Seven NWTC students win gold at SkillsUSA State Conference

From nwtc.edu: “Seven NWTC students win gold at SkillsUSA State Conference” — Seven Northeast Wisconsin Technical College trades students will compete against
the nation’s best after taking gold in the SkillsUSA Wisconsin State Leadership & Skills Conference April 29-30 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.

NWTC students Trevor Lustilla, Brandon Janssen, Chris Lacenski, Jacob Schultz and a team of Brent Champan, Jeff Lidbury, and Nathan Mertens each captured first place in their categories and will move on the national SkillsUSA Conference in Kansas City June 23-27. Lustilla took gold in Automotive Refinishing Technology, Janssen in CNC Milling, Lacenski in Welding, Schultz in Welding Sculpture, and Champan, Lidbury and Mertens won for Welding Fabrication. Instructor Doug Tennant was also named State Advisor of the Year.

In the SkillsUSA competition, students work against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in areas like electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting, culinary arts and more.

Other NWTC students placing in the state competition include the team of Matt Baenen, Dylan Pulley, Cory Wotachek, who took silver in Automated Manufacturing Technology, Sam Buhk, Fred Culvahouse, and Amy Koenig, who captured bronze in the same category, Alan Stefanic, who won bronze in Automotive Refinishing Technology, Eric Burch with a silver in Diesel Equipment Technology, Cole Dollar who won silver in Welding, and James Maryniak, who won silver in Welding Sculpture.

NWTC wants people to talk about student suicides

From fox11online.com: “Suicide awareness display at NWTC” — GREEN BAY – Northeast Wisconsin Technical College wants people to talk more about college suicides.

A Send Silence Packing display was put up Wednesday. 1,100 backpacks were laid out to represent the estimated 1,100 college students who die by suicide each year.

Some included stories about the people behind the numbers.

Organizers say while talking about suicide can be uncomfortable, it must be done.

“It’s something we really haven’t talked enough about. You know, if we’re not talking about it, then people aren’t getting hooked up with a lot of the resources that could help them you know make some different choices and get them the help that they need,” said Paul Valencic, NWTC mental health counselor.

The national nonprofit Active Minds presented the display. Organizers say NWTC students are working to open their own chapter on campus.

Walker touts $35 million plan to bolster technical education

From greenbaypressgazette.com: “Walker touts $35 million plan to bolster technical education” — Legislation signed earlier this week by Gov. Scott Walker allocates $35.4 million to help fund the education of the next generation of workers in Wisconsin.

Walker was at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay on Tuesday discussing the funding designed to bolster technical education at the college and primary education level.

“It’s all about training more the skills needed to fill the jobs today and the ones that will be coming up in the next couple of years, and this is the place to make that happen,” he said.

Walker said Northeast Wisconsin Technical College beefed up its training on computer numeric control machines after the Northeastern Manufacturing Alliance reported a need for CNC operators.

“We want to help campuses like this, and across the state, do more of that in the future,” Walker said. “We’ll also use a portion of this money to help school districts across the state get additional resources to partner for dual enrollment so young people get credit in both the high schools and technical colleges.”

This was Walker’s second stop in the Green Bay area in as many days, and he’s been a frequent visitor to the area in the past month stopping at a number of area businesses to talk about the importance of manufacturing to the state and the need to train skilled workers for immediate and future needs.

A portion of the money will also be used to help employers identify the skill sets disabled residents in the state bring to the workplace.

“The baby boom generation is at, or near, retirement and when that happens there is going to be this huge amount of openings and we’re going to need more skilled workers .. and more people working, period,” he said. “We can’t afford to have anyone who wants to work not be able to work.”

The money is appropriated through the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development’s Wisconsin Fast Forward program.

“We put $15 million in the budget there to do customized worker training, this additional money will be on top of that,” Walker said. “They’ll work directly with technical college campuses… to say, ‘What do you need? Where are your shortages?”

Baldwin: Clean energy bill would aid schools, employers

From greenbaypressgazette.com: “Baldwin: Clean energy bill would aid schools, employers” — Passage of a Senate bill aimed at bolstering education and training for students who want to work in clean-energy jobs would benefit schools and factories in Northeastern Wisconsin, the bill’s sponsor said Wednesday in Green Bay.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said her proposal would help create good-paying jobs in a growing industry, while supporting technical colleges that offer coursework that prepares students for “green energy” careers. The Grants for Renewable Energy Education for the Nation Act, or GREEN, was introduced last week and calls for about $100 million in spending.

“The idea is to make some very prudent, very targeted investments in an area that’s growing … faster than the economy overall,” she said.

The senator met with educators and some students at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College’s Great Lakes Energy Education Center as part of a statewide tour to tout her bill, introduced last week. NWTC offers programs that prepare students for energy jobs, and is increasing the percentage of its energy supply that comes from green sources.

Scott Liddicott, who teaches energy-management classes at Green Bay Southwest High School, said it’s exciting to hear support for energy education at the federal level.

“It’s so easy to get students and teachers interested in this,” he said. “It’s a compelling and dynamic field. The energy business is really important stuff.”

Baldwin’s bill would allocate grant money for programs that prepare students for jobs, or to attend post-secondary schools. Her office said clean-energy jobs pay about 13 percent better than the average job in the U.S., and the field is growing nearly twice the rate of the national economy.

A hospital in western Wisconsin, she told educators, “completely redid its energy systems” to emphasize green power, and as a result was able to save patients money and avoid staff cuts.

A number of Wisconsin technical college leaders, including NWTC President H. Jeffrey Rafn and Wisconsin Technical College System President Morna K. Foy, have expressed support for the bill. NWTC partners with area school districts, including ones in De Pere and Sturgeon Bay, to deliver energy education, said Amy Kox, the college’s associate dean for energy and sustainability.

A bill similar to Baldwin’s was introduced in the House of Representatives in June and remains in committee, according to govtrack.us, which tracks federal legislation. The bill, by California Democrat Jerry McNerney, also would spend $100 million to develop career and technical education programs, and facilities in the renewable energy field.

Baldwin Wednesday also visited Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland, and Milwaukee Area Technical College. She is slated to visit Mid-State Technical College in Wisconsin Rapids today.

Tour NWTC’s new expansion

From fox11online.com: “A tour of NWTC’s new expansion” —  GREEN BAY — More and more people are looking to preventative and in-home care as the American population continues to age.

A new expansion at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is helping nursing students be better prepared for the changes.

The 13,000 sq. ft. expansion includes three new learning labs — a wellness lab, a caregiver learning center and a simulation lab.

Nursing student Chris Krzewina said the simulation lab is one of the best ways for NWTC students to get experience in patient care.

“It’s a really safe environment,” said Krzewina. “I mean, we don’t have to worry about anyone full-out crashing on us.”

