Richard Christianson

Welcome New WCA Members and Sponsors!

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The Woodwork Career Alliance of North America is pleased to welcome eight new EDUcation™ member schools and five new INDustry™ Sponsors.

Thank you for your membership and support!

EDUcation™ Members
Boyceville High School, Boyceville, WI
Dobson High School, Mesa, AZ
Junction City High School, Junction City, OR
Mesa High School, Mesa, AZ
Mountain View High School, Mesa, AZ
Sheboygan Falls High School, Sheboygan Falls, WI
The Master’s Craftsmen, Ozark, MO
Tim Lucas Custom Woodworks, Bell, FL

View interactive map of all WCA EDUcation™ Members


INDustry™ Gold Sponsors
Bessey Tools of North America, Cambridge, ON
Wood-Ed Table by Mimbus, Chicago, IL

Industry™ Sawblade Sponsors
Brookhuis America, Suwanee, GA
Deerwood Fasteners, Conover, NC
Titus Plus, Seattle, WA

View all WCA INDustry™ Sponsors

 

 

 

 

 

Richard Christianson

Postsecondary Educators Embrace WCA Credentials

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More colleges and adult education woodworking programs are implementing WCA Skill Standards to prepare their students for professional careers.

The Woodwork Career Alliance of North America’s (WCA) Passport credentialing system is becoming an integral component of well-respected postsecondary woodworking programs across the nation.

Instructors find that implementing the WCA’s nationally-recognized skill standards creates a sturdy framework not only for teaching students about essential tools and techniques but also for evaluating their ability to apply what they learn.

WCA Passports are being issued as standard operating procedure to students attending programs at Eastern Maine Community College, Bangor, ME; Madison Area Technical College, Madison, WI; Michigan Career and Technical Institute, Plainwell, MI; and New England School of Architectural Woodworking; Easthampton, MA.

The Passport is an individual’s record of the woodworking skills the holder has achieved. Accumulating Passport points is a resume builder for students looking to forge a successful career in the woodworking industry after they graduate. As Greg Larson, instructor at the New England School of Architectural Woodworking puts it, “Earning WCA credentials gives them one more thing that the next person doesn’t have. It gives them a leg up on the competition.”

What follows is a snapshot of how each of these four diverse and heralded postsecondary programs has embraced WCA skill standards and Passport credentials.

Maine College Is WCA Passport Champ
No institution has issued more WCA Passports than Eastern Maine Community College (EMCC). Entering this year, 149 students of the college’s Fine Woodworking and Cabinet Making program have received a Passport, a number that will grow by 30 more this year says Les Stackpole, faculty and department chair.

The Passport holders fall into one of two distinct programs offered at EMCC. First there are students who attend the college’s two-year woodworking program to earn their associate degree. The other group consists of dislocated workers, most of them from the area’s shuttered paper mills, who receive federal assistance for training to embark on a new career.

“About 100 of the Passports were issued to workers who lost their jobs and come here a six-month intensive woodworking course,” Stackpole says. “We’re able to help set them on a new career path.”

Students of the two-year program are required to get a WCA Passport at the start of their second semester. “By then they know if woodworking and carpentry is for them and whether they will stick with the program,” Stackpole says.

Students are evaluated on their skills and receive Passport points for the hand and machine skills they successfully demonstrate. “They usually end up with more than 30 WCA credits required for their WCA Green credential after two years here,” Stackpole says. “The Green level is an option. We usually have three or four students who graduate with a Green credential.”

Stackpole says his graduates usually have multiple job offers. “The students with the Green credentials are the most sought after because employers know that they are the cream of the crop. They can get into a bit of a bidding war for better pay and a better benefits package.”

Stackpole is a WCA chief evaluator and has such has trained five others to be WCA accredited skill evaluations, including one who is on his staff.

Stackpole is excited that four area high schools are ramping up WCA EDUcation programs for their high school wood shops. “Students who earn their WCA Sawblade certificate in high school will receive three credits if they enroll in our program,” Stackpole says. “It’s great to see the WCA credential program gain momentum.” 

