donations, and career field promotion. Total enrollments increased in as compared to The projected data for shows the enrollments up by over 200 students. Efforts to increase the awareness of the value of apprenticeship across the trades are among many contributing factors to the forecasted growth. This report emphasizes FVTC s commitment to meeting the skills gap needs of the district s employers. Our efforts have placed us at the top of the list of WTCS colleges in the number of apprentices served in with nearly a quarter of all WTCS apprentices enrolled at FVTC. Our continued effort to strengthen partnerships with employers in order to provide a relevant and meaningful training experience remains the focus of apprenticeship. Christopher Matheny Vice President Instructional Services Mike Cattelino Associate Dean - Manufacturing

3 Apprenticeship Purpose Defined Offer related academic and technical support courses for joint labor/management apprenticeship programs. PURPOSE What we do (Products and Services) Performance Scorecard SCORE For whom (Constituents) At what cost (Financial) Symbol FVTC Scorecard Legend Description Full Green Arrow: Results are meeting or exceeding expectations and no action is required. Partially Green Arrow: Results are progressing, but not at the expected levels. No action on the plan/efforts is required; however, there will be an increase in the monitoring of the plan. Yellow Arrow: Results are indicating caution with the existing plan/efforts and there is a need to review the existing plan. Partially Red Arrow: Results are below the expected levels and the existing plan is not working, but efforts are under way to take corrective actions and revise the plan. Full Red Arrow: Results are well below the expected levels and actions need to be taken immediately.

4 What We Do The Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards (BAS), a branch of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, regulates the training and certification for apprenticed trades in conjunction with employers, the Wisconsin Technical College System and trade advisory committees. Employers sponsor apprentices in selected industrial, construction and service trades for two to six years as paid employees and are responsible for teaching trade skills on the job. FVTC offers state-approved coursework related to the apprentice trade with an 80% common core curriculum statewide. While being sponsored (employed), the apprentice completes instruction related to their job (paid-related) through FVTC. In addition, some apprentices attend evening classes on an unpaid basis. Employer advisory committees meet with FVTC staff two to three times per year to discuss enrollments, curriculum, technology, and equipment purchases. The committees give direction and input regarding the need for new apprenticeships and suggest necessary changes in facilities and curriculum to be in sync with workplace trends. Some trades have local and/or regional Joint Apprenticeship Committees (JACs) who review the progress of current apprentices toward the successful completion of requirements of their apprenticeship. FVTC staff participates with the local JACs which are composed of equal numbers of employees (labor) and employers (contractors). Union organizations that are directly involved with FVTC apprenticeships include Local 400 (plumbers and steamfitters), and Local 139 (Wisconsin operating engineers). Since the organization of the Association of Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Wisconsin in 1987 as a non-union committee focused on the construction trades, FVTC has served both union and nonunion affiliated apprenticeships. FVTC provides apprenticeship instruction in 15 program areas. Table A identifies these programs as being in the industrial, construction, and service areas. These categories not only refer to the distinct setting of the apprentice job but involve some variation in the instructional experience and processes as well. Our instruction continues to blend classroom, hands-on, and technology enhanced learning through Interactive Television (ITV) and internet. Table A: Areas of Apprenticeship Training Industrial Construction Service Industrial Electrician ABC Electrician Cosmetology Machinist Electronic System Technician Maintenance Technician Operating Engineer Maintenance Mechanic / Pipe Fabricator Millwright Pipefitting Plumbing Sheet Metal Construction Steamfitting Tool & Die Steamfitting Service FVTC Apprenticeship programs offer various blended learning opportunities which combine hands-on experiences enhanced with theory and resources delivered online through Blackboard. This method allows for remote access of course resources by students and offers a discussion