In the lab, students can practice their skills on life-like mannequins that are controlled by instructors. The mannequins have a pulse, and can breathe and even talk to them.

“Now we’re just going to be taking your blood pressure on your arm, OK?” Krzewina asked the mannequin. “Ok, the instructor replied as the voice of the mannequin.

The technology allows instructors to help prepare students for any type of real-life scenario.

“We can use the rare conditions in simulation, something that the students would not typically experience and give them that experience as well,” said Jeff Matzke, a nursing instructor at NWTC.

Students studying in the new wellness lab will learn theory and practice patient coaching techniques that focus on preventative care, something educators say is becoming more popular in the U.S.

“When we talk about cost of health care, which is on a lot of people’s minds these days, prevention is really the best cost,” said Scott Anderson, associate dean of Health Sciences at NWTC. “So how do we keep people out of the health care system? We do that through behavior change and lifestyle change.”

As the population continues to age, student will have to be prepared for another growing trend, in-home care.

“We have our whole kitchen here, or our whole apartment set up here, so that our students will incur some barriers because then we can teach them here in the classroom how to work with those barriers,” said Cindy Theys, associate dean of Health Sciences. “So by the time they get out to someone’s home, they’re going to have tips and tricks to know how to better care for those people in their home.”

No matter kind of patient care students choose to focus on, educators and students said the new learning labs helps give them the hands-on experience they’ll need to succeed.

The total cost for the new expansion was $3.5 million. Gifts from donors covered about $1.1 million.

 

NWTC set to offer student housing

From fox11online.com: “NWTC set to offer student housing” — GREEN BAY – Expanding the college experience is what Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is looking to do by offering students on-campus housing.

A privately-owned and operated dorm is in the works to be built and ready for students in the fall of 2015.

After more than a century of educating students, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is taking the first steps to house students on campus as well.

Plans are set to break ground next year on the college’s first dormitory.

“The scope and the depth and the breadth of the college has changed so much in 100 years, it seems to be the next evolution of what the technical college can offer the community,” said Karen Smits, NWTC vice president of college advancement.

Smits says the college entered into a deal with DeLeers Construction which will build and own the student housing building. DeLeers purchased this private land on the east side of campus and will pay to build and manage the four-story, 216-bed facility. It won’t cost NWTC or taxpayers anything.

“It’s not like the dorm when I went to college. These are apartments where students will share common rooms and each have their own bedroom,” said Smits.

The concept of housing at smaller community colleges is growing in demand according to Smits. Last year UW-Fox Valley expanded to offer student housing for the first time near its Menasha campus through a private company.

“This is a public venture, but we are here to help and support that, but it is definitely the developers that are in complete control of all the housing issues,” said Carla Rabe, UW-Fox Valley assistant dean in January 2012.

An NWTC survey last year found students wanted the option of student housing to help round out their college experience.

More than 40,000 student take classes at NWTC, 7,600 are full time students. So a dorm accommodating 200 is expected to fill up. Could there be more dorms in the future? College officials say don’t rule it out.

NWTC trying to meet employer needs for skilled workers

From postcrescent.com: “Workers needed, but manufacturing healthy in region” – There is a lot of good manufacturing news in Northeastern Wisconsin, but long-term challenges remain.

Manufacturing companies report they are healthy, modernizing and expecting growth in sales in 2014. They also continue to struggle to find qualified workers, a problem that will remain critical as baby boomers retire and employers add new machines that require better-trained operators.

Those are the findings of the Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance’s 2014 Manufacturing Vitality Index, released Friday during the annual NEW North Summit in Ashwaubenon.

Fifty-one percent of the surveyed companies reported increased sales in 2013 and 66 percent are expecting more increases next year. Fifty percent are planning plant modernization, as was the case last year, and three out of four expect to hire. But there’s the rub. Sixty percent report having difficulty finding qualified workers.

“The skills shortage hasn’t changed a dramatic amount year to year,” said Scott Kettler, general manager of Fox Cities manufacturing sites for Plexus Corp. and incoming president of the Manufacturing Alliance. “We see people are hiring and we have that growth. What the index says to me is we are not out-pacing our growth.”

The five most difficult-to-fill positions include machinist/CNC machinist, machine operator, truck driver, team assembler and engineering technician. Welders remain in the top 10, though progress has been made in this region in supplying them.

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay is turning out 140 welding graduates a year, up from a handful five years ago. It also will train 100 CNC graduates this year and hopes to increase that to 130 next year, said Mark Weber, dean of training and engineering technologies at NWTC.

The Manufacturing Alliance was formed to get educators, students and parents thinking differently about manufacturing.

“I think that the tide has turned,” Weber said. “I’ve seen that in a relatively short time in the discussions I’ve had with K-12s. Before, you couldn’t get them to talk about manufacturing. Now they are calling us to talk about manufacturing.”

Manufacturing accounts for 23 percent of Northeastern Wisconsin’s jobs, and Wisconsin ranks second in the nation in with 19 percent of jobs in manufacturing.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s “Industrial Cities Initiative” called Green Bay a “resurgent city.” It said the region had four areas that predict economic strength: leadership, regionalism, workforce development and economic development finance.

But the alliance report says long-term demographics are not favorable. Some companies are losing 10 percent or more of their workforce annually to retirement and more people turn 65 each year than turn 18.

A key to mitigating the problem is to get more people interested in manufacturing, Kettler said.

“We have to solve our own problem. We have to continue to work with the education system,” he said. “I want to continue to focus on working with our manufacturers to continue to get involved. Our focus needs to be on that 8-12 (grade) range and we need to turn parents’ minds around that manufacturing is a viable career.”

Many efforts are underway. Some companies are working directly with local high schools, such as Ariens Co. in Brillion and Precision Machine in Algoma. Others are sending workers into classrooms to talk about manufacturing, and NWTC, in collaboration with the Bay Area Workforce Development Board, is sending a classroom — it’s mobile CNC lab — to the students.

“It’s no one thing that’s helping. It’s all of those things; working with high schools, working with manufacturers themselves,” Weber said.

Kettler said companies are taking workers with lesser skills and trying to grow them internally.

“It’s slower and more expensive and it’s not hiring for the future as much,” he said.

The good news, though, shouldn’t be overlooked, he said. Ninety-two percent of companies said they expect to be healthier next year. Half are planning modernization projects in 2014, compared to 46 percent last year and 36 percent in 2012.

“We are seeing companies invest,” he said.

The survey was based on the telephone responses of 111 companies with $3 million or more in annual revenue and 25 or more employees. It had a 28 percent response rate and 95 percent level of confidence. It was conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Business Success Center.

 

Appleton employer praises partnership with NWTC, Job Center

From whby.com: “Job Center helps company add jobs quickly” — Some state officials are celebrating a jobs success story in Appleton.