 

Madison College Raises the Bar
Incoming students at Madison Area Technical College now receive a WCA Passport as part of their tuition and earn a WCA Sawblade Certificate when they complete their first semester of training.

“We have formally integrated the Sawblade Certificate into our curriculum,” says Patrick Molzahn, director of Madison College’s Cabinet & Millwork program and a member of the WCA Board of Directors. “As part of their first semester coursework, all students are taught and evaluated on the skills for a WCA Sawblade Certificate. That includes measuring and layout, and basic set up and operation of a table saw, jointer, drill press and portable hand sander. Once they have successfully demonstrated their abilities they take an online test to earn their certificate.

“By integrating the Sawblade Certificate into our curriculum, students begin to understand the process and requirements of the WCA Passport credentialing system,” Molzahn says. “This experience better prepares them to shoot for Green and Blue level credentials beginning in their second semester. Earning WCA credentials is a great opportunity to show their sincere interest in pursuing woodworking as a career to a prospective employer.”

First semester students who previously earned their Sawblade Certificate in high school can begin earning their Green Credential right away.

“We are seeing more and more students arriving with the WCA Passport,” Molzahn says. “Wisconsin has the largest concentration of high school WCA EDUcation members in the country. As a result, we are able to take students further in their credentialing journey.

“Getting students credentialed to the WCA Skill Standards raises the bar for all that we do,” Molzahn adds. “Our ultimate goal of being a WCA EDUcation member is to improve our training and make it more relevant to industry.”

MCTI Boasts 100% Placement
The Michigan Career Technical Institute (MCTI) is a state-owned career and technical education facility established in 1944 to train returning World War II GIs. Today, the woodworking program taught by industry veteran Jim Wellever, is one of 13 programs offered by the center.

“The majority of our students have a hidden disability like attention deficit disorder, autism spectrum disorder or vision or hearing impairment,” says Wellever, an early adopter of the WCA’s credentialing system. “Our goal is competitive employment. Everyone who is accepted into this program has been assessed to determine that they are likely to be successful professional woodworkers.”

The MCTI woodworking program consists of up to 7, 10-week terms with the majority of students graduating at 40 weeks. “The WCA Skill Standards are beneficial particularly in the early stages of the program,” Wellever says. “While we occasionally get students with lots of prior woodworking experience, we assume that our first-term students have no prior experience, especially when it comes to teaching them about safe operation of machines. We start with all of the basic stuff – using a tape measure, jointer, planer and table saw – then work on up.”

Students are issued a WCA Passport when they begin their second term. “If a student makes it through the first 10 weeks, he is likely to make it the rest of the way,” Wellever says.

“Students who complete all four terms graduate with a WCA Green Credential,” Wellever adds. “They all have the competency of at least one high-tech machine be it a moulder, CNC router, edgebander or veneer sander. Most of our students are competent on numerous high-tech machines, plus the basic machines like table saws.”

Wellever says his graduates are highly coveted by woodworking companies. “We always are at, or near 100 percent placement,” Wellever says. “Having the Green Credential will help the students down the road with their careers but because this program has been around a long time, we’re already kind of a go-to place.”

The average starting wage for MCTI graduates is $13.75 hour, plus benefits, Wellever says. “We track our graduates, currently, those who have been on the job for a year are making an average of $963 a week. It’s a very living wage.”

WCA membership has its privileges, Wellever saysl “Being an EDUcation member of the WCA and subscribing to its Skill Standards brings a lot of objectivity to our program. I think one of the greatest side benefits of belonging to the WCA is the networking that we do with other member schools, also, articulation with high school programs here in Michigan.” 

NESAW Takes the High-End Road
The New England School of Architectural Woodworking (NESAW) offers an intensive 5-month program each spring. “We treat our program like it’s a job,” says Greg Larson, director of NESAW. “Our students train eight hours a day, five days a week. Most of their training revolves around building a high-end custom kitchen for someone in our community.”

Most of NESAW’s students are in their late 20s or early 30s. “We get a lot of career changers,” says Larson, a member of the WCA Board of Directors and winner of the 2017 WMIA Educator of the Year Award.