5 mechanism without meeting face-to-face. The block scheduling format continues to evolve as employers, students, and instructors adjust to meeting for three straight days 5-6 times a year rather than one day every other week. Employers tend to prefer this from a work schedule perspective. FVTC apprenticeship staff work to continuously enhance the quality of apprenticeship through active partnerships. Key collaborations involve the sharing of instructional staff with other technical college districts (Table B). FVTC is also an active partner with training centers to enhance and maximize the resources available for apprenticeship training. Table B: Apprenticeship Collaborations Apprentice Programs Collaborations with Other Colleges Steamfitting FVTC shares instruction with Steamfitting Service NWTC apprentices at Local 400 Pipe Fabricator Training Center in Kaukauna Operating Engineer Plumbing Pipefitting FVTC courses are taught by Local 139 WTCS certified instructors to statewide apprentices at Training Center in Coloma FVTC contracts with NWTC and Nicolet for related instruction FVTC contracts with NWTC for related instruction Location Appleton Steamfitters and Plumbers Training Center Coloma Training Center FVTC Appleton Campus NWTC Green Bay Campus NATC Rhinelander Campus NWTC Green Bay Campus

6 For Whom In , FVTC had an increase in the number of apprenticeship students served (Figure 1). Table C shows the enrollment details of each apprenticeship area for the past three years. Projections for (Table C) indicate a continued upward turn in the total enrollments. Efforts to increase enrollments in the Industrial sector in yielded much higher enrollments. New enrollees were stable from Fall of 2013 to Fall of 2014 in all sectors (Table D). The BAS has taken a focused approach in marketing for industrial sector apprenticeships through a new marketing campaign in FVTC staff will continue their efforts to reach out to more K-12 districts to promote the opportunities, as well as making connections with employers that have not previously had apprentices. For , 433 employers had apprentices in the various trades at FVTC (Table C). Wisconsin Operating Engineers (Local 139) reports that their membership is over 600 employers, including contractors from out-of-state. FVTC currently serves apprentices from more than 200 of their members Figure 1: Students Served Through Apprenticeship 885 1, Source: WTCS Portal Report CLI proj.

7 Table C: Number of FVTC Apprenticeship Students and Employers by Program Program Title Proj. Number of Employers Served Service Programs Cosmetology Construction Programs Electrician (ABC) Plumbing Steamfitting Steamfitting Services Pipe Fabricator Operating Engineer Electronics Systems Technician Industrial Programs Industrial Electrician Machinist Tool & Die Maker Maintenance Mechanic/Millwright * Maintenance Technician Pipefitting GRAND TOTAL ** Source: WTCS Report CLI330 * Includes Millwright Pipefitter in WTCS reporting system ** WTCS client reporting indicates 885 apprentices in with the difference of 43 from FVTC records under investigation.

8 Table D: Number of New Apprenticeship Students Apprenticeship Program Fall 2013 New Fall 2014 New Cosmetology Service Programs Subtotal 9 12 Electrician (ABC) Plumbing Steamfitter (Construction) Steamfitter (Service) Pipe Fabricator Operating Engineer ABC Electronic System Technician Construction Programs Subtotal Industrial Electrician Machinist Maintenance Mechanic/Millwright Millwright/Pipefitter Industrial Pipefitter Maintenance Technician Tool and Die Industrial Programs Sub-Total Grand Total New Enrollments FVTC continues to outpace its peer benchmark colleges in providing apprenticeship training to meet the demands of district employers (Figure 2). All the benchmark colleges and the state as a whole are experiencing an upward trend in apprentice enrollments which mirror the improving economy in many areas of Wisconsin. FVTC apprenticeship enrollments rank number one in the state. FVTC enrollments increased about 17% compared to the statewide overall increase about 11% from to Colleges serving the larger Wisconsin urban centers combined have 26% of the total WTCS apprenticeship enrollments with MATC-Madison at 508 and MATC Milwaukee at 457. FVTC alone has 23.6% of the statewide total apprenticeship enrollments.

9 Figure 2: FVTC Apprenticeship Students Served Compared to WTCS Benchmarks Waukesha County Milwaukee WTCS Total = 3, WTCS Total = 3,750 Northeast WI Madison Fox Valley Source: WTCS Database ,000 Completer Satisfaction and Wages As a result of their apprenticeship completion, workers are reporting wages averaging $61,814 annually in with variations by occupation as noted in Table E (Note: some apprenticeship programs had less than 3 respondents to the survey, therefore, average annual wages are not displayed in the table for those programs). FVTC apprenticeship completers indicate consistently high satisfaction with their instruction (Figure 3). Table E: Wage Impact Data for Apprenticeship Completers Plan Description Hourly Wage Annual Wage* Hours Per Week Plumbing $31.98 $66, Electrician (ABC) $24.18 $50, Electronic Systems Technician $22.75 $47, Industrial Electrician $28.80 $59, Maintenance Mechanic/Millwright $26.33 $54, Operating Engineer $34.47 $71, Pipe Fabricator $34.42 $71, Steamfitter $34.82 $72, Source: 2013 Apprenticeship Graduate Survey *Annual wage=hourly rate x 40 hours (does not include overtime)