Department of Workforce Development Secretary Reggie Newson and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch stopped by Clean Power today.

Company president Jeffery Packee says a partnership with the Job Center of Wisconsin, and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College helped his company hire new workers, quickly. He says they had to fill about 50 positions in just over two weeks, after they got a contract from Marinette Marine. Packee says the workers needed a variety of skills.

Packee says all of the jobs are full-time, and they’re now adding 34 more workers. He says Clean Power is using the job center again, to fill those positions.

 

Students, construction industry partner to build for the future

From wbay.com: “Students, construction industry partner to build for the future” — Green Bay – A Green Bay non-profit group tasked with renovating and rehabbing run-down homes and neighborhoods is setting to work on a new mission, partnering with a crew you’d least expect.

At first glance, it looks like just another construction project — a garage being built behind a century-old home.

Look closer, and you’ll see the crew is far younger than most, consisting solely of juniors and seniors at Green Bay West and Southwest High Schools.

“We’ve learned how to put up the walls, rafters and headers and kind of just how it starts out,” says Southwest High School senior Xavier Massey.

It’s the result of a new partnership among the Green Bay Public School District, the Brown County Homebuilders Association, NeighborWorks Green Bay and NWTC to not only rehab a blighted property but help students focus on their futures.

“What we’re trying to achieve is give the students a clear path to the construction industry,” says Tim Denissen, NeighborWorks Green Bay project manager.

“Brown County Homebuilders was a big part of that, because there was a need for skilled laborers in the construction trades, and they really wanted to start a program like this at Green Bay Southwest and West,” says Kyle Wagner, residential construction program teacher at Green Bay West High School.

Under supervision from an experienced instructor and local contractors, the nine students are doing nearly all the work, building a new garage and renovating the foreclosure in the 300 block of Oakland Avenue back into the gem it was when built in the late 1800s.

“This home was in serious, serious trouble, but when we’re done with this, it’ll be another housing option for people in the neighborhood,” says Denissen.

And the students like knowing they’re work is making a difference.

“This is my first time actually noticing this house, but it’ll be cool when it’s all done. We can drive past and know the people that actually live here,” says West High School junior Katie Clark.

“It’ll be nice to know that I actually helped and made my community better,” adds Massey.

The students will finish the project in January.

NeighborWorks will then take over and rent out the two-family home.

NWTC proposes on campus student housing

From wbay.com: “NWTC proposes to build first on campus student housing” — Green Bay –Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is looking to expand. The school and developer explain what could be a first for the Green Bay campus.

“There will be a workout facility. There will be a study area. There will be an area where (they) can even all commune and watch Packer games,” said Jim DeLeers of DeLeers Construction in De Pere.

DeLeers is developing NWTC’s first on campus housing. He showed us preliminary drawings of the four-story, privately funded and managed facility.

“There will be 100 units, approximately 200 beds in the facility, the design itself, the colors, and the brick and mortar’s design is designed specifically not to look like traditional apartment style housing,” says DeLeers.

It’s proposed to be located on the southeast corner of the campus.

College leaders say it’s what students asked for in a recent survey, particularly international students.

Only 16 of the 6,000 students on the Green Bay campus are studying from outside the country.

“A student comes here from another country, has no place to live that’s nearby, has no means of transportation, it’s a little bit discouraging to think about coming to Green Bay and not being able to be close to one’s campus,” says Vice-President for College Advancement Karen Smits.

Rahmi Arikan, 24, is a third year student from Turkey. He says he wished on campus housing was available when he arrived. He adds dorms are the first step to recruit more international students, as it would be one less thing to worry about while adjusting to a new school and culture.

“The housing is going to be a big impact to choose NWTC because of when they come over here, they have to walk through everything by themselves without any help,” says Arikan.

The school says it plans to open the student housing the fall of 2014.

NWTC is inviting residential and business neighbors to an informational meeting from 6-7 p.m. in room SC128 on Tuesday, October 29.

Enrollment in NWTC manufacturing classes on the rise

From greenbaypressgazette.com: “Alliance works to change state’s manufacturing image, increase education” — When Northeast Wisconsin Technical College’s 44-foot mobile CNC lab made an appearance at Bonduel High School, the pieces fell into place for junior Race McClone.

McClone, 16, is planning a career in manufacturing. If he becomes a mechanical engineer and welder as he proposes, it will be another in an increasing number of successes for NEW Manufacturing Alliance, NWTC and other supporters of manufacturing.

October is Manufacturing Month in Wisconsin, and that’s more than just another in a rotisserie of months with special names. Indiana and Wisconsin regularly trade positions as the top manufacturing states in the nation. Statewide, 16.1 percent of Wisconsin jobs are manufacturing related. In the 14-county NEW North region, one in every four jobs is in manufacturing.

“That is one of the largest concentrations of manufacturing in the country,” said Ann Franz, NEW Manufacturing Alliance coordinator.

The Alliance was founded in 2006 to foster collaboration between manufacturers and educators in the promotion of manufacturing and development of a future workforce.

The Manufacturing Institute, affiliated with the National Association of Manufacturers, says that workforce is growing older at a greater rate than the economy as a whole, and the lack of qualified workers is beginning to impact manufacturers’ ability to compete in the global market. It says schools are not equipping students with the appropriate skills and in the necessary disciplines to contribute to the manufacturing economy.

The Institute says U.S. schools are not producing enough engineers, and the manufacturing workforce is growing older and is not as well educated as other sectors.

The Alliance is working to change that in Northeastern Wisconsin. It arranges tours of manufacturing plants — it sponsored 11 visits for students and teachers in October — and sends manufacturing representatives into classrooms. It is developing manufacturing-related math problems for use in middle schools, provided $20,000 in college scholarships last year, publishes a magazine, produces videos and hosts the annual Manufacturing First Expo & Conference, to which 200 students are invited.

Franz’s salary is paid by the Bay Area Workforce Development Board, which also helped pay for creation of NWTC’s Computer Integrated Manufacturing mobile lab. Much of the rest of the work is done by volunteers on five Alliance task forces.

Manufacturing jobs pay well, but an enduring image of workers standing on assembly lines doing the same things over and over again is discouraging to digital-age students, not to mention their parents. It doesn’t help that the image is totally inaccurate.

Nels Lawrence, technology education instructor at Kaukauna High School, said plant tours dispel notions of manufacturing as “dumb, dull and dirty.”

Northeast Wisconsin Chambers Coalition’s 2012-13 Fox Valley Wage & Benefits Study found that intermediate-level electrical engineers in Brown County earned an average $62,766 per year and electrical engineers at Fox Valley companies earned an average annual wage of $71,109. Again, the number of responding companies was not large (six in one case, seven in the other) and the respondents were self-selected. The average wage for senior electrical engineers was $91,028.

