ACT Work Ready Effort

Pottawatomie County, KS

2019 KANSAS AND MISSOURI ACT CONFERENCE

KANSAS CITY, MO

SEPTEMBER 2019

Pottawatomie County, Kansas

The city of Manhattan, KS (KSU) is partially in Pott County

Population of county: 23,000; expected to grow 35-40% by 2035. (NBAF)

Median Household Income: approx. $63,000; Blue Twp. Near Manhattan:

$74,000.

Four cities besides Manhattan: Four high schools, five school districts.

95.9% high school degree or higher; 32.2% bachelors or higher

2nd lowest mill levy in the state of 103 counties.

2 technical colleges in Manhattan (west side), one in Topeka (30 miles)

1 community college satellite (Highland)

Still very rural; top beef producing county in the state, as well as soybeans

PCEDC Profile

Resolution of the county; commissioners appoint 13 person board

of directors.

75 investors : 501 (c) 6.

Own 3 industrial parks in three separate areas of the county.

Reorganized 2013, new director September 2014

Labor and Targeting Study completed December 2014.

2nd Labor Report completed late 2018 (in cooperation with

Manhattan)

Process for Becoming Work Ready: BEW1) PCEDC Board of Directors approves PCEDC Implementation Plan June 2015.

2.) Creation and Kickoff of Business Education Workforce (BEW) August 2015.

3.) BEW I: October 2015: Development of Critical Issues Facing Workforce Development in Area. (60 stakeholders)

4.) BEW Report Written: Table Captains for Each Issue Prepare: Nov. 2015-Feb. 2016

5.) BEW II: February 2016: Development of Goals, Objectives, and Strategies (65 stakeholders)

6.) Writing of SWIP: April-May 2016; Approval by Table Captains

7.) SWIP Rollout: June 23, 2016: 55 in attendance

8.) Employer visits and Sign ups to support WorkReady: July- August 2016

9.) Executive Director and individual school superintendents attended Work Ready Academies, Feb, June, Sept,, and December 2016

Participation of BEW

September 2014- December 2014: interviews with 50 business

leaders

BEW participation:

35 business leaders (majority Human Resource Directors)

32 educators (4 superintendents, 5 guidance counselors, 2 college Presidents)

2 elected officials, 2 municipal leaders

14 workforce providers (KS Works, Heartland Works)

12 hours of the BEW Workshops, =50 participants times 12 hours = 600 workforce

volunteer hours, not including extra time put in by all table captains.

The six

goals of the

SWIP

I. Enhancing Employability

Skills

II. Enhancing Career Clusters and Pathways

III. Marketing and Support for Talent Attraction

and Retention

IV. Employing Disabled and

Disenfranchised

V. Enhance Availability &

Affordability of Child Care

VI. Education Legislation

I. Enhancing Employability Skills

Objective A: Promotion and Development of the ACT Work Ready System by Leveraging National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC)

1.) test all high school juniors in Work Keys

2.) ensure registration with KS Works and ACT

3.) enhance scores with Key Train (now Work Keys Curriculum)

4.) Work with educators on Key Train

5.) Implement ACT Soft Skills Suite and offer online.

I. Enhancing employability skills

Objective B: Engage Stakeholders at all levels Throughout the

County and Outside the County

1.) Hold BEW Roundtables yearly (perhaps as region)

2.) County to have proclamation for Work Ready County

3.) Continue to attend Work Ready Academies

4.) use ACT Work Ready as docking station-onboarding

I. Enhancing employability skills

Objective C: : Engage a minimum of 30 employers in and outside the

county who use the ACT Work Keys

1.) visit with 60 employers about Work Ready System (80 signed)

2.) Encourage employers to use NCRC

3.) Encourage appropriate people being involved

4.) help companies with how they can use Work Keys/NCRC

5.) Expose employers to ACT Job Profiling system.

II. Career clusters and Pathways

Objective: Involve the key

stakeholders in industry to be active

with the schools

Businesses visit classrooms (4th

grade)

Communication between HRMN

and schools/Career Fairs, etc.

Engage STEM companies with

schools

II. Career

Clusters

and

Pathways

Objective: Continue promotion of Dual Credit

throughout the county with colleges and technical

colleges

1.) Promote dual credit with Senate Bill 155

2.) Encourage dual credit coursework to be made

available for technical positions such as health care,

information technology, CAD and graphic arts,

welding and machining

3.) Dual credit classes online or through distance

learning/two-way videoconferencing

4.) Deliver hybrid approaches whereby a

postsecondary faculty member is the online instructor

of record while a high school instructor ensures that

the student is making progress and provides

additional instruction as needed.

II. Career Clusters and Pathways

Objective: Build a strategic program designed to erase the stigma

of career and technical education

1.) Gather a task force that will address the post-secondary stigma issue and is

responsible for developing programs that will enhance technical career awareness.

2.) research on how the perception is of technical workers, technical colleges and

wage/salaries of graduates of technical colleges

3.) students sign agreements with press and parents in attendance to attend the

community or technical college.

