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Kettle Moraine High School Woodshop WCA EDUcation member

Kettle Moraine High School Embraces WCA Core Credential

Kettle Moraine WCA EDUcation memberEditor’s note: A year ago, Pathways featured a profile of the robust woodworking program at Kettle Moraine High School. By happy coincidence, dozens of participating students were also members of the high school’s varsity football team which had just won the state of Wisconsin’s 2022 football championship. While the Kettle Moraine Lasers came up short in their playoff bid for a title repeat last Fall, the woodworking program continues to build on its impressive record of growth and achievements.

Perhaps most notably, the program led by technical education teacher Scott Bruening, is making the pivot to meet more rigorous requirements laid out by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development to continue receiving CTE incentive grants. As a result, Kettle Moraine woodworking students will not only be challenged to earn their WCA Sawblade Certificates this spring, they will also be evaluated and tested to receive the Core Credential, the next level of the WCA’s credentialing scheme. Earning core will further demonstrate a students’ readiness to join the woodworking industry if they so choose.

 

In 2016, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (WDWD) approved the Woodwork Career Alliance’s Sawblade Certificate as a recognized credential of its Career Technical Education Incentive Grant program. The incentive program was created “to support and strengthen quality CTE programming that results in industry-recognized certifications that help to mitigate workforce shortages.” As a result of the WDWD’s approval, high school woodworking programs using the WCA’s Skill Standards and Passport credentialing program became eligible to receive grant awards of up to $1,000 per graduating student who earned their Sawblade.

Entering this academic year, the WDWD raised the stakes for CTE Incentive Grant eligibility. Students are now required to earn the WCA’s Core credential for their high school woodworking program to receive a grant award. The Core credential, introduced in 2021, builds on the Sawblade Certificate that has long served as the cornerstone for recognizing a student’s ability to safely set up and operate basic woodworking machinery in accordance with the WCA’s Skill Standards. To achieve the Core credential, a student must earn the 10 skill points required for the Sawblade Certificate plus an additional 10 skill points while also accumulating at least 120 hours of hands-on woodworking experience. Students must also pass separate online tests for Sawblade and Core awards.

Kettle Morain High School Woodshop WCA EDUcation memberIn a letter to Wisconsin EDUcation member instructors, Scott Nelson, president of the WCA, noted that the WDWD made the change based on feedback from wood products manufacturers in the state who opined that the skills required by the Core credential better prepared interested students to enter the workforce. “As a past architectural woodwork manufacturer, I had to agree that the Core Credential does make the student a much more employable person directly out of high school,” Nelson wrote. “Our board of directors agreed and gave the state the OK.” The bottom line, Nelson added, “(T)he WCA’s mission is to help provide a trained workforce for the secondary wood processing industry, so we want to test as wide of a variety of tools/operations as possible.”

Kettle Moraine Takes on the Core Challenge
Scott Bruening, technology/engineering teacher at Kettle Moraine High School, was one of dozens of Wisconsin high school woodworking instructors who received Nelson’s letter outlining changes to the WDWD CTE Incentive Grant program. Kettle Moraine has been a WCA EDUcation member since 2019. Over the years, the Kettle Moraine woodworking department has received tens of thousands of dollars from the WDWD for helping students earn their Sawblade Certificates.

Bruening paid close attention to how the Core Credential builds on the Sawblade Certificate to get a better handle on what changes his program would have to make to the curriculum to help students achieve their Core Credential and qualify for WDWC grants.

Kettle Moraine High School Woodshop WCA EDUcation memberTo earn a Sawblade Certificate, a student must first pass the Skill Standards Basic Measuring and layout evaluations and be successfully evaluated for the following operations each worth 2 skill points:

Table Saw – Ripping
Jointer – Edge Jointing First Edge
Table Saw – Edge Rabbet Single Blade or Dado Set
Random Orbital Sander – Sand Flat Pieces of Solid Lumber
Drill Press – Drill Holes to Specified Location and Depths, or Completely Through Material

The student must then pass the online Sawblade Certificate test.

In addition to meeting the Sawblade Certificate requirements, to earn a Core Credential a student must accumulate at least 120 hours experience hours and earn an additional 10 skill points by demonstrating competency in the following operations:

Planer – Planing to Thickness
Jointer – Face Jointing
Portable Power Miter Saw – Square Crosscut (90º Miter)
Router Table – Edge Shaping
Band Saw – Rough Saw Parts from a Pattern

Note: Woodworking instructors can submit a request of alternative operations to the WCA for approval if their program does not have one or more of the equipment listed.