“One employer said to me, ‘You want to recruit kids. Take a look at what’s parked out in are parking lot,’” Lawrence said.

Franz and Lawrence said manufacturers are desperate to grow the workforce.

“More and more human resources directors are contacting me directly, looking to contact 16- and 17-year-olds,” Lawrence said. “If I had more students, I could find more openings.”

Franz said the increase in engagement between employers and schools is significant. Schools are calling the alliance — a 180-degree turnaround from seven years ago — and asking how they can partner.

As a sign of progress, Franz said NWTC graduated 19 welders in 2000, 28 welders in 2005 and 119 welders in 2010. It has more than 200 people enrolled in welding classes now, and last year enrollment in its manufacturing classes was up 19 percent.

Welding is just a tiny slice of manufacturing jobs, though in considerable demand in the region. Surveys by NWTC also identified electrical engineers, among others, in high demand.

“The message is resonating,” Franz said. “NWTC graduates more manufacturing degree holders than any other technical college in the state.”

Bonduel High School’s McClone had taken computer-aided-design and civil engineering classes in tech ed, but the arrival of NWTC’s mobile lab took his interest to a new level. The school also has a new welding lab.

“I’m really interested in the CNC program. If Bonduel didn’t have the trailer here, I probably wouldn’t have known about the CNC at all,” he said, talking on his cellphone from the lab.

He said Bonduel’s tech ed teachers themselves are enthusiastic about manufacturing, and promotional efforts are beginning to make an impact.

“People are starting to see this as a great opportunity,” he said. “There are all kinds of jobs. It can be pretty much anything.”

 

Dual-credit students construct home

From greenbaypressgazette.com: “Construction of seventh student-built home begins” — High school students from Luxemburg-Casco, Sturgeon Bay and Kewaunee participated in the seventh annual groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 16 as part of the home construction project. The Door-Kewaunee Business Education Partnership (DKBEP), the Door County Builders Association and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College support this program which gives the students hands-on construction education and a home for a new family.

The new home, at E2337 Sunset Road in Luxemburg, has its foundation laid, and building began on Sept. 17. Students will be working with licensed local contractors to do all the aspects of the construction work including electrical, carpentry, plumbing and more.

The 2,300-square-foot, five-bedroom home is expected to be completed in June, when the school year comes to an end. The students will work on the house or in the trailer that acts as a classroom from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. every day for the duration of the school year. At the end of it, each will have earned 16 transcribed credits from NWTC’s wood technology program.

The owners of the home, Brian and Cindy Peot, heard about the project though the Door County Builders Association and got on board.

“It’s really exciting, I really am glad to give these kids this opportunity,” Brian Peot said. “I wish I had this chance when I was in high school.”

Tara LeClair of the DKBEP is happy with how the program is teaching so many students.

“They learn in the classroom and they can apply their knowledge right away by working in the field,” LeClair said.

This is the third home to be built in Kewaunee County and the second in Luxemburg. More than 80 students have passed through the program and around 80 percent have moved onto something related to the trades including NWTC, four-year colleges, military or construction-related employment. No females have entered the program.

“I really would like to see the dynamic of a female student on site. None have applied, but we are encouraging it,” LeClair said. “Girls are said to be more detail-oriented, and it would be neat to see if that holds true.”

U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Wis., was also in the audience of the groundbreaking.

During the presentation, LeClair informed the group that this program allows the students to learn life skills including critical thinking, problem solving, productivity, communication and accountability.

Jeff Schlag was hired to be the instructor on site to work with the boys. He announced to the group that he was inspired to apply for the job after working with students who participate in Habitat for Humanity in Green Bay.

“I love working with these guys, and I know they want to be out here,” Schlag said. “They are not going to lose what they learn here. Hopefully they are the start of rebuilding the quality skilled labor force.”

Kewaunee High School student builder Calen Delleman made a statement to represent all of the student workers and said they are looking forward to getting going with the project.

“We appreciate the subcontractors and schools for giving us the opportunity,” Delleman said. “Being on this site is a great experience for us and it is going to stay with us for the rest of our lives.”

Dual credit opportunities, interest growing

From greenbaypressgazette.com: “No ordinary shop class” — Two years ago, Algoma, Luxemburg-Casco and Kewaunee School Districts were presented with the option to use a mobile CNC (computer numerical control) lab out of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, but none took the option.

Even before NWTC offered the mobile lab, Kewaunee County districts had been working hard to create top-notch CNC programs for their students.

CNC machines are automated drilling tools that make precision industrial parts with direction from coded instructions. They allow manufacturers to design and create parts quickly and with accuracy. CNC machines are primarily used in milling.

“The mobile lab is excellent and has great technology, but the rotation design would not meet our student’s needs,” Luxemburg-Casco Superintendent Pat Saunders said. “Our students show substantial interest in the subject matter, so we decided to invest more in our own technological education program.”

Cost of the mobile lab was approximately $360,000 with additional costs of about $10,000 per school per year for its use. Schools that use the lab would have access to it for about a half-day per week.

Algoma School District has a goal for their CNC lab to become a regional learning center for students, workers and businesses. Nick Cochart, principal and athletic director of Algoma High School, has been persistent in improving the technical education curriculum since he became principal two years ago.

“We provide an opportunity for our students, and it is some of the best money we have ever spent,” Cochart said.

The Luxemburg-Casco School Board allots money each year to technical education program improvements, Saunders said.

“We (the district) looked seriously into the mobile lab, but it was too expensive and it packs up and leaves,” said Ron Vandermause, tech ed teacher at L-C High School. “We are pushing these classes, because the students like what they are doing and they have a lot of job opportunities that offer high paying wages.”

Preparing for college

The proximity to NWTC has proven to be beneficial to each of the schools, even if they have not taken the option to work with the mobile lab. Algoma High School is set up within a dual credit program where students earn college and high school credits in multiple subjects, including English, math and science. The CNC program gives them the ability to earn up to 12 college credits transcribed to NWTC.

“If we didn’t have the equipment, we would have to be part of the mobile lab,” Algoma Principal Mike Holz said. “NWTC requires that we have the proper machines and courses available to cooperate with them, and we do.”

Kewaunee High School also offers transcribed classes from NWTC where students can earn up to 10 credits with the CNC classes. Dual credits for NWTC are available to Kewaunee students in other studies including business, agricultural and family and consumer education.

Although no credit hours for college level courses can be earned at Luxemburg-Casco High School, the teachers are striving to prepare their students for a future in employment and education by closely communicating with professors at NWTC, Saunders said.

L-C considers the CNC classes to be essential to preparing its students for college. Giving students the ability to read complex technical manuals and learning math skills are an essential in the curriculum.

“Students should be college- and career-ready,” Saunders said.