To get his students up to speed, each of them receives a WCA Passport and is trained and evaluated to earn the WCA Sawblade Certificate. “Beyond that, they all have the opportunity to go for the Green Credential because they learn more than enough skills and put in enough hours to earn that,” Larson says. “Even though in this day and age we have no problem placing a successful student with an employer, I still encourage them to get their Green Credential to help them stand out from other applicants, but it’s totally up to them.”

Larson says woodworking companies are slowly beginning to understand who the WCA is and why it’s mission to develop Skill Standards and career paths is so critical to the future success of the North American woodworking industry.

“From an employer’s point of view, having a credential process tied to nationally recognized standards and not just my particular whims as an instructor is a big plus,” Larson says. “The WCA Skill Standards bring an important element of professionalism to the industry which is why I’m using them in my program.”

Learn more about the Woodwork Career Alliance and its Skill Standards and Passport credential program.

Richard Christianson

Award-Winning Program Trains Under-Employed Adults for Woodworking Careers

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Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Greater West Town Training Partnership has helped prepare 900 people for jobs
in the greater Chicagoland woodworking industry.

Students learn various construction techniques making a series of small upper cabinets.

The Greater West Town Training Partnership (GWTP) of Chicago is one of the more unique EDUcation™ members of the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America. The program aims to link the education and training of disadvantaged area residents with economic development efforts and workforce needs of local businesses. 

Since being established 25 years ago, the GWTP has trained and placed some 900 low-income adults with jobs at local woodworking businesses. In recent years, the GWTP has issued a WCA Passport to each of its graduating students. The Passport is the student’s personal record of the woodworking skills he or she has successfully demonstrated during the credential evaluation process.

Doug Rappe, program coordinator and a WCA accredited skills evaluator, has been involved with GWTP since its inception. “Conveniently this program was just starting up as I got back from serving with the Peace Corps teaching woodworking in rural Sierra Leone,” Rappe says.  “I applied and 25 years later, here I am.”

In recognition of his long-standing dedication to workforce development, the Woodworking Machinery Industry Association honored Rappe with the 2014 Educator of the Year Award.

Program Is Free, But Not Easy
GWTP is part of the Greater West Town Community Development Project, a not-for-profit entity that gets its funding from a variety of public agencies and charitable foundations. In addition to woodworking, GWTP offers a hands-on shipping and receiving training program. The two training programs each occupy space in a 55,000-square-foot facility that formerly housed an envelope manufacturer. The building was extensively renovated prior to GWTP moving into it in 2010.

A Weeke Vantech is the centerpiece technology of GWTP’s woodshop.

There is no cost for students to attend the training programs provided they meet the qualifications. “Typically, anyone who is receiving unemployment or some other kind of public benefit can qualify for the program,” Rappe says. “Once we have someone’s interest, we want them to come out to visit us and see the program because when they see it they understand how real it is. They can see the projects that are being made and ask staff and students questions.”

In addition to substantiating their financial need, applicants have to pass a drug test and demonstrate basic math and language skills.

“We really want to make sure that our students are ready to succeed when they graduate,” Rappe says. “I tell them up front that we’re going to give them a lot of hard work to do. This is not open shop time. We make sure they understand right away that they are going to go through this very rigid curriculum and projects. At the end, we’re counting on them taking a job.

“This is almost like a backdoor into the industry that very few people know about or have access to,” Rappe adds. “There is no other place in the Chicago area where you can get this quick, intensive hands-on experience with real up-to-date equipment.”

The centerpiece of GWTP’s well-equipped woodshop is a Weeke Vantech CNC nesting router. “We’re fortunate that over the years our agency has managed things very conservatively so that when we needed to invest in equipment the money was there,” Rappe says. 

Overview of the GWTP Program
The GWTP program typically has up to 12 students per each 15-week session. Students attend class seven hours a day, five days a week. In addition to learning woodworking skills in the shop, students attend classes to learn how to read blueprints, strengthen their math skills and software programming.

Students are given more autonomy on machines after they demonstrate knowing safety rules.

the shop, safety is paramount, especially considering that nearly all of the students have no or little woodworking experience. “We have to get people confident to operate equipment quickly,” Rappe says. “Our safety curriculum revolves around a series of quizzes about the safe operation of each machine. Our students are always very closely supervised but over time they get more autonomy to operate a machine.”