“I was happy to see that we were pretty much already teaching our kids the Core Credential requirements,” Bruening says. “We really didn’t have to make any significant changes because we were hitting those certification pieces before.”

Bruening adds that the biggest impact of the Core Credential is the extra time it takes to evaluate each student on the five additional machinery operations that are required. Fortunately, because Kettle Moraine’s block schedule provides woodworking students 85 minutes of class time every day of the week, Bruening, a WCA accredited skill evaluator, is able to accommodate the additional Core evaluations.

“We’ve already completed the student evaluations for both the Sawblade and Core requirements,” Bruening says. “Now all they have to do is complete their online tests which will happen soon. They will basically get their Sawblade Certificate and Core Credential simultaneously.”

Woodworking Program on the Growth Track
Kettle Moraine has approximately 200 students enrolled in woodworking classes this academic year. That represents about one-fifth of the high school’s student body. The staunch popularity of woodworking has been boosted by a significant increase in female participation this year. Girls now occupy about 20 percent of the nearly “sold-out” classes, Bruening says.

“I think we’re seeing more females take woodworking classes is that they have confidence they can do it and they are signing up with friends to take woodshop together,” Bruening says. “Nobody wants to be a solo rider so if they can take it together with friends it makes them more comfortable that they are not going to be the only girl in the class.”

In addition to record numbers of female participation, Kettle Moraine has expanded its woodworking program to include a Construction Cabinetmaking course. The new program is only open to students who complete Woods 1 and Woods 2.

“We have a really well-equipped woodshop,” Bruening says. “In our Woods 1 class, in addition to learning how to operate the equipment required for the Sawblade Certificate and Core Credential, students learn things like basic layout, project planning, board foot calculations and costing. In Woods 2, they tackle more complex projects like building Shaker tables with drawers and tapered legs. They learn to do face glues up because we only purchase 4/4 stock. There is more emphasis on finishing the job to a higher quality standard. It’s also an opportunity for students to work toward their WCA Green Credential.”

“In our Construction Cabinetmaking course, we introduce students to CNC-based projects using Mozaik software and a CNC Factory Viper nesting router. This allows us to teach more industry-level skills to the kids,” Bruening says. “Now we are getting more in-depth by allowing our cabinetry program to dovetail with construction. In addition to doing rough framing, the students are designing cabinets, nesting parts, assembling and finishing them. Bruening notes that the CNC router caught his eye at the 2021 AWFS Fair which he attended with the grateful financial assistance of a Greg Heuer Education Scholarship from the WCA.

Kettle Moraine High School Woodshop WCA EDUcation memberSolid Community Support
Bruening says he is hopeful that the woodworking shop will be expanded to accommodate more equipment and students.

“Because we our pretty much maxed out on capacity, we really can’t do the construction program the way we would like to do it because we are absolutely land locked in terms of space and the number of hours in a day,” Bruening says. He further notes that the school’s 10,000-square-foot shop and classroom “has a class in it every hour of every day all year long.”

A recent community survey showed that residents of Kettle Moraine’s school district rank Career Technical Education right near the top of academic programs that they would like to see improve and grow. “I was hard pressed to find a parent at our last open house who was not impressed with what we are doing in our program. It’s encouraging to know that the community, including those without kids at our school, support the skilled trades.”

“I think being a WCA EDUcation member helps validate our program,” Bruening says. “The skills that the kids use to earn their Core Credentials are directly tied to the projects they create, many of which they have pride taking home to mom and dad.”

 

State of the Woodwork Career Alliance: Still Growing Strong

SkillsUSA National Cabinetmaking competition

WCA will continue its partnership with SkillsUSA, including state and national cabinetmaking competitions. (Photo by Kristine Cox, Rowland Woodworking)

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Woodwork Career Alliance of North America (WCA) continues to increase industry awareness and participation, while also developing new programs to help train the next generation of woodworkers. Woodwork career alliance passport credential

WCA issued a record-shattering 1,358 credentials in 2023, nearly 40% more than the number it awarded in 2022 (980) and double the 2021 total (686). The vast majority of the credentials were Sawblade and Core issued to high school and postsecondary woodworking students. A small, but growing number of Green, Blue and other credentialing levels were issued to woodworking professionals.

To earn a credential, the candidate must successfully be evaluated and tested on a variety of woodworking skills. The Sawblade Certificate, for example, covers layout and measurement, plus set-up and operation of a jointer, table saw, portable hand sander and drill press.

