California Economic & Workforce Development - California Community Colleges

The Spirit of Entrepreneurship

With many Californians out of work these days, and an unemployment rate of 12.5 percent, it's easy to get discouraged about the prospects of finding a job. But, the trends show that there are a significant number of individuals who have not lost hope or even motivation. The Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, a leading indicator of new business creation in the U.S., reports that the number of new businesses created during the 2007-2009 recession years increased steadily year-to-year. It's not clear why there would be so many new startups in the midst of a deep recession, but the trend could suggest that many new business owners are people who have been laid off from conventional jobs and are becoming entrepreneurs out of necessity. "Either these people can't find jobs, or they're incredibly motivated to start a business," says Bob Litan, vice president for Research and Policy at Kauffman. "I suspect it's a combination of both."

 

Entrepreneurial activity often rises when traditional jobs disappear, but the past few years have been exceptionally tough on small businesses. Despite these challenges, the California Secretary of State recorded 93,519 new business incorporations in 2009. Although this number is lower than the previous seven years (all over 100,000/year) it still demonstrates that 93,519 entrepreneurs in California were committed to building a business. In addition to these incorporated businesses, there are many new businesses that operate as sole proprietorships, making the total number of new entrepreneurs in California even greater.

 

One factor persuading entrepreneurs these days may be the relatively low barrier to entry of starting a new business. Servers and computers are cheaper. The Internet allows business owners to reach customers and promote their products and services more cost effectively. And with commercial rents coming down, it's more affordable to lease space. No matter what the motivation, one thing holds true-50 percent of all new businesses fail, especially if they lack the right tools and know-how to navigate and weather the storm. It's more important than ever for entrepreneurs and small business owners to seek out and leverage any available support to keep their businesses afloat.

 

This is where our EWD programs and services can help businesses greatly. In this edition of GROW California, you'll see firsthand how we've helped entrepreneurs and small businesses across California, in spite of these turbulent times.

 

Our commitment to you in 2011 is to continue to leverage resources, so that you can focus on what you do best-running your business successfully.  For a no-cost consultation on how we can help your business grow, go to www.CCCEWD.net.

San Diego's Entrepreneurial Business Culture: Clean Jobs Creation

The EWD's Centers of Excellence (COE) and the San Diego Foundation have jointly released a research report that sees clean-technology as a big job creator for San Diego County. The report, Economic Vitality: Clean Jobs in the San Diego Region, examined six subsectors of the clean tech economy in San Diego County and also drew upon an array of existing research studies that place San Diego third in the State, and seventh in the nation, in green job activity. The report states that clean tech has the potential to draw $250 million to $1 billion in future investments into San Diego, which could result in an estimated 5,400 to 27,000 additional jobs.  

 

Although there are many factors that have led to San Diego's leadership position in clean technology, some of the most vital are 1) the ability to attract talent and capital to the region; 2) strong leadership by public officials and industry associations; 3) abundant natural resources; 4) a culture of innovation; 5) active and supportive utilities; and 6) strong workforce partnerships, such as those between education and industry.  "With our entrepreneurial business culture, an educated workforce and plenty of skilled labor, our region is ideal for supporting this vibrant new sector," said Mayor Jerry Sanders.  

 

COE Research Director Laura Coleman authored the report, which can be accessed at www.sdfoundation.org.

 

Colleges, industry partners, foundations, or workforce organizations that are interested in inquiring about, or partnering on, customized labor market research studies should contact Elaine Gaertner, COE statewide director, at elaineg@cccewd.net. COE industry reports and analysis can be downloaded at www.COECCC.net.

New Leaf Biofuel: From Startup to High Demand

The Advanced Transportation Technology and Energy Initiative (ATTE) plays a primary role in the transportation and energy arena across California and is instrumental in helping local entrepreneurs and small businesses develop the precise skills, knowledge and contacts to successfully compete in the marketplace.  

 

In the alternative fuels arena there can be a number of years between any initial product concept to an actual return on investment. This was the case with San Diego-based New Leaf Biofuel (NLB) which produces an alternative fuel known as biodiesel (a substitute for diesel fuel), from restaurant waste grease.  NLB has a two-part mission- to be recognized in the greater San Diego area for its high quality fuel that enhances the performance and life of diesel engines while greatly reducing associated diesel toxic emissions, and to partner with local schools, universities, and other organizations to educate the public about biodiesel and its many benefits.