During their first four weeks in the shop, students learn about different wood construction methods by making a series of four small upper cabinet boxes.

“The dimensions and materials for each box are identical. What we change is the type of construction starting with staples and screws, then plate joiner, pocket screws and CNC dowel construction,” Rappe says. “The goal is to give them success right away by making a physical project but also covering a lot of ground without going off in too many directions.”

With each succeeding box, students add new skills like print reading and applying math needed to develop a cut list. “Of course, they learn the technical skills with the tools,” Rappe says. “They typically start with precut parts for the first box. They do some cutting for the second box. Then they cut all the material for the third box and generate all of the material and parts for the next class with box four.”

“The class projects vary, but they are all designed to cover all of the basic equipment: table saw, jointer, shaper and planer,” Rappe says. Students also get exposed to working with a variety of materials including composite panels, wood, and solid surface materials. “Solid surface is great for helping them learn how to use hand-held routers and polishers. My strategy when I think about adding anything to the curriculum is how does it create the most value for our students and their future employers. We don’t want to teach skills that nobody needs.”

“We’re trying more and more to introduce technology sooner so that we can give them more time with the CNC,” Rappe adds. “As an advanced skill it would be easy to save if for the end but we understand that our students can graduate and go to work at any level with a CNC machine. They might be just an operator loading and unloading parts, an intermediate operator who is loading programs and loading parts or someone who is creating programs and editing them.”

Nearly every student who completes the 15-week training program graduates. “Essentially if someone is here every day and working to the best of their ability, then our commitment is to help them get a job,” Rappe says. “If they struggle with certain machines, then we find them an appropriate job. If they are the top their class and they aced everything, then we are going to find them an appropriate job at that level, too. We don’t leave anybody behind. There are employers who happily hire them knowing what they are getting.”

“One of the biggest stumbling blocks that prevents people from making it through the program is organizing their life around it,” Rappe adds. “This is a big-time commitment. It’s 35 hours a week and we demand punctuality and attendance. Probably the number one reason for someone getting separated from the program is they just can’t show up.”

Doug Rappe, who has been the lead instructor of the GWTP for 25 years, fully embraces the Woodwork Career Alliance’s skill standards and credential Passport program.

Proud Member of the WCA
GWTP boasts its membership with the WCA on its website. In addition to receiving a diploma, GWTP grads leave the program with a WCA Passport loaded with points for each skill they have demonstrated through the evaluation process.

“We are trying more and more to align our curriculum with the Woodwork Career Alliance skill standards,” Rappe says. “They are a great teaching tool. We are able to point to a nationally recognized group that says this is the way something is supposed to be done. This is how you know it’s right.

“I think that our students know that while it’s not a ticket to a job, the credentials are another important recognition of their achievement,” Rappe continues. “That in itself is a big deal.”

Being a WCA EDUcation-member also is important to making a favorable impression on the program’s funders. “Being a non-for-profit, it really helps to be part of an industry standard organization. I know that it is a huge deal in the metal working industry and over time I think woodworking employers will come to recognize the WCA credentials more and more.”

“Ultimately what gets me coming back year after year is seeing our students go to work in an industry that I love,” Rappe says. “Seeing them succeed and knowing that Great West Town has helped teach them skills and achieve a career is extremely rewarding.”

Learn more about the Greater West Town Training Partnership.

 

Richard Christianson

Woodwork Career Alliance Offers New Training Tool Kit

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Online resources can be used to help establish training programs in the classroom or on the shop floor.

Nellysford, VA – April 2, 2018 –  The Woodwork Career Alliance of North America now offers a treasure trove of tools for training students and entry-level woodworkers. Unlimited access to the online vault of training resources is a valuable new benefit that comes with the $250 annual fee for EDUcation™ and MANufacturing™ membership in the WCA.

While most of the training tools were developed to help high school woodworking instructors implement the WCA’s Sawblade credential program, woodworking businesses can readily adapt them to address their specific training needs.