The skill achievements and credentials are recorded in the individual’s Passport. WCA registered 1,391 Passports in 2023, down slightly from 2022 (1,423) but more than double that of 2021 (686). To date, the WCA has enrolled more than 6,000 Passport holders, nearly half of them in the last two years.

“The record number of WCA credentials in 2023 isn’t just a statistic; it’s a seismic shift in our industry,” said Scott Nelson, president of the WCA. “Each credential signifies not just technical achievement, but a dedication to quality and safety. For employers, it’s the golden ticket to a reliable workforce. For individuals, it’s a passport to career advancement, increased wages, and a sense of pride in their craftsmanship. This milestone isn’t just about numbers; it’s about building a brighter future for woodworking, one credential at a time.”

2023 also saw the WCA record modest gains in the number of participating woodworking educators, wood products manufacturers, and sponsors.

“We now have more than 140 EDUcation members and more than three dozen MANufacturing members,” Nelson said. “In addition, we ended 2023 with 28 Gold and 22 Silver sponsors. Twenty-eight of those sponsors have helped fund WCA programs for the last three years or more.”

More 2023-24 Highlights
WCA concluded 2023 by initiating the development of online training modules that wood products companies will be able to use to supplement their in-house training programs. The online training courses, to debut early this year, are part of the WCA’s new emphasis to grow its MANufacturing membership base by offering new benefits to wood products manufacturers.

The WCA entered into a partnership with the National Woods Board (NWB), a new non-profit organization is developing a scalable curriculum to teach students woodworking skills that will make them workforce ready. The NWB’s education programs that incorporates the WCA Skill Standards and Passport credentialing system to teach students woodworking skills that will make them workforce ready.

WCA EDUcation members

More than 140 high school and postsecondary woodworking programs are EDUcation members of the WCA.

Representatives of the WCA presented a well-attended half-day workforce development workshop at the AWFS Fair focused on helping woodworking companies establish or enhance in-house training programs. The WCA will conduct a similar workshop at the International Woodworking Fair this August.

WCA continued its involvement with the SkillsUSA Cabinetmaking competition on both national and state levels. The annual contest brings state SkillsUSA student champs from around the country together for the ultimate showdown.

WCA celebrated the awarding of its second Diamond credential ever to Lizzy Conley, new director of Madison College’s Cabinetmaking & Millwork program.

Finally, WCA continued to expand its industry out-reach through news releases and the quarterly Pathways newsletter. A new-look Pathways will debut in February.

The WCA’s new programs and industry promotions are made possible by its sponsors. They include:

Gold Sponsors
AWI QCP • Blum • Brown Wood Products • Cantek • Daniels-Olsen • Diamond Vogel • Eagle Woodworking • Franklin Intl • Friulmac USA • KCD Software • Kerfkore • Newman Machine • NBMDA • PantoRouter • Rev-A-Shelf • Richelieu • Roseburg • SawStop • SCM Group USA • Shaper Tools • ShopBot Tools • Smartech • Stiles Machinery • Thermwood • Titebond •Wood-Ed Table by Mimbis • Woodworking Network • Wurth Group

Silver Sponsors
Aiken Controls • Air Handling Systems • Black Bros. • Brookhuis America •
C.R. Onsrud • Castle USA • Colonial Saw • Daubert Chemical • Deerwood Fasteners • Dynabrade • Eagle Mouldings • GDP Guhdo • Gemini-Coatings • Hafele America • IMA-Schelling • Leitz Tooling • Lockdowel • Microvellum Software • PaintLine • Sorrelli Woodwork Consultants • Super Thin Saws • Weima America

Learn more about WCA membership and sponsorship opportunities.

Woodwork Career Alliance Launches Drive to Enlist More MANufacturing™ Members

Jefferson MillworkMembership benefits include access to online training videos and instructional guides.


LINCOLN, Neb. –
Wood product manufacturers looking for a solution to recruit, train, and retain skilled production employees should consider becoming a MANufacturing™ member of the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America (WCA).

The WCA MANufacturing membership is designed for forward-thinking woodworking companies willing to train, evaluate, and reward employees for growing their skill sets. The modest annual $250 MANufacturing membership subscription packs a lot of value.

Benefits include:

  • Credentialing – Develop a more cohesive in-house training program that incorporates the WCA Skill Standards and Passport credentialing system. Create individual employee pay incentives based on achieving measurable objectives in expanding their skill sets, making them more valuable members of your production team.
  • Training Tools – Gain access to online employee training materials, including instructional guides and videos created by seasoned woodworking educators.
  • Evaluator Training — WCA will train selected employees online as in-house Accredited Skill Evaluators to administer your credentialing program.
  • Customization — Optional customization of the program to fit your company’s needs including development of new skill standards to match your production equipment.
  • Promotion — Use of the WCA logo and brand on your website and communications. Make a bold statement to current and prospective employees, as well as your customers, that your company is committed to incorporating industry-vetted skill standards in your training program.

