President’s Message: Celebrate with WCA at IWF

2026 is shaping up as another outstanding year for the Woodwork Career Alliance!

We have already enrolled 1,131 new candidates in the Passport Credentialing Program. In addition, we have awarded 1,202 credentials within our various skill levels. Our EDUcation memberships are maintaining a level rate, and our MANufacturing memberships are increasing at a steady pace. Through the valued support of our INDustry sponsors, we continue to advance WCA’s industry outreach via the issuance of press releases and deployment of the Pathways newsletter.

The success of the WCA’s programs is further exemplified by the Wood Industry Association’s recent selection of Molly Turner, woods manufacturing instructor at Ignacio High School, for the 2026 Wooden Globe Award for Educator of the Year. Molly is a long-time WCA EDUcator and one of the first to successfully train to become a WCA Accredited Skills Evaluator. She has not only been instrumental in helping improve Ignacio’s woodworking program but has helped many students earn their WCA credentials. Congratulations, Molly!

Get Ready for IWF!
Remember, IWF 2026 is just around the corner. Please stop by our Booth BC424 and learn more about our programs that may benefit your company, your local school districts and your existing and future employees.

At IWF, WCA will present two workshops:

Wednesday Aug 26 9:00AM –11:30AM
“Building & Executing an In-house Training Program for Your Workers”
The workshop will highlight ways woodworking companies can create in-house training programs to on-board new hires or elevate the skills of existing employees. The presentation will showcase the WCA Skill Standards, which are designed to be a modular, progressive, and competency-based system that manufacturers can use to help create a training template for their unique business needs. The cost of the seminar will include a one-year WCA MANufacturing membership at the reduced cost of $100.

Thursday August 27 1:00PM – 2:00PM
“An Overview of the new WCA Online Employee Training Resources”
The online platform currently consists of five modules including those focused on measurement and layout, wood characteristics including moisture content, and machining and milling. The digital programs are designed to help wood products manufacturers train new and existing employees with little or no woodworking background. The training modules are especially beneficial for companies that do not have the time, resources or know-how to provide employees the in-depth background knowledge they need to be successful in their positions.

I greatly appreciate IWF leadership for providing WCA with these important forums to interact with professional woodworkers about our programs. I also want to thank IWF and Expo Auctions for the Silent Auction that will take place at IWF and online. Net proceeds benefit the WCA and its programs.

Join the fun, bid for great items and help support our cause at IWF Atlanta | Expo Auctions.

WCA’s new registry for the administration of the Passport Credentialing Program is finishing final testing and will be ready to launch at IWF 2026 for the fall semester at WCA schools. The new streamlined registry will speed the process used by WCA Educators to record hands-on evaluations and online testing results to credential their students. Again, stop by our Booth BC424 to learn more.

As always, we thank the continued support of our GOLD & SILVER Sponsors!! These companies and organizations truly allow us to continue to develop our programs and accomplish our goal developing and growing a trained workforce!

Hope to see you at IWF 2026!!

Sincerely,

Scott Nelson
President
Woodwork Career Alliance of North America
snelsonwca@gmail.com