10 60% Figure 3: Percent of Completers Satisfied with Apprenticeship Instruction 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Very Satisfied Satisfied Unsatisfied Very Unsatisfied 2011 (N=84) 57% 42% 1% 0% 2013 (N=61) 52% 43% 5% 0% 2014 (N=90) 54% 42% 3% 0% Source: 2010, 2011 & 2013 Apprentice Survey (Note: WTCS did not conduct the survey in 2012) Opportunities for Improvement State industry advisory committees for apprenticeships recommended that instructional teams work together to standardize and document the curriculum across Wisconsin apprenticeships. The goal is for all similar apprenticeship programs to agree upon the competencies expected to be taught and performed by apprentices in their program areas. This collaboration is achieved through group meetings of instructors from across the state. In , collaborative meetings for the Machinists/Tool & Die, Maintenance Technician, and others, have been conducted with instructors as well as instructional leadership in attendance. The results of this effort is monitored by each trade s statewide industry advisory committee. The FVTC Plumbing apprenticeship was a fortunate recipient of Sector Alliance for the Green Economy (SAGE) grant funds. The funds were utilized to procure plumbing technology that connects to solar-thermal panels in order to heat water for either building comfort or water supply. The system will be installed in the plumbing lab area throughout the Fall 2015 semester by apprentices in a manner that can be replicated by apprentices in subsequent years. In , a large electrical contractor in our district decided to move their Wisconsin Construction Electrical (ABC) apprenticeship to the federal model. The federal model requires no formal affiliation with any post-secondary school. As a result, Faith Technologies is no longer sending their new ABC Construction Electricians apprentices to FVTC. They have committed to allow the current apprentices to complete their paid related instruction at FVTC. The resulting decline in new apprentices (Table D) from 73 to 23 was significant, but there was an increase in the number of employers served from 23 to 28 (Table C).

11 At What Cost Figure 4 reflects the fact that tuition revenue increased with rise in enrollment shown in Figure 1. The apprenticeship area does not have a discrete budget since the College budgets according to academic division area and not by type of instruction (aid code). $600,000 Figure 4: Funding From Tuition $500,000 $400,000 $300,000 $200,000 $100,000 $0 Source: FVTC Database *Exclusive of Tax Levy & State Aid Tuition $334, $393, $486,534 Figure 5 indicates an upturn in instructional costs for the apprenticeship purpose of the College on par with the increase in students served. FTE s increased by 16% from 102 in to 121 in The cost per FTE was stable from the previous year due to larger class sizes without additional cost of contract instructors. Costs include the support of the following instructional staff who teach in a variety of the apprenticeship programs: 8 FVTC full-time apprenticeship instructors 9 FVTC full-time instructors with apprenticeship classes as part of their teaching load 3 adjunct faculty who teach apprenticeship classes 1 instructor who teaches half-time apprenticeship and the balance in contract training 30 training center instructors supported through a reimbursement arrangement (Local 139 and Local 400)

12 FVTC supports ongoing investments to maintain state-of-the-art dedicated laboratory facilities for apprenticeship programs. This level of service for the district apprentice trades is frequently referenced as an effective model and leader among apprentice programs in the WTCS. Figure 5: Apprenticeship Instructional Costs and Instructional Cost per FTE $1,320,000 $1,200,000 $1,080,000 $960,000 $840,000 $720,000 $600,000 $480,000 $360,000 $240,000 $120,000 $ Instructional Cost $945,052 $1,064,265 $1,170,510 Cost per FTE $10,385 $10,434 $9,666 $16,000 $14,000 $12,000 $10,000 $8,000 $6,000 $4,000 $2,000 $0 Source: Internal Staff Accounting (Instructional Expenditures)