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Watch for the dates for the 2012 AMTEC Academies.
AMTEC and Bluegrass Community and Technical College hosted this NCATC Summer Workshop June 8-10, 2011 in Lexington, KY. Over 100 college and industry representatives participated in the workshop that ended on Friday with a choice of a tour of the Ford Motor Co. Truck Plant in Louisville or the Kentucky Horse Park, NARA, and Gainesway Horse Farm in Lexington. Keynote speakers included Dr. Klaus M. Blache, director of the Reliability and Maintainability Center at the University of Tennessee and Chris McCarron, Hall of Fame Jockey and Executive Director of the North American Racing Academy (NARA) at Bluegrass Community and Technical College.
Sessions included:
Standardizing Curriculum to Meet Industry's Needs
Introducing the AMTEC Curriculum - an introduction and demonstration of the interactive modules of the AMTEC curriculum.
Innovation: A new Approach to Instruction - Mary Helen Hendrix's, Director KCTCS Interactive Digital Center, presentation included using interactive 3D content applications as instruction strategies to teach technical content in a personalized student learning environment.
The Evaluation Process: AMTEC's Balanced Score Card - This session demonstrated the use of the Balanced Score (BSC) as a method to evaluate an organization's success. The balanced scorecard suggests that an organization be viewed from four perspectives, to develop metrics, collect data, and analyze it relative to each of these perspectives.
Providing a Pipeline Through Career Pathways
Education and Training in Automotive Manufacturing: A Review of the Career Pathways - Subject matter experts with an understanding of both the theory and applied framework for implementing effective employer driven career pathways to automotive and advanced manufacturing employment presented updated information on the importance of a partnership between industry and community colleges for a competitive workforce.
Elkhorn Crossing School: An Innovative High School Educating the New Technician - Scott County's newest high school uses inquiry-based education for 10th and 11th grade students. The presentation focused on the structure of the villages and how the structure leads to a methodology where students are engaged and motivated to learn at the high school level.
KCTCS Online Learn on Demand College Readiness Program - This session highlighted the College Readiness program for reading, writing, and math that were developed fully online in a modularized self-paced, competency-based format.
The Toyota and BCTC Intern Program - this session was a panel discussion along with Q&A regarding the partnership and the intern program that was launched in the fall of 2010. The panel included the AMTEC partner representatives from BCTC and Toyota as well as two students participating in the program.
Industry Perspective Technician Education
Innovative Strategies: Industry Led Curriculum Development - Best Practices and Lesson Learned - A panel discussion with AMTEC course leaders and module developers relating their experience in working together to develop the AMTEC hybrid online curriculum.
The "AMTEC" story - Understanding and Reaching Manufacturers in Your Community - This panel discussion consisted of the AMTEC Strategy Board members representing industry discussing what colleges need to know about industry when creating local and national collaborations and partnerships.
Overall Equipment Effectiveness: Measuring the Gap - Experts from Ford, GM and Toyota helped participants understand the importance of automotive manufacturing systems and how they improve actual performance.
Up Skilling Employees Using the AMTEC Assessments - This session featured industries that had used the AMTEC assessments to determine the depth of the employees' knowledge and skills needed to perform their responsibilities.
Alamo Community College District in San Antonio, Texas hosted the 2011 AMTEC Academy. The Academy, Career Pathways in Automotive Careers: The "How to" of Attaining Successful Pipeline Models, featured the emerging AMTEC model which is based on an indepth literature review as well as several successful career pathways currently in progress by partner colleges. Emily Stover DeRocco, President, The Manufacturing Institute and Senior Vice President, National Association of Manufacturing (NAM) set the stage for the academy with her presentation on Credentialing and Certifications. She informed the attendees from colleges and industry that a highly skilled and educated workforce is the most critical element for innovation success. The way to this workforce begins with clear career pathways aligned to competency-based education and certification programs. Representatives from major companies such as Form, GM, Toyota as well as the United Autoworkers supported DeRocco's presentation through a session entitled The Employer Panel, a highlight of the Academy. One participant responded "involving employers was enlightening and inspiring to see true industry involvement".
Other presentations included the best practices in career pathways from Lansing Community College, FLATE, and CARCAM. Participants also were given an indepth look at Alamo Community College's career pathway program with a visit to St. Philip's Communnity College and to Kelly Aviation Center-Lockheed Martin where several students talked about their experience.
Dr. Keith Bird, Chancellor-Emeritus of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and Senior Policy Fellow for Workforce and Postsecondary Education at the Corporation for Skilled Workforce was keynote speaker for the event.
Presentations at the Academy included:
-Credentialing and Certifications - Emily Stover DeRocco -A Review of the Literature on Career Pathways - Dr. Stan Chase -AMTEC Curriculum, Certification and Assessments - Annette Parker -ATMA with MSSC Certification: Industry Perspective - Dr. Don Kenton -Alamo Area Academies - Gene Bowman -CARCAM Promising Models in Practice - Beverly Hilderbrand -Florida's Unified Career Pathways for Manufacturing - Dr. Marilyn Barger -The Power of Partnerships - Dr. Stan Chase -The Employer Perspective - Mary Batch and Danine Tomlin -AMTEC Career Pathways - Dr. Federico Zaragoza -Creating the Pull - Gary Saganski
Tackling the need to reach consensus on the common core competencies for skilled maintenance and tool and die technicians subject matter experts from automotive company partners met to develop a core curriculum that meets the needs of the AMTEC members. They based their consensus work upon the industry and college DELPHI electronic survey conducted in February and March of 2008. The survey rated the work duties and tasks by importance, frequency of performing, and the level of the person doing the work. After developing the consensus for the common core, the AMTEC college partners began a gap analysis to determine the best existing training and education programs for developing the required competencies, and where curriculum development work is required. In addition the participants began development of an assessment for identifying mastery of the core competencies for multi-skilled maintenance. The college participants will continue these projects in four regional working sessions in 2009.