Statistics show Kewaunee County students have taken advantage of NWTC’s proximity and dual-credit options. According to Anne Kamps, dean of learning solutions at NWTC, 20.4 percent of Algoma students, 30.52 percent of L-C students and 32.53 percent of Kewaunee students enrolled at NWTC after graduating from high school in the 2010-11 school year.

Benefiting the community

Not just high school students can benefit from school districts having CNC equipment in their hallways.

Algoma School District has provided opportunities to local businesses to train or certify their workers in their lab. Members of the community who are in the field and are looking to update their skill set or learn a new one are also welcome to take classes, at no charge.

“I think that schools should be open all the time,” Cochart said. “If someone needs some education or help, we should strive to be that resource.”

NWTC classes hosted at Algoma High School are also open to the public, but they would have to pay for the credit hours.

Students in Algoma have also created their own business, called Algoma Wolf Tech (AWT), in partnership with Precision Machine, Olsen Fabrication and CTI Hospitality where they do subcontracting work. The 25 to 40 students involved with AWT design and create products for people or businesses in the community such as the city of Algoma and Algoma Long Term Care.

“It is a very diverse group of students involved, which makes it really interesting,” Cochart said. “Machinists, fabricators, accountants, marketers and designers all have a part.”

At Luxemburg-Casco, educators have found people and businesses in the community have different needs for CNC products.

“We created the lettering for the Kewaunee County Rescue Boat, vinyl stickers for windows and plenty of laser engraving. And we do it voluntarily,” Vandermause said. “The only way we would ask for money is if the materials cost was high.”

Kewaunee High School’s CNC program is still in its infancy, but they are focused on making more courses transcribed for NWTC at this time.

“We want to create opportunities for our students to earn dual credits,” Holz said. “The CNC courses are currently based on in-school projects, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t have the opportunity to partner with local businesses as the program unfolds. We are very open to investigate those possibilities, but we want to lay down our educational foundation.”

 

High school CNC programs expand beyond NWTC’s mobile lab

From greenbaypressgazette.com: “High school CNC programs expand beyond NWTC’s mobile lab” — One of two local school districts at the forefront of bringing a mobile computer numerical control (CNC) lab into existence has decided to purchase its own in-house machines.

In August and September 2011, the $360,000, 44-foot CNC mobile lab was rolled out amid much fanfare. The lab contains a full complement of computerized tools that are used for cutting precision parts. The original plan was for the state-of-the-art lab to be used by school districts, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and local business as an educational and/or training tool.

The lab also allows high school students to train and earn credits toward certification in machine tool and later he or she can earn a CNC certificate, said Jerry Bronkhorst, mobile lab technician and driver. The creation of the lab was a collaborative effort among local school districts, NWTC, local businesses and the Door County Economic Development Corp. The idea originated at Southern Door School District when technical education teacher Dave LeBrun looked into updating the high school’s CNC equipment.

The Bay Area Workforce Development Board and the Wisconsin Job Center funded $250,000 of the lab. Teachers from Southern Door and Sturgeon Bay also went through training to become certified to teach CNC related courses.

Of the four mainland Door County school districts, only Sturgeon Bay and Southern Door regularly used the lab since its unveiling.

During its July meeting the Sturgeon Bay School Board approved purchasing the district’s own CNC equipment. One machine will be purchased using money from a $50,000 grant, and up to an additional $36,000 of the second machine is slated to come from the district’s fund balance. Technical education teachers Brian Pahl and Seth Wilson, who are both certified to teach CNC-related courses, are looking into grants to raise an additional $10,000 for the purchase of the machines.

Students will be able to take CNC classes and have those credits count toward certification if they go on to NWTC or another technical college.

According to Bronkhorst, it costs $5,000 a semester or $10,000 a year to use the mobile lab.

Sturgeon Bay High School Principal Bob Nickel said having CNC the machines on campus will allow the district to use the equipment for more classes on a regular basis.

“I would say that (the mobile lab) was a great idea, but in reality it did not work out well (for Sturgeon Bay),” Nickel said. The lab was always meant to be shared, and that restricted what the district could do with its students to a couple of hours during the week.

Several school districts in other counties plan to continue using the lab next year, including Bonduel, Bronkhorst said.

According to Superintendent Joe Stutting, another plus to purchasing the machines is that even if there are budget cuts in the future, Sturgeon Bay will not have to decide whether to cut its CNC program because it now owns the equipment.

This past spring the Southern Door School District was faced with that very dilemma when it decided to cut the mobile lab fee from the 2013-14 school year budget. At the time the district was working to close a budget deficit of approximately $700,000. Southern Door does own some CNC equipment.

“Since (the cuts were) unveiled in May, we have been having talks with a community donor who has stepped forward and agrees that this is a very important experience,” Superintendent Patti Vickman said. The $10,000 donation only covers the coming school year. The donor has chosen to stay anonymous.

Even with districts moving toward not taking part in the lab or purchasing their own equipment, the lab is not “fizzling out,” said Tara LeClair, manager for the Door Kewaunee Business and Education Partnership.

“Actually, I’m still excited about it,” LeClair said.

She admits that the lab is “a very expensive expenditure” but one of the reasons school districts have moved toward purchasing their own equipment is because the lab has educated them about the importance of CNC technology.

Bronkhorst said he has seen an uptick in students go on to attend NWTC to finish up their certification after working in the mobile lab. Six students out of a recent class of 10 chose to move on to become certified.

“It’s an exciting program. We’ve touched a lot of students and brought a lot of exposure to the program since (the labs) conception,” he said.

 

NWTC and Oneida Tribe formalize partnership

From thewheelerreport.com: “NWTC and Oneida Tribe formalize partnership” — A charter formalizing a partnership between the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College was signed on Thursday, June 20 on NWTC’s Green Bay campus.

The document, endorsed by Oneida Nation Area Manager of Education and Training Norbert S. Hill and NWTC President Dr. H. Jeffery Rafn, outlines the long-term goals of collaboration between the nation and College. Goals include increased post- secondary educational attainment for tribal members, more cooperation on higher education policy and programming, and ultimately, sustained economic vitality for the Oneida Nation.

“This builds on a relationship between an institution and a nation,” said Hill. “It starts with students, but education is also the vehicle to help Oneida build a nation.”

“We talked about how we could do more together, and this really commits us to increasing the educational level of tribal members, making sure people have the access that they need, and most importantly, that they’re successful,” said Rafn.

Approximately 100 Oneida students attend NWTC per year, making it one of the most highly attended higher education institutions for tribal members. Still, Hill and Rafn see opportunities to increase degree completion and to strengthen community relationships.

“We’ll be working together to only to assess how successful students currently are, but also how we can continue to improve the overall success of their students,” said Rafn.“We sit right on reservation land, right across the street is the Oneida Nation. It seems to me that we have a great opportunity to do some really good things together.”