“Developing a structured program for training new hires from scratch is both time consuming and costly, especially for small shops,” said Patrick Molzahn, director of the Cabinet & Millwork program at Madison College in Madison, WI. “Businesses can use the WCA’s sawblade credential program and resources to train someone who is new or has limited woodworking experience on some of the most basic, yet important fundamentals of woodworking. It’s $250 well-spent.”

Each of the training modules includes a step-by-step learning plan and corresponding learning tools. For example, the learning plan for operating a table saw covers recommended reading assignments, instructional videos, and a checklist of saw safety, key parts and functions. The learning plan also features a series of table saw operator activities such as tapering, beveling and mitering. Rounding out the table saw module are evaluation tools for assessing the quality of the cuts. (Watch sample video: Tapering on a Table Saw.)

Other training modules available to WCA members include:

  • Layout and Measurement;
  • Milling;
  • Shaping;
  • Boring; and
  • Sanding.

“We plan to add new resources as often as possible,” Molzahn said. “We welcome contributions from industry, academia and others who are willing to help us build out our library.”

The training resources were detailed in a recent webinar presented by the Association of Woodworking & Furnishing Suppliers. Molzahn and Bert Christensen, woodworking instructor at Westosha Central High School of Salem, WI, discussed how they utilize the online tools in their respective programs to credential students to WCA skill standards. Click here, to watch the webinar on demand.

To learn more about the benefits of becoming a member of the Woodwork Career Alliance, visit WooodworkCareer.org.

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About the Woodwork Career Alliance
The Woodwork Career Alliance of North America was founded in 2007 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and is governed by a volunteer board of directors. The WCA’s mission is to develop and administer a unified set of Skill Standards for the wood products industry. Since 2011, WCA has developed observable and measurable performance standards and assessments for more than 240 woodworking machine operations. In addition, WCA has issued more than 1,600 Passports, a portable, personal permanent record documenting each holder’s record of achievements as a woodworking professional. More than 100 high schools and post-secondary schools throughout North America are WCA EDUcation™ members. To learn more about the WCA, how to get involved with its programs or to sign up to receive the quarterly WCA Pathways e-newsletter, visit WoodworkCareer.org.

Richard Christianson

AWFS Webinar Targets Integrating WCA Credentialing in the Classroom

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The Association of Woodworking & Furnishing Suppliers presented a March 13 webinar focused on Woodwork Career Alliance accredited skills evaluator training. The webinar featured Patrick Molzahn, of program director of Cabinetmaking and Millwork at Madison College in Madison, WI, ,and Bert Christensen, instructor at Westosha Central High School in Westosha, WI. 

The duo provided useful ideas that educators can use to implement the WCA credentialing system in their classroom. In addition, Molzahn and Christensen discussed the library of videos, training resources, and educational materials that the WCA has assembled to make help woodworking teachers. The webinar is a shortened version of the CWWK Teacher Track session offered at the 2017 AWFS Fair.

View the PowerPoint presentation.

 

 

 

 

Richard Christianson

The ‘Canadian Connection’ Featured in Winter Pathways

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The Woodwork Career Alliance of North America recently released the Winter edition of Pathways, a quarterly newsletter devoted highlighting woodworking education and workforce development.

Highlights include:

Meet Mick McGowan: The WCA’s Canadian Connection
Read how this veteran cabinetmaker and college woodworking instructor is leading the charge to spark Canadian interest and involvement with the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America (WCA).

Building a Sturdy Woodworking Industry-Technical Education Partnership
Lutz Woodworks of Wylie, TX, has developed a strong bond with the Dale Jackson Career Center’s woodworking program.

NBMDA Sets the Gold Standard for New WCA Sponsorship Program
The North American Building Material Distribution Association (NBMDA) and 14 of its members have signed on as Gold Sponsors of the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America (WCA). Their sponsorships will benefit WCA high school and postsecondary woodworking programs in the United States and Canada.

Read Winter Pathways

Richard Christianson

Building a Sturdy Woodworking Industry-Technical Education Partnership

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Dale Jackson Career Center

Joe Davis, second from left, with students and their award-winning projects.