 

NLB started in 2008 and sought the technical assistance of the ATTE Center in San Diego to locate and nurture relationships with fleet managers to purchase its products. Based on its knowledge of biodiesel and the available diesel fleets in the region that could benefit from using the alternative fuel, the ATTE Center leveraged its partnership with the San Diego Clean Fuels Coalition and provided local fleet managers with an overall technical introduction to the attributes and uses of biodiesel fuel. A key part of this overview included the introduction of the NLB as a provider of this new "green" fuel.  NLB began with a production capacity of 1 million gallons per year, in 2008, and with the on-going support of ATTE and its many partners, they successfully completed an expansion that allowed them to more than double their output to 2.5 million gallons a year later, to meet this demand.

 

The ATTE Center has also supported NLB in achieving the second component of its mission. For four years, the ATTE Center and NLB staffs have worked with the SciTech Program at San Diego High School to teach students how to make biodiesel fuel from waste grease.  This program creatively integrates both academic (chemistry) and vocational (automotive) education to promote the awareness, knowledge and skills needed to advance the alternative fuels industry.

 

For information on the ATTE, contact Peter Davis at (619) 473-0090 or pdavis@cccewd.net or go to www.ATTEColleges.org.

Pasadena Bioscience Collaborative: Cultivating Life Science Entrepreneurs

The Pasadena Bioscience Collaborative (PBC), a program of the CCCEWD's California Applied Biotech Initiative, invites life science entrepreneurs in Southern California to consider their Incubator as a possible new home for start-up businesses. The Incubator has been in existence for six years and its Board of Directors includes civic, educational and scientific leadership. As a nonprofit organization, the PBC  has access to donated equipment and is able to provide early start-up companies with high quality facilities and equipment at a low cost. With over 10,000 sq. ft. of office and lab space, it currently houses eleven companies and provides a variety of resources to its tenants including a shared-use WetLab and professional support from experts in scientific, business and legal areas. Tenants also benefit from a membership in the Southern California Biomedical Council.

 

The PBC incubator's shared-use WetLab consists of hoods, incubators, autoclave, freezers, coolers, ice machine, DI water, chemical storage, tissue culture facility and standard laboratory bench-top equipment. Trained interns are available to tenants from the Biology Technology Program at Pasadena City College, as well as from California State University, Los Angeles and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Internship training sessions are hosted by the WetLab one Saturday each month.

 

Most PBC companies typically start with two-three employees, but expand over time. The PBC has successfully grown and graduated six companies to date. Currently, one tenant and two graduate companies employ 14 to 20 individuals.

 

The Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP), devised to reinvest monies spent by companies with fewer than 250 employees, has enabled PBC's start-up companies to receive grants totaling more than $3.6 million-current tenants received ten grants of over $1.1M and graduate companies received twenty-seven grants of approximately $2.5 M. These grants have been instrumental in allowing PBC tenants to hire additional employees and undertake additional patent filings. One of the graduate companies now has a product that is undergoing human clinical trials.

 

For more information about PBC's Incubator go to www.pasadenabiosci.org. To learn more about the CCCEWD's California Applied Biotechnology Centers, go to www.cccbiotech.org or contact Jeff O'Neal at (916) 484-8052 or onealj@cccewd.net.

Quantum Grip: BECs Move Inventor's Ideas to Reality

How do you move a great business concept into an actual thriving business?  This was the question posed by Occupational Therapist, Patrick Pinkart, when he designed a product to help hold a golf club securely after suffering a paralyzing spinal cord injury.

 

The Business & Entrepreneurship Center (BEC) at Cuesta College worked with Patrick on a host of details for the business plan including projected cash flow analysis and compilation of pro forma income statements, operations management strategies, bringing the product to market, branding, positioning and pricing strategies, contingency planning for alternative manufacturing sources, and access to capital. 