Other goals contained in the document include increased employment for tribal members, improved student satisfaction, and more collaboration on workforce development issues, internships, and grants.

The charter builds on two recent partnerships between NWTC and Oneida that included the Food Sovereignty Summit in April, and visits to Oneida Nation High School by NWTC’s Mobile Manufacturing Lab.

“We’re holding each other accountable to achieve some specific goals,” said Hill.

“It’s really more than just sending kids to school and achieving a diploma or a two- year degree. It’s much more than that, it’s saying ‘how do we make this work?’ and it could be a model for other tribes across the nation.”

Training to answer 911 calls at NWTC

From wbay.com: “Training to answer 911 calls” — A pilot program designed to help ease the training and hiring strain on dispatch centers in Northeast Wisconsin is now complete.

They are the newest faces of the future of emergency dispatch. Pending results of a national exam, Monday ten people are becoming certified as emergency dispatchers through a new class at NWTC, teaching them what it’s like on the other end of a 911 call.

“You have no idea what they all have going on their plates as they’re taking that call, plus trying to get the emergency, whether it’s the cops, the ambulances out to you, all the pressure that’s on their shoulders. It really gives you an understanding,” says Tonia Geibel, a student of the dispatcher class and current EMS worker in Door County.

As Action 2 News has reported over the last several months, NWTC partnered with Kewaunee and Brown Counties to create this introduction to dispatching class, partly in response to staffing problems in Brown County’s Communication Center.

The class is designed to reduce the amount of on-the-job training needed and eliminate the number of people who take a dispatching job, then quit suddenly when they realize it’s not for them.

“Any amount of time is very helpful for us, because we do have turnover. That’s part of the industry. We’re trying to reduce it as much as possible, but by having trained people, qualified people coming into the program and being able to reduce that, it takes less time for us to get people on the floor,” says Brown County Public Safety Communications Director Cullen Peltier.

“Out of the class of 10, we have about eight that have expressed an interest to apply as dispatchers,” says NWTC Criminal Justice Instructor John Flannery, who taught the dispatcher class.

While those in the class would still need training in the specific agency they work, depending on success, this class may soon become a requirement to even apply in some agencies.

“That’s in the consideration phase at this point. It’s definitely preferred to have class under their belt before they come to us, because what it does for us is reduce training time,” says Peltier.

This first class was a sort of pilot to see if the program would even work, but already there’s interest for another class, likely to start in September.

“They seemed to really enjoy it and got a real good taste of what dispatching is all about,” says Flannery.

“Now I understand when they get that call, everything they have to go through before I even get that page to go out,” says Geibel.

Making Farming Safer

From wbay.com: “Making Farming Safer” — Green Bay – It’s consistently listed by the National Safety Council as one of the top three most dangerous occupations in the country.

That’s why for the past 17 years Northeast Wisconsin Technical College’s farm business program has tried to make farming safer in Wisconsin.

“About 25-30 fatalities a year in agriculture,” says NWTC Tractor Safety Instructor Martin Nackers about Wisconsin statistics.

Each spring Nackers and Doug Sutter teach a tractor safety course to an average of 125 students between the age of 12 and 15.

“We start kids off very young working on farms, and that’s just not something you’re born into. You really have to learn safe practices,” says Sutter.

Outside metro areas, young people often land their first job on a farm.

“The majority of my friends work on farms. Not many work at restaurants anymore, they all work on farms right now,” says 15-year old Justin Mahlberg from Denmark.

But according to state law, students like Justin can’t drive machinery on roads until they pass a course like NWTC’s.

“The parents realize the hazards are greater, so they’re wanting to make sure they’re prepared, and they’re getting farther away from the farm. Let’s face it, it’s not just that little unit anymore; they have to go several miles perhaps away from home and Mom, thank God, is concerned about that and she wants to make sure they get there and get back safely,” says Sutter.

Over four days, students learn how to operate tractors and machinery and identify hazards.

They’re also taught fire safety and first aid.

“And as these kids grow up, they tell you incidents and stories how they remembered things from tractor safety and how they’re really thankful for what we’ve done. That’s the good feeling, when you get the thank-yous that come years later,” says Nackers.

NWTC constructs new learning labs for health care students

From wbay.com: “NWTC constructs new learning labs for health care students” — Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is expanding its health sciences building to add three new cutting-edge learning labs. They include a wellness lab focusing on exercise physiology, a caregiver lab to train home health workers and a simulation lab for nursing students.

Together, they’ll fill the additional 13,500 foot space that is being constructed.

“We went on a road trip last year looking at simulation labs in our state and also reviewed online other simulation labs in other settings,” explains NWTC’s Health Sciences Dean Kay Tupala.

A picture is posted near the construction site of what the building will look like on the outside, but inside, it will be filled with upgraded equipment to help students develop the critical skills they need for their careers.

Tupala adds “what we can do in simulation is give students scenarios they may not get exposed to at the hospital.”

Nursing students say even though it’s a simulation lab, the skills they learn are invaluable.

“When you go into a simulation lab you totally lose sight that it’s just a mannequin there,” describes Young. “The kind of equipment they have, they have real blood pressures, they change. You can see if they have loss of circulation because their finger tips turn blue.”

The $3.5 million dollar project is expected to be completed by January 2014.

Walker stops at NWTC for Jobs Tour

From nbc26.com: “Walker stops in Green Bay for Jobs Tour” — Governor Scott Walker talks manufacturing and jobs Monday at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.

He was part of a round-table discussion at NWTC. The Governor says his main goal Is to make it easier to create jobs In our state. “Manufacturing is still our bread and butter,” Walker explained. “It’s about 20 percent of the state’s GDP. It’s a little bit higher here in the northeast, and so today is important.. working with the chamber here and our regional partners to talk about manufacturing.”

The Governor says he plans to take part in similar discussions all throughout Wisconsin.

Video from nbc26.com

 

NWTC cuts continuing education courses

From fox11online.com: “NWTC cuts continuing education courses” — GREEN BAY – One local tech school says it is eliminating some of its non-credit classes.

And Northeast Wisconsin Technical College says the remaining hobby-based classes could cost you a little more.

Fewer needles may be whirring in continuing education classes offered by Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.

The college says it is cutting costs by cutting out some classes, like specialty sewing.

“The classes that have been most effected are those that we call avocational, hobby leisure courses. All of the non-credit occupational courses, we’re still offering,” said Jeffrey Rafn.

In all, 80 to 90 classes won’t be back. The reduction will save the college 160 thousand dollars in instructor fees.

That has some instructors like Jana Anderson-Laes worried.

“I could lose my job, so we really need people to sign up for these classes,” she said.

Continuing education classes that are popular, like jewelry making, will still remain. But there may be consolidated times or locations. And NWTC says it’s still focusing on skills that can be used for a business.