Lutz Woodworks of Wylie, TX, has the distinction of being the first company to sign on as an INDustry Supporter of the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America (WCA).

The architectural woodworking company’s $250 sponsorship fee will help three students at the Dale Jackson Career Center (DJCC) in Lewisville, TX, cover the cost of their skill standard assessments. Each of the high school seniors is striving to earn his Green Credential, the first of five WCA woodworking professional credential levels.

Greg Lutz, vice president of Lutz Woodworks and president of the Texas AWI Chapter, said he views the sponsorship as an investment in the industry’s future. Lutz is a strong advocate of career and technical education (CTE). He not only has a seat on the DJCC advisory board, he also serves as an advisor for his local high school district.

“It’s easy to take for granted what a high school program like this one can make,” Lutz said.

Through his involvement with SkillsUSA Texas, Lutz met Joe Davis, mill and cabinet instructor at DJCC and an active member of the SkillsUSA cabinetmaking contest. Over the past 23 years, Davis has taught woodworking to more than 1,200 students. While only a small percentage of his students pursue woodworking careers, Davis said he is resolute in teaching them basic skills and essential safety to be successful.

“My goal is to give kids the best shot at what they want to do, whether they want to make woodworking a career, go to college or enjoy woodworking as a hobby,” Davis said.

‘Something to Shoot for’
Davis is a WCA accredited skills evaluator and his program has been a WCA EDUcation member from the onset. Students who take a third semester in the DJCC woodworking program are introduced to the WCA skill standards and Passport program with the opportunity to earn a Sawblade Certificate.

“The WCA gives the kids something to shoot for and show what they learned by being evaluated on it,” Davis said. “It’s a great starting point.”

Each of the three students working toward their Green Certificate is already a Sawblade Certificate holder. “They have been successfully evaluated on measuring, performing accurate cuts and proficiency on basic equipment,” Davis said.

Davis said the money donated by Lutz Woodworks will pay for half of each student’s skill assessments. “I think it’s important that the kids pay something out of their own pocket so that they have a buy-in on this.”

In addition to embracing the WCA skill standards and Passport program, Davis challenges his students to participate in competitions like SkillsUSA and student design contests at IWF in Atlanta and the AWFS Fair in Las Vegas.

“Students taught by Joe Davis at the Dale Jackson Career Center are always contenders in cabinet building competitions,” Lutz said. “When you see some of the furniture that his students make that would cost really good money to buy, then realize that it was made by a high school girl or boy, you appreciate the passion that Joe brings to teaching these kids to do such amazing things.”

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Working with Industry
More advanced students in Davis’ program have the opportunity to participate in paid internship programs with local woodworking companies including PIN, Greenpoint Technologies, Laminate Works and many others.

Davis said his students who want to become professional woodworkers have little trouble finding a willing employer.

“We host a career fair once a semester,” Davis said. “I always encourage woodworking owners to come talk to my students. They have to make the effort to build a relationship if they want to hire one of them.”

Ironically, in spite of his close relationship with Davis and the DJCC, Lutz has not been able to hire interns because his shop is about one hour away on the other side of the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex.

“We may not be able to reap the benefits of one of these three students coming to work for us, but I think the bigger picture is that we need to do something to grow our industry,” Lutz said. “It might only be a little bit of money but I almost feel a moral obligation to help.”

Lutz said he is making plans for his company to join the WCA as a MANufacturing member at which time it can initiate employee training and incentive programs premised on the WCA’s Passport and skill standards.

“The men and women that we have on the production floor often times don’t get a lot of additional training credentials to show their skills and be proud of,” Lutz said. “We can base their wage increases on skills development. That gives an employee more reason to better himself and this will make our company better in the process.”

Learn how to support your local woodworking program by becoming a WCA INDustry Supporter Sponsor.

Scott Nelson

President’s Message: New Year, New Industry Support

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The Woodwork Career Alliance is starting 2018 – and its second decade – with a big boost from the North American Building Material Distribution Association (NBMDA) and 14 of its members. They have all signed on as Gold INDustry Supporter Sponsors!

