President’s Message: Busy Times

A lot has happened between the release of our first WCA Pathyway’s newsletter in July and this second installment.

IWF 2016 was a huge success for the Woodwork Career Alliance and the attendance at our booth was overwhelming at times. The roll out of our new Woodwork Manufacturing Skill Standards book and Passport were welcomed with great enthusiasm!  Learn more.

On the education front, our next Accredited Skill Evaluator training session, scheduled for October 28, at Madison Area Technical College in Madison, WI, is completely sold out.  We still, however, have a handful of guest seats available for ASE training being held in North Carolina during the state’s fall Career and Technical Education Conference, November 18 in Atlantic Beach, NC. Learn More.

Speaking of education, I would be remiss not to thank our Essentials Donors for their continued support of WCA EDUcation members. Thank you Bessey, Franklin, Quickscrews, Rockler, Stiles, Taunton Press and Veneer Technologies for your generosity!  Learn more.

Finally, last week I  traveled in Maine along with representatives of the Northern Forest Center. We met with officials of the Maine Prison Industries about adopting the WCA Passport program in their Furniture – Wood Products Program. We also met with Central Maine Community College and Maine Community College System about the possibility of partnering to help create workforce development training for two or three wood product companies over a two-year period.  Potential subject matter for this program includes leadership development, supervisory development, conflict resolution, team development and effective communication. I’ll have more information to share in the future.

For now, enjoy the newsletter!

Scott Nelson, President

Woodwork Career Alliance of North America