Long-armed quilting, shown in the video, will also still go on.

But prices will go up.

Those 62 years and older had paid roughly $4 for a class.

The rate could increase to $60.

“I have similar classes at the quilt shop I own,” said  you’re still getting your money’s worth.”

The majority of the continuing education classes are attended by older adults.

But many in the plus 50 crowd say they are turning to the tech school for something besides quilting or wood working.

“That’s something for a hobby, great. But guys like me, people my age. We’re not ready to lay down. We want to continue working,” said Robert Cram, a supply chain management student at NWTC.

NWTC says it will offer more computer-oriented classes like Microsoft Office as non-credit courses.

All changes to other classes could begin in the fall.

If you’re concerned about a class being cut, you have a chance to voice your opinion.

NWTC will hold a listening session about its budget Wednesday May 8th at 4 pm.

NWTC budget proposal expands high-demand programs

From greenbaypressgazette.com: “NWTC budget proposal expands high-demand programs” — Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is expanding popular programs next school year, but administrators say that won’t impact its spending plan.

School officials are shifting resources to programs that are most in demand in a budget that isn’t expected to mean higher costs for taxpayers, according to NWTC President Jeff Rafn.

The college’s general fund budget is expected to dip slightly to $77.18 million from $77.52 million last school year.

A public hearing is set for May 8 and the school’s board will give final approval in fall. The proposed budget calls for a tax levy increase of about $300,000 to $59.199 million, up from $58.899 million. The increase is due to higher land value based on new construction, and won’t affect the tax rate, Rafn said. That means homeowners shouldn’t see much change in the amount of property taxes they owe for NWTC — about $160 for the owner of a home valued at $100,000 last year.

The community college plans to launch a new Sustainable Food and Agriculture Systems program, electro-mechanical mobile lab and start mechanical and electrical engineering technology programs that would lead to baccalaureate degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and UW-Oshkosh. The school also plans to expand its physical therapist assistant program to Marinette and its Environmental Engineering Technology program.

Construction and renovation plans include creation of a student success center, an expansion of its Marine Training Center, an update of the Center for Business and Industry Training area and creation of the Shawano Health Education Center. The student success center will focus on connecting students to services that can help them succeed and reflects the continued growth of support services, school officials said.

Other changes include a move to a new academic calendar that would add a three-week January term and a 12-week summer semester. NWTC would continue to grow its work with area school districts by expanding or starting a number of partnerships with districts in Northern Wisconsin, including plans for programs with schools in Gillett, Lena, Coleman and Suring, as well as work with the Green Bay School District on a school-based manufacturing operation.

The idea is to make modifications to support programs that provide strong job potential, Rafn said.

“Up until last few years, I think we have had a big employer demand, not student demand in certain programming, “ said Amy Kox, associate dean for engineering and sustainability. “Now that’s changed. We’re working to help students see, ‘What’s next?’

“I think that’s helping. We’re helping them to see that coming to technical school is a great first step in lifelong process of learning.”

The agriculture sustainability program is built around suggestions from local organic farmers, including the Oneida Tribe of Indians and New Leaf Market, Kox said.

“We asked them what their needs were,” she said. “That helped build our program. Younger people are interested in sustainability, so we see a lot of possibilities.”

NWTC is expanding its manufacturing areas to meet employer demands, Kox said.

“We keep adding sections,” she said. “We’re trying to get as many students through as possible. The need is there.”

Despite the changes, the college’s budget proposal reflects a tax freeze, Rafn said.

Under state law, the school will be able to raise taxes slightly to reflect construction growth in Brown County, or an estimated $300,000 to its tax levy, which is not expected to impact the overall tax rate.

“Our focus really is student success,” Rafn said. “We want more students to get degrees. We have 45 percent graduation rate, our goal is to achieve 60 percent.”

The college has worked to keep students enrolled, he said. It has hired counselors to help students with mental health issues, hired a counselor to work with military veterans and made orientation mandatory, Rafn noted. It also has created an alert system to monitor if students seem to be struggling in the first three weeks of school.

“Maybe we can find ways to help them , instead of letting them get deeper and deeper,” he said.

The district is trimming costs by leaving some positions empty, Rafn said. It also is cutting out overtime payments to some instructors for teaching extra classes, as well tightening compensation to reflect performance.

NWTC expects to enroll the equivalent of 7,200 full-time students in 2013-14.

 

Local learning institutions ahead of the curve with transfer credit agreements

From fox11online.com: “Local learning institutions ahead of curve with transfer agreements” — GREEN BAY – A provision in Governor Scott Walker’s budget calls for a solidified partnership between tech schools and the UW system to help transfer students. So FOX 11 looked into what partnerships are already in place, and how they might be improved.

Many local colleges say they’ve already had partnerships to help students who may have changed their minds, or are looking for something new in their education.

“Originally I was thinking film and then I switched to finance and neither of those I liked. I thought I would, but I didn’t really like them. And I started taking chemistry here and it really just clicked,” said NWTC Student Jared Christianson.

Christianson says now that he’s found his passion for chemistry, he’s ready to take his education to the next level.

“I’m going to transfer to (UW)GB,” said Christianson.

Christianson’s not alone.

“Our stats have definitely gone up. Over the past four years they’ve gone up 37 percent leaving here and going on to another partnering institution that we have an agreement with. The majority go to our UW system schools but others go to the private institutions as well,” said Anne Kamps, the director of learning solutions at NWTC.

Governor Walker’s proposal would make it mandatory for 30 credits of general education studies courses to transfer between all tech schools and UW system schools in Wisconsin.

Kamps says her school is ahead of the curve.

“In 2006 NWTC went out and did this far before the college board or the state recommended that, and we built our general studies transfer certificate that transfers 32 credits to UW Oshkosh and UWGB,” said Kamps.

Kamps says the majority of transfer students from NWTC go to those two UW schools.

In 2012, 320 students transferred to UW Green Bay.

106 transferred to Oshkosh.

“It always surprises people when I tell them that more of the students that cross our stage at graduation come to us as transfer students than came to us as new freshmen,” said Michael Stearney, Dean of Enrollment Services at UW Green Bay.

He says transfers to his school have increased significantly in the past decade.

28 percent come in as sophomores. 38 percent come in as juniors.

“Most come from technical schools in the area, NWTC or Fox Valley Tech, or one of the two-year UW campuses,” said Stearney.

Stearney says his school has a partnership in place locally, and also partners through an online database called U-Select.

It lets students comparison shop universities in Wisconsin and 16 others states to see which credits transfer.

Stearney says he supports the budget’s statewide plan to streamline transferring in Wisconsin.

“This formalizes it a bit but it’s certainly something that we’ve always been aware of. It’s clearly being developed in response to this need that students have to know ahead of time if this is going to work,” said Stearney.