We have since added the Wood-Ed Table by Mimbus, as a Gold sponsor and have received support from three companies as Industry supporters.

Our initial sponsors include:

Gold Sponsors: Arauco, Atlantic Plywood, Axalta Coating Systems, Columbia Forest Products, Daniels-Olsen/Metro Hardwoods, E.B. Bradley, Intermountain Wood Products,  M.L. Campbell, Milesi Wood Coatings, NBMDA, OHARCO, Rev-A-Shelf, Timber Products, Web-Don, Wood-Ed Table and Wurth Group North America.

INDustry Supporters: Brookhuis America, Deerwood Fasteners and Lutz Woodworks.

I thank each and everyone of these companies for supporting WCA EDUcation institutions and students and helping us raise awareness of the WCA’s Woodworking Skill Standards and efforts to develop and grow a skilled woodworking workforce in the U.S. and Canada.

I hope you will consider joining the ranks of our inaugural sponsors. Click here to learn more about sponsorship opportunities and benefits.

Maine State Prison Update
In WCA MANufacturing news, I am pleased to report that the pilot program we are working on with the Maine State Prison Industries is moving forward.  Passports have been issued to 23 inmates and they have started the credentialing process by undergoing skill assessment evaluations. The goal is for each of these inmates to earn their Blue Credential by the end of this year. 

This pilot program is possible through a grant from the Northern Forest Center which is funding 50% of the cost of the Passports and Assessments. The overall objective is to enter 50 inmates into the program prioritized by release date. When the inmates are eligible to enter the work release program, which is 18 months from release, they will be placed with a manufacturer that has the need for their skills and start their journey back into the workforce and society.

Two other quick things:

  1. We just added a map of EDUcation member schools. Click here to find WCA institutions nearest you. If you know of a high school or postsecondary woodworking program not listed, please let us know, including a contact name and information if possible.
  2. Mark your calendar for IWF 2018, August 22-25 in Atlanta, and plan on visiting WCA at Booth 4156!

 I hope everyone has a great 2018!!!

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

Richard Christianson

Meet Mick McGowan: The WCA’s Canadian Connection

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Veteran cabinetmaker and college woodworking instructor is working to launch WCA EDUcation programs in Calgary high schools.

Mick McGowan is training high school woodworking instructors in Calgary to become accredited skill evaluators through the Woodwork Career Alliance.

Mick McGowan is leading the charge to spark Canadian interest and involvement with the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America (WCA).

McGowan, an accomplished cabinetmaker, college instructor and member of the WCA Board of Directors, is working on multiple fronts to help the WCA woodworking skill standards and Passport credential program gain traction in his home province of Alberta and beyond. Ranking high among his WCA-related projects, McGowan was contracted by the Calgary Board of Education to train about a dozen high school woodworking instructors to become WCA accredited skill evaluators.

“The end game is that once all of these guys are accredited and their credentials are established, they are going to birth WCA programs in their respective high schools,” McGowan said. “Hopefully this will spread to other public and separate high schools in Calgary and the province. I find this very exciting. I think once we get the WCA established that it will really fill a big need.”

That big need to be filled is bringing more skilled talent into the woodworking industry to alleviate a critical challenge faced by wood product manufacturers throughout the United States and Canada. The WCA was established in 2007 to develop and grow a skilled workforce. It has created more than 240 performance-based skill standards used to evaluate the proficiency of student and professional Passport holders. They can grow their careers and earnings potential by earning skill credits added to their personal Cloud-based Passport account.

“What I like about the WCA program is that it’s not a training program,” McGowan said. “It’s freestanding, voluntary and established. That means you can train someone any way you want. You can use your existing training framework and use the WCA for evaluation and credentialing. It’s very flexible and establishes a coast-to-coast skills standard. A Passport holder can move from one part of the country to another and impress a potential employer with the Passport credentials they have obtained.”

Getting the Ball Rolling in Calgary
McGowan has the credentials and connections to take on the job of launching Canada’s first WCA EDUcation programs.

Calgary high school teachers James Loach, left, and Stewart Price participate in a training class taught by Mick McGowan.