4.) Build and develop programs for teacher externships wherein teachers can earn

college credits as well as get paid for summers

II. Career Clusters and Pathways

Objective: Helping individuals improve workplace skills by fostering individual and organizational success through skills development. ACT Career Curriculum

Adopt and Utilize Career Ready 101(2019)

Adopt Key Train and enhance foundations for career readiness

Adopt ACT Soft Skills Suite, which, is a series of courses to help individuals improve skills critical for on-the-job success

Other Goals in Strategic Workforce

Plan

III : Retain and Recruit Young Talent (work closely with KSU and Manhattan/Washburn TechGOAL

IV: Enhance Child Care Affordability and Availability (rolled parts of this into Work Keys scores)GOAL

V: Enhance Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities, Ex- Offenders, Less FortunateGOAL

VI: Support Education LegislationGOAL

Results in Pottawatomie County

Schools began Work Keys testing in October 2015

80 employers signed up

Minimum 500 + emerging (high schools have taken Work Keys)

Commitment from all schools to continue testing

Transitional goal also met but difficult (no Kansas Works office in county)

Regional effort a possibility soon; Geary County 100%

HR managers learn details on Work Ready and its significance

Hit 100% of goal while attending Academy IV, December 2016

Hit Maintenance Status February 2018.

Purchased Work Keys Curriculum for USD 320 & 321

Extending workforce program into Riley County with Workforce Crisis Summit in 2018 & 2019 in and Labor Analysis in 2018

Hit double maintenance in April 2019

Public Relations Plan Have decided to launch campaign highlighting Work Keys with

the target audience being parents

Particularly concerned about parents of college bound students

close to 50% high school graduates enter 4 year

Hit Facebook and newspapers, did radio show

Currently using Constant Contact to reach 1,000 +

Paid ads in paper on the first 44 companies that have signed on

as “champions”.

Hit TV show in Topeka and Topeka Capital Journal Sunday edition

Went “door to door” after letter went to Advanced Pott investors.

Had quarterly WorkReady newsletter, featuring best practices around the nation

Follow Ups and Successes

Now have monthly Pottawatomie County

Work Ready newsletter.

Use Case Studies on Work Ready web site.

Local HR Manager from tooling company has

issued testimonial

Largest employer in the county is starting to use program; meeting with

high schools to add Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator into curricula.

Wamego High using scores to build into IPS and develop career

pathways

Students(Emerging) scores risen: 47

platinums

Improved scores/WorkReady students

11, 12%

13, 14%

32, 35%

36, 39%

Wamego High School Work Keys Scores

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze

9, 14%

13, 21%

21, 34%

19, 31%

Rock Creek High School Work Keys Scores

Platinum Gold Silver Bronze

Successes and challenges of the

SWIP Four school districts with different career and technical education

programs

Kaw Valley has established dual credit relationship with Washburn, Wamego working with Manhattan Tech.

YEP and Peer Chamber successful in Wamego, St. Marys has clusters, Rock Creek will be technology driven. (Rock Creek now Peer Chamber)

Piggybacked with Manhattan Chamber to run 4th grade program.

Some employers not as heavily engaged; some using it as docking station, Sarto Countertops, Custom Woods, Florence Manufacturing, R-Tech Tool & Machine. Others highly encourage: Bayer, MCM.

Wamego Junior PlatinumRock Creek Junior Platinum

ACT Work Ready Boot Camp

August 2019

Boot Camp Participants Local Employers and KS Works

Success and Challenges of our Plan

The Success: Stakeholders Engaged, SHRM Chapter motivated, workforce

development has gotten attention. Plan written. Schools are engaged heavily.

All taking Work Keys. Employers are signing. 95% for 2018, Custom Wood

Products-job profile, GTM: working with schools. Sarto: new building &

expansion. Geary County now Certified Work Ready.

The Challenge: Keep everyone engaged; make transition on a regional level,

sign up employers (labor pool is so small they can’t afford to wait for an

assessment) (nearby county: Geary is signing up employers). Three new

superintendents (of 4). Have bigger challenges!! Need more PR about Work

Keys, Work Keys Cuuricula . Biggest challenge: Getting state all aboard.

Soultion: Held ACT Work Ready Boot Camp in August 2019.

“one of the main reasons that they decided to remain in Pottawatomie

County was because of the strong work force and the county’s

commitment to workforce readiness through ACT WorkReady program.

Pottawatomie County is one of only three counties in the state that is

Certified WorkReady”…… Robert Weimann, Co-Owner, Sarto

Countertops

“Being A Work Ready Community Champion allows the ease of hiring

the best people, and trust what you hired them to do. It allows me to help match the employees to jobs based on verified skill levels. Finding

the candidate who possesses the proper trade skill through the ACT

Work Ready Program reduces the overall recruiting, onboarding and

training cost. It’s a win-win for all involved."

Tracey Faulkner

Director of Human Resources

R-Tech Tool & Machine, Inc.

Hit douBlE Maintenance 2019

Questions?

THANK YOU,

JACK ALLSTON, CECD, FM, IOM, HLM