The second part of the provision brings private colleges in Wisconsin into the fold.

St. Norbert College says about 100 students transfer to the school each year.

Most come from other four year colleges around the state and region.

“I think that the state of Wisconsin is already quite collaborative when it comes to transferring credits from one institution to another. But any time we can sit down and simplify the process or be able to partner even more to help students, that’s a good thing,” said Bridget O’Connor, the VP of Enrollment and Communications at St. Norbert College. “We want to make sure that Wisconsin students receive degrees from Wisconsin institutions.”

The specifics of an agreement between the UW System and the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities hasn’t been ironed out yet.

The proposal also includes expanding partnerships with tribal colleges. We reached out to the College of the Menominee Nation. They did not return our calls. However, the institutions we interviewed say they look forward to working with all colleges in the area.

If approved, the new transfer credit agreement between the UW System and tech schools would start in the fall of 2014.

The budget bill still must be approved by the assembly and senate before being signed by the governor.

NWTC looks to train students to identify human trafficking

From wbay.com: “NWTC looks to train students to identify human trafficking” — Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is exploring ways to help train students in fields like law enforcement how to be on the look out for the signs of human trafficking.

Becky McDonald is the co-founder of Women at Risk International, an organization that raises awareness about human trafficking.

“It is not a foreign problem, it is not an intercity problem, it is not an ethnicity problem, it’s a human condition problem,” explained McDonald.

Staff on Northeast Wisconsin Technical College’s campus have been selling jewelry made by survivors through Women at Risk International and raised $6,000 which goes directly back to those survivors.

Those involved say they had no idea human trafficking hit so close to home.

“It’s been amazing. People who’ve seen the sale and have come up and told us stories of people they know. It’s just been amazing and alarming at the same time,” said NWTC regional manager, Sarah  Nelson.

The founder of Women at Risk International is meeting with NWTC staff and professors to find out how students going into things like human services and law enforcement can be better trained to look for the signs of human trafficking.

“How, as a lawyer or law enforcement, do you look at the person as a victim and not a criminal? How do you interview instead of interrogate?” asked McDonald.

Right now students don’t get that kind of specific training.

“When they see something that doesn’t make sense, they haven’t been empowered by the law to address it, they haven’t been empowered with resources and they don’t even know what they’re seeing,” explained McDonald.

NWTC hopes to organize a training program that could be used statewide.

Demand drives need for new dispatcher training course

From wbay.com: “Demand drives need for new dispatcher training course” — Brown County -Action 2 News has learned plans are underway for a new partnership with the Brown County Communications Center, local law enforcement, and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.

They’re teaming up to create what they’re calling the area’s first dispatcher certification program.

It’s partly in response to a problem we first told you about back in October, after several dispatchers at the Brown County 911 Center walked off the job, fed up with scheduling issues, overtime, and stress.

At the time, the center was down six full-time dispatchers — about 10 percent of its staff.

The county brought in representatives from the police, fire, and sheriff’s departments to look at the problems and recommend solutions. Employees told them one of the biggest concerns is training.

Now the dispatch center and school are working to start a new training program.

Before Brown County dispatchers ever answer your 911 call or talk to police or fire crews on their own, they undergo three months of intense on-the-job training.

It’s stressful work, and some people are simply not cut out for it. Dispatchers have a national turnover rate of 18 percent a year.

“In our case, that would be anywhere from 10 to 12 people a year that we potentially could lose. And training 10 to 12 people a year for 13 weeks out of the year is an extensive amount of training,” says Brown County Communications Center Interim Director Cullen Peltier.

At the suggestion of law enforcement, NWTC realized a need for what it says would be the area’s first dispatcher certification program, and just a few weeks ago agreed to create it.

“Basically what we’re doing is just giving them very, very basic fundamental skills with regards to dispatching,” says John Flannery, NWTC Criminal Justice Instructor.

Flannery just became certified to teach this new course, a sort of basic training, so dispatchers don’t start a new job feeling blindfolded.

“When I was in law enforcement full time, I didn’t really understand until I went through the training myself the kind of stress that dispatchers have to put up with,” says Flannery.

They’re still working out all the details of the class, but the school hopes to start it as soon as early summer, with 25 to 30 students enrolled right away.

“Shortening up anything for us would be great because it’s time, it’s training effort, it’s dollars that we spend on the trainees while they’re doing the training program, so anything is a benefit to us,” says Peltier.

While the certification won’t be required, Peltier thinks it will make a big difference.

“It’s going to be a good program for the people that are coming through it,” he says.

Peltier says since September, the county has been slowly filling vacancies and has hired 14 new employees. He hopes to be at full staffing of 62 dispatchers in April.

 

Federal funds will keep NWTC training center busy

From foxonline.com: “Government checks off Navy warships” — MARINETTE – The federal government has signed off on building more Navy ships at Marinette Marine.

The Department of Defense awarded nearly $700 million to defense company Lockheed Martin Monday evening for two more Littoral Combat Ships, LCS 13 and LCS 15.

Those two ships will be number five and six of a 10-ship multi-billion dollar contract originally awarded in 2010. The Navy will announce the names of the ships at a future date.

And the announcement of the funding is a bit of a relief for some, like first year mayor Denise Ruleau. She says the DOD’s announcement only helps the rest of the city.

“There’s plenty of jobs,” said Ruleau of the availability of jobs in the city. “Lots of our large employers are hiring and expanding. We have a good problem.”

LCS 13 and 15 will be tacked on to the three ships already being built: the Milwaukee (LCS 5), Detroit (LCS 7), and Little Rock (LCS 9); another, the Sioux City (LCS 11), the company is buying parts to start construction.

Though the new ships won’t create any new jobs, Marinette Marine says the work will be welcome.

“We look forward to the backlog this is going to create for the shipyard,” said Marinette Marine President and CEO Chuck Goddard. “This will keep us busy through 2016 and sustain employment at about 1,400 people that we currently have.”

Goddard says there was some uncertainty of the funding, as Washington dealt with budget cuts and the $85 billion sequestration. Goddard says the funding is a vote of confidence.

“Now it’s up to us to perform,” said Goddard. “The Navy can always decide to stop work and terminate. That’s a choice that they have. But as long as you continue to perform, we’ll have these ships for the three years it takes us to get them through to delivery.”

The funding will also keep the company’s training center partnership with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College busy.

Over the past year and a half, NWTC has been working with current Marinette employees and contractors, as well as providing resources – like industry-specific software and technology – for students looking to get into ship building.

“And when you look at all the ship builders within the region and how we’re positioned with the training center, we’re providing support to that entire industry,” said Dean Stewart, Dean of NWTC’s Corporate Training and Economic Development.

Goddard expects it will take about one year to get the needed materials for the two newest ships.