McGowan has been a professional woodworker since 1976 when he began his apprenticeship and eventually achieved journeyman cabinetmaker status. He has operated his own custom woodworking business and has instructed woodworking courses at SAIT Polytechnic since 1994. For the past 12 years McGowan also has been very active with Skills Canada, helping to coordinate the annual competition in Alberta, representing the province on the national Skills Canada technical committee and as expert or trainer with Canada’s World Skills team since 2005. For his efforts, he was named 2016 Skills Canada Alberta Volunteer of the Year. His volunteerism has extended to the WCA as a board member and author of woodworking skill standards.

Just over a year ago, the Calgary Board of Education reached out to McGowan to provide professional development training for high school woodworking instructors. Woodworking is included in the Calgary public school system’s Career and Technology Foundations program.

“The school system has a lot of well-intentioned and knowledgeable woodshop instructors but few if any have actual woodworking credentials,” McGowan said. “They were hired because of their teaching credentials. Some are semi-trained woodworkers at best. They are mainly avid amateurs and many of them are quite good.”

McGowan said the monthly training program he created revolves around the WCA skill standards and Passport program. “Each of the teachers has his own Passport and is earning tool stamps,” McGowan said. “So far training has involved everything from making push blocks for a table saw on a jointer to making five-piece raised panel doors. They have all received training on table saws, chop saws, jointers, planers, table routers, handheld routers and working with veneer. Above all else, my classes emphasize safety.

“Once an instructor has been accredited as a WCA skill standard evaluator, the next step is for his program to become a WCA EDUcation member,” McGowan added. “Then he can start evaluating and credentialing student Passport holders. For kids who want to pursue woodworking, the Passport credential program should be very attractive for helping them prepare for a career.”

Travis Visscher, a high school woodworking instructor in Calgary, is among those being trained to become accredited skill evaluators of the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America.

Warren Ferguson, learning specialist for the Calgary Board of Education, said, “From my perspective, the WCA helps educators meet as a Community of Practice, thereby building our collective professional capital. Not all educators are able to participate in apprenticeship training in an institution of higher learning. This pathway, optional for teachers, is a structured system of skills development and assessment that connects well with what students are expected to know. It incorporates capacity building with external measures, which aligns with the writings of noted Harvard education professor Richard Elmore.”

Making Woodworking Cool to Youth
While many industry professionals claim it’s extremely challenging to get kids excited about woodworking, McGowan disagrees. “I don’t think its hard to get kids interested about woodworking. I think a big part of the problem is in the traditional model. We really need to have programs augmented with manufacturing automation without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

“It’s important to teach traditional skills while not ignoring automation and CNC,” McGowan continued. “I think the CNC world makes woodworking appealing to kids because it’s not just Geppetto making wood carvings.  For example, at SAIT we really emphasize the fundamentals right back to hand tool skills and proper drafting of shop drawings. Then we teach students AutoCAD and they really get hooked on that. It opens up a lot of doors so that you can segue into manufacturing automation.”

‘The Power of Persistence’
Through his involvement with Skills Canada, McGowan has been able to inform fellow members of the technical committee about the WCA. “The committee is made up of educators representing each of the provinces. They all say they see the value of the WCA, but none have acted on it yet.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned a lot about, it’s the power of persistence. Once we have established WCA high school woodshop programs in Calgary, it will be easier for others to learn from our experience. I’ve been with the WCA almost since its inception. They’ve come a long way, but there’s still a long way to go.”

Richard Christianson

Video: High School Students Learn Business of Woodworking

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The need for a younger workforce is prevalent throughout the architectural woodwork industry.  Many students are interested in woodworking, but lack someone who will take the time to assist them in exploring their interest.

A video recently distributed by the Architectural Woodwork Institute (AWI) is an inspiring example of how collaboration of an industry supplier with a high school can help fill the workforce gap.  The video features Top Saw Industries of Phoenix, AZ, along with a Paradise Valley High School teacher and his woodshop students telling how the school’s successful woodshop program is enticing students while enhancing their life skills.

Watch the video and see and hear the passion of the students about woodworking and their enthusiasm about utilizing business skills learned in the class.  They are being successfully prepared for a career path in the industry.