 

The results?  Within six months of working with the BEC's, sales projections for the first year are estimated to be well over one million dollars. The product, called Quantum Grip, utilizes a very simple technology of "hook and loop" (Velcro), to make golf more accessible to physically challenged persons and enable them to easily and securely hold a golf club. The specially designed and patented system includes a golf club grip that has a recessed groove designed in a spiral fashion so that the hooks of the Velcro material lay smooth and flush with the grip surface. This provides a natural and seamless feel, and a durable, long-lasting grip. It is also visually discreet, and looks like a typical golf grip. Golfers with arthritis in their hands and fingers, those with hand or elbow injuries, or any condition that affects their hand strength, find that QUANTUM GRIP magnifies their gripping power many times.

 

As Billy Gibbs, PGA, golf Pro at Avila and Blacklake Golf Resorts in California, and co-host of ESPN's Golf Talk Radio says about the product, "When the glove and the grip meet, it is magic! It makes the disabled able again."

 

For more information about Business & Entrepreneurship Center go to www.CCCEWD.net/BEC or contact Michael Roessler at (916) 361-2964 or mroessler@cccewd.net

Small Business Recycling Program: Removing Economies of Scale Challenge

Recently, the Los Angeles/Orange Environmental Training Center (ETC) expanded its business partnerships to develop a new recycling program that would allow small, locally owned restaurants to convert their waste grease into biofuel at no cost to their bottom line.

 

Most big chain restaurants recycle their waste grease. However, many small "mom-and-pop" restaurants don't because they often lack the economies of scale, or the financial ability, to handle their waste grease in a more environmentally responsible manner. For many of these restaurants the waste grease simply gets washed down the drain. Others put the grease into plastic bags, freeze until solid, and dispose in the trash. This disposal method can be especially hard on the environment as the waste grease often spills out of the trash container and washes down the storm drain and into the ocean when it rains.

 

In an effort to support the entrepreneurial spirit of small, local restaurants, and to encourage them to become more environmentally responsible, the LA/Orange ETC engaged the support of Southern California Biofuel, Superior Service and Recycling, North Orange County Community College District, City of Anaheim, the Anaheim ETC.  The partners promoted stewardship and resource conservation consistent with the EPA's Resource Conservation Challenge (RCC), while at the same time allowing small, local restaurants to be environmentally responsible without the burden of an additional recycling fee. 

 

Under this win-win project, selected restaurants are provided with a small capacity holding tank for the waste grease and offered free monthly pick-ups for eight months. Restaurant owners get the support they need to keep their businesses moving forward in a green economy while at the same time gaining the satisfaction of knowing that by recycling their waste grease they are:

 

• Reducing land and water pollution;
• Reducing air pollution by substituting biodiesel (derived from their waste grease) for fossil diesel to be used in the fleet trucks of Anaheim and Anaheim Power; and
• Creating important by-products (glycerin and oil) through the recycling process that can be used as raw materials for the cosmetic industry and as an animal feed additive.

  

For more information about EWD's Environmental Training Centers (ETC) and its programs, or if you need assistance with California state compliance issues related to environment, health, safety and homeland security, go to www.envtraining.org for low-cost or free technical assistance, or call Richard Della Valle at (925) 672-2209 or rdellavalle@cccewd.net.

Health Care Education Entrepreneurs: Advancing Profitability through HWI Curriculum Models

Since 2004, the Health Workforce Initiative (HWI) has developed and distributed approximately 24,000 California Community College Curriculum Models to support the advancement of the health care industry. 

 

Here are a few of the educational entrepreneurs in California that have been able to open their own schools to train the high demand for health care professionals using the HWI curriculum modules.

 

Nurse Builders Academy

Nurse Builders Academy (NBA),located in Santa Clara, offers training for Nursing Assistants (NA), Home Health Aides (HHA), Rehabilitative/Restorative Nursing Assistants (RNA) and Acute Care Nursing Assistants (ACNA). Four regular and two contract staff employees operate the business and they have been utilizing the HWI curriculum, since they were accredited in 2006. NBA has successfully enrolled 356 students to date in their combined programs. Of the students who have been enrolled, 338 have attained certification-an outstanding 95 percent pass rate. More information on this project can be found at  www.nursebuildersacademy.com.

 

Mission Career College Inc.