“The Woodwork Career Alliance was launched to develop a professional credentialing program to rival well-established programs in automotive, metal working, welding, and other skilled trades,” said WCA President Scott Nelson. “The WCA’s formative years were spent developing woodworking Skill Standards and credentialling programs. Over the last decade, hundreds of high school and postsecondary school woodworking programs have used the WCA Skill Standards to teach their students how to safely set up and operate key woodworking machinery based on industry best practices.

“We are now in the process of placing greater emphasis on working with professional woodworking companies of all sizes and types to adopt the WCA credentialing system to train their workforce,” Nelson added. “The ultimate goal is to help woodworking companies create career paths for production employees by rewarding them for improving and expanding their skills, and thus value to the company.”

Greg Larson, vice president of the WCA, said new online training programs are being developed that MANufacturing members can choose to use at an additional cost. “We are close to launching an online training module focused on math, measuring, and layout, important prerequisites for aspiring woodworkers. We plan to follow that up with modules devoted to topics including milling and machining, adhesives, and cabinet construction.”

MANufacturing is one of three major membership categories of the WCA. The other two are EDUcation™ and INDustry™ Sponsor.

Learn more and join the WCA as a MANufacturing member.

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 300 woodworking machine operations. In addition, WCA has issued over 5,000 Passport credentials, a portable, personal permanent record documenting each holder’s record of woodworking skill achievements. More than 160 high schools and post-secondary schools throughout North America are WCA EDUcation™ members and a growing number of woodworking companies have joined the WCA as MANufacturing™ members. To learn more about the WCA and how to get involved with its programs, including sponsorship opportunities, visit WoodworkCareer.org.

Trio of WCA Affiliates Receive 40 Under 40 Honors

Three members of the wood products industry with close ties to the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America were among those honored in this year’s 40 Under 40 awards program presented by Woodworking Network.

They include:

The WCA joins in celebrating the achievements of these and the other deserving members of Woodworking Network’s 40 Under 40 class of 2021.

The 2021 honorees will be celebrated at Woodworking Network’s Leadership Reception on July 19 during the AWFS Fair in Las Vegas. They will be profiled in the October 2021 issue of FDMC magazine.

Learn more.

 

 

 

NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa – Honorees of the 2021 Wood Industry 40 Under 40 have been announced by Woodworking Network. This year marks the sixth annual awarding of the 40 Under 40, which celebrates the next generation of industry professionals who are making an impact on wood products manufacturing in North America.

Those selected have been recognized by their peers for their achievements and innovations in the categories of: productivity, profitability, social good, ingenuity, peer inspiration, product development, organizational leadership, or another area. A total of 151 submissions were received and evaluated by a team of Woodworking Network editors.

“It’s always hard to narrow down the list to 40 honorees and 2021’s entries were no exception.  Among the entrants are highly successful entrepreneurs, marketing specialists, extraordinary woodworkers, educators and almost-rookie team members,” said Harry Urban, FDMC publisher. “While dealing with COVID personally and professionally, this year’s nominees have successfully navigated supply chain volatility, led and motivated team members and contributed to their communities.  Cheers for the Class of 2021!”

“It is our distinct pleasure to again recognize some of the best and brightest contributors to wood products manufacturing in North America with our sixth annual class of 40 Under 40 honorees. This year’s inductees join the 200 alums from prior years, forming a group of enterprising individuals destined to advance our industry to meet the everchanging challenges of the future,” said Tim Fixmer, CEO of CCI Media, the parent of Woodworking Network.

“Please join us in congratulating each of them and celebrating their commitment to excellence. We also hope that many of you will take the opportunity to meet some of this stellar group at the Executive Briefing Conference in September at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs,” he added.

This year marks Woodworking Network’s sixth annual awarding of the 40 Under 40, which celebrates industry professionals who are making an impact at their jobs, in the community, and on the North American wood products manufacturing industry. Through innovation, motivation or inspiration, honorees are contributing in the areas of productivity, profitability, social good (locally or globally), ingenuity, innovation, peer inspiration, product development, organizational leadership, or another facet.

Entries were solicited in print, email and online at WoodworkingNetwork.com, with a total of 151 nominations submitted in 2021. The candidates were judged by a team of editors, and the votes tallied.