Hosted jointly by General Motors and Lansing Community College, with strong local support from the local manufacturing community, the academy was built upon the theme: "The automotive industry's global competitiveness drives training needs, requiring flexible and appropriate responses by community and technical colleges." There were 53 registered participants, with 29 coming from automotive manufacturing companies, 20 from community and technical colleges, and 4 from other governmental and private organizations. Having over 50% of the representatives coming from the automotive industry is a first for an AMTEC event. Two significant and well-known auto industry leaders addressed the group. Ron Harbour of the Oliver Wyman Group and originator of the Harbour Report presented the opening keynote address with a comprehensive overview of the condition of the automotive companies, how they have changed, and the challenges yet to be faced. Kristin Dziczek of the Center for Automotive Research presented the major CAR study she led recently, Beyond the Big Leave. It is an analysis of the current and projected automotive employment in Michigan and the U.S. based upon data from the traditional Detroit Three companies, Toyota and Honda in North America. Additionally, automotive companies in the Lansing area presented how they are coping with the shortage of skilled workers while attempting to implement a more competitive technological working environment, and gave examples of how they have partnered with colleges to do the required training. Examples from the Lansing Community College and the Bluegrass Community and Technical College in Kentucky were presented for how to be responsive and increase access to training through flexible delivery models. On the last day, workshop participants divided into teams to do a lean concepts hands-on activity in selected industrial training areas at the college. After identifying opportunities to better organize training areas and provide better standardization and visual management, the teams brainstormed improvement ideas, reporting out to the whole group and leaving their ideas with the college leadership.
Many companies have implemented lean manufacturing training programs based upon the IE techniques and tools as adapted by and made famous by Toyota. Unfortunately, sometimes the results are only short lived and ultimately disappointing. This academy was led by a former Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky production and HR management member with an emphasis on the human systems necessary to support the lean manufacturing tools. The academy was attended by 30 representatives of colleges and companies, including GM, Ford, Toyota, and automotive suppliers. They participated in an interactive, hands-on simulation that focused on team work, problem solving, and the role of the people.
Owens Community College in Toledo, OH, with Rieter Automotive and the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers (NCATC) hosted an AMTEC academy on "Demystifying Mechatronics: What is It?" from November 14-16, 2007 with 47 colleges and companies representatives in attendance. The participants heard presentations that ranged from overviews of what is going on nationally and regionally with training programs variously titled "Mechatronics," Multi-skilled Maintenance," "Integrated Systems Technology," and others, to specific programs in partnership with Toyota, Siemens, and Goodyear and community and technical colleges supporting them. Rieter Automotive conducted a plant tour to see how they are remaking their industrial maintenance workforce and to talk with high school students who are a part of a pilot program to develop the future workforce for maintaining automated integrated systems technology.
Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant and the Jefferson Community and Technical College hosted in Louisville, KY, from October 23-25, 2007 an AMTEC academy on preventative and predictive maintenance systems in use by major automotive manufacturers. In addition to Ford, GM, and Toyota presented systems they have implemented and the cost avoidance resulting from their work. Breakout sessions were conducted for educators to learn about the training requirements for these systems, and for engineers and floor technicians to learn about the technical specifications.
This academy was a repeat of the September 2006 academy but with more industry involvement and more opportunity for the college and company representatives to work together to begin problem solving their recruiting and retention issues. Jointly hosted by the Alamo Community College District, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas, and Lockheed Martin, the participants got first hand looks at the problems faced by companies and learned of their attempts to attract the appropriately trained high school and community and technical college students to manufacturing work. NAM's Phyllis Eisen presented their Dream It Do It program, and the Jackson (MI) Area Manufacturers Association presented their innovative approach to working with high schools and colleges.
This academy focused college partners from all eight AMTEC states, plus colleges from California, Arkansas, and Mississippi, and automotive manufacturers, including GM, Ford, BMW, Toyota, and several suppliers, on models for creating mutually beneficial partnerships to train the future automotive workforce. The participants not only learned about Toyota and Bluegrass CTC's historical partnership based upon Toyota's problem solving methods, but also learned about Lansing Community College's long term partnership with GM and area suppliers. The participants worked in small groups on specific improvement plans to make their local partnership with colleges and companies stronger when they returned home.
One of the two major issues facing manufacturing companies is the ability to recruit and retain a properly trained workforce to support their complex manufacturing systems. Alamo Community College personnel shared their innovative and successful practices to reach out to high school students and targeted populations that have traditionally been underrepresented in manufacturing's higher paying skilled trades jobs. Alamo shared their high school academies model in manufacturing and aerospace, their partnership with the San Antonio Toyota plant, and their one-stop centers for enrolling/assessing/beginning instruction located in neighborhoods with populations with lots of barriers to college participation.
Blended on-line with hands-on labs learning for technical skills for manufacturing plant floor process and facility equipment technicians. It also included a demonstration of a web-based 'expert systems' software for quick access to repair manuals, history of breakdowns/repairs, and spare parts inventory.