The 2021 honorees will be profiled on WoodworkingNetwork.com and in the October issue of FDMC magazine. They will also be recognized at industry events including the Leadership Reception, July 19, the day prior to the AWFS Fair, and a reception at the Executive Briefing Conference, Sept. 8-10, at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado; 2021 honorees also will receive a complimentary registration to EBC.

Hocking College Cabinetmaking and Architectural Millwork Program to Debut this Fall

By Tracey A. Maine

Hocking College of Hocking, OH, has tabbed Chris Hedges to serve as program manager of the Cabinetmaking and Architectural Millwork program scheduled to launch this fall. The program is an EDUcation member of the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America. Hedges recently completed training to become a WCA accredited skill evaluator.

Originally from Circleville, OH, Hedges grew up in a home that showcased an assortment of antiques — all of which were hand-crafted by his ancestors. 

Chris Hedges, program manager of Hocking College’s new Cabinetmaking and Architectural Millwork program.

After high school, Hedges went on to earn both a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in sociology from Ohio University. During his second year as a graduate student, Hedges got an opportunity to teach at OU’s Zanesville campus and remained there for four years. 

Shortly before his daughter Aedan was born, Hedges was inspired to create a keepsake piece of furniture for her to pass down to her children and grandchildren one day. The result was a Craftsman-style dresser that ignited his passion for woodworking.  

The experience motivated Hedges to enroll in the University of Rio Grande’s Fine Woodworking program. There, he refined his talent for using both traditional and contemporary woodworking techniques. His efforts led him to win multiple awards at the 2007 Fresh Wood Student Design Competition at the AWFS Fair in Las Vegas.

In 2008, Hedges relocated to Knoxville, TN. There, he set up a cabinet and furniture making shop in the basement of his home. It eventually evolved into a fully operational furniture studio.

In 2014 he returned to Athens, OH. Since then, he’s been a contributing writer for Woodcraft Magazine and opened Aedan Works in Nelsonville, OH. Aedan Works is an independently run furniture store that specializes in bench-crafted, custom design cabinets and furniture.

Although this will be his first experience being a program manager, Hedges has been teaching woodworking classes in one form or another for the past decade.

“Attention to detail, creativity, a willingness to learn and the ability to self-determine” are the qualities Hedges says will allow students to be successful in his classes. He added that prospective students would work with a range of industry-standard machinery like table saws, shapers and moulders, and learn how to work with traditional hand tools such as saws and hand planes.

Students can either earn industry-recognized certificates through a leisure learning pathway or work toward a two-year degree with the possibility of earning a third-year internship/artist-in-residency position.

Overall, Hedges hopes his program will “establish Hocking College as a nationally recognized educational program with a mission that focuses on training both the mind and the hand.”

According to Hocking College’s Dean of Community Outreach and Workforce Development, Sean Terrell, classes for the Cabinetmaking and Architectural Millwork program are scheduled to begin in Autumn 2021. Terrell said that students can begin enrolling in the program once it receives HLC approval. He noted that this process could be completed as early as February 2021.

For more information on Hocking College’s Cabinetmaking and Architectural Millwork program, contact Program Manager Chris Hedges at hedgesc38563@hocking.edu.

 

Join the Conversation on the WCA Members Forum

Start or join a conversation on the new WCA EDU Members Forum.

The forum is accessible to all WCA EDUcation and MANufacturing members in good standing.

This is your opportunity to share ideas with or seek advice from your peers throughout North America.

For example:

  • What’s the best online sharing platform for teaching students woodworking online?
  • Who has developed new curricula for instructing and training programs that they would be willing to share?
  • How do you integrate independent learning into your program for more advanced students?

Got questions? Get answers from fellow woodworking instructors.

Start or join the conversation.

 

 

 

 

Newspaper: ‘Students Learn Real World Skills’ in RCHS Woodshop

The Morris Herald recently published a feature on the Reed-Custer High School (RCHS) woodworking program in Braidwood, IL.

The article highlights instructor Mark Smith’s commitment to teaching students not only how to work wood, but the business of woodworking as well.

The article notes, “(S)tudents learn business acumen, industry standards and how to network with professionals, right alongside carpentry, engineering, architectural design and how to use tools and machinery. Businesses court them before they graduate.”

RCHS is an EDUcation member of the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America and Smith is a member of WCA’s education committee. Pathways ran an article on Smith last summer emphasizing the many ways he publicizes his program and how it has helped him develop industry partnerships.

Read the Morris Herald’s article about the RCHS woodworking program.