Mission Career College (MCC) has a main campus in Riverside and a training site in San Bernardino. The Department of Public Health referred MCC to the HWI curriculum and recommended its use.  MCC has been using the curriculum since their approval date of October 2008. They currently offer Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Home Health Aide (HHA), and Phlebotomy Technician programs; they will be adding the Acute Care Nurse Assistant curriculum this year, and are in the process of submitting the ADN/RN curriculum for its RN program with the Board of Registered Nurses. Over 1,200 students have enrolled in these programs resulting in a retention rate of 92.9 percent.  For more information on MCC, go to www.missioncareercollege.com.

 

Trinity Hospital

Trinity Hospital is located in the northern rural community of Weaverville, a rural community with a population of close to 4,000. SMART Business Resource Center in Redding, California obtained the Certified Nursing Assistant curriculum from the HWI, and with grant funding, Trinity Hospital was able to offer CNA training at their facility. 

 

Two Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) classes were offered from January through December 2009 and, at the completion, eighteen CNA's received licenses and were either employed, or continued a career path in allied health.

 

HWI has developed and distributed 23,981 models throughout California as of December 2010 and most curricula are available as direct downloads from the HWI website at www.ca-hwi.org. For more on this initiative, go to www.healthoccupations.org or contact Linda Zorn at lzorn@CCCEWD.net.

Green Export Enabler Program - Expanding Markets for Small Businesses

The Centers for International Trade Development (CITD) provide a critical function by raising awareness of the benefits of exporting and helping to prepare firms, and entrepreneurs, to respond to international business opportunities through workforce training programs and technical assistance.

Recently, the CITD at El Camino College Center led a delegation of 28 U.S. companies to Hong Kong to participate in the environmental Eco Expo Asia 2010 trade show and promote the export of U.S. green technology to China under the Green Export Enabler Program (GEEP)-a U.S. Department of Commerce Market Development Cooperative Program. With support from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the U.S. Commercial Service, participants visited Shenzhen Province, toured the Hong Kong Science & Technology Park (HKSTP), and had four full days to showcase their products and services at the trade show. A record 260 exhibitors attended the event held under the theme Business Solutions to Climate Change. The U.S. had the largest foreign pavilion and distinguished title as Partner Country.

 

Attending the conference from the U.S. were several start-up and small companies including PORTEON Electric Vehicles, Mirjahangir Engineering and Management Consulting Services, and Oswego Design and Remodeling, Inc. All report that they expect to have export sales to China within the next year. Additionally, within an hour of the Eco Expo Asia opening, a GEEP exhibitor of environmental instrumentation celebrated the first of six sales valued at US$700,000 and plans to hire more employees as business expands. Other preliminary results include an engineering firm with three solid leads from mainland China and anticipated sales of US$10-14 million, and a design firm looking to join two, multi-million dollar Indian projects.

 

Andy Lo, marketing manager from Global Energy Resources, Inc said of the GEEP experience, "Through the seminars and meetings, we were able to meet all relevant people and it will help us tremendously to set up our export division-especially to China and Hong Kong. Hopefully, there will be more trade shows or meetings like this in the future."

 

The GEEP program is off to a successful start and looks forward to helping companies in the remaining two years of the program. For more information, go to www.greenexport.org or contact Director Maurice Kogon, CITD at El Camino College, at mkogon@elcamino.edu or (310) 973-3173.

 

For more information on the CITD network, go to www.CITD.org or contact Jeff Williamson jwilliamson@cccewd.net or (951) 571-6458.

Small Business Innovation - San Diego CACT Technology Incubator

At the Center for Applied Competitive Technologies at San Diego City College, small businesses are getting the support they need to stimulate local economy and job development in the region.  The 19,000 square foot San Diego Technology Incubator features moderately priced office, lab and manufacturing facilities, to support early-stage and emerging new technology ventures.

Since its inception in 1995, the Incubator has supported the launch of countless companies and innovators that have had lasting impacts on their communities and industries.  It hosts a wide range of emerging enterprises that are generating new products and services in such areas as bio-technology, GPS systems, organic food processing, hair care manufacturing, biofuels, laser technology, robotics, alternative energy, and machining.

 

Molecular Throughput is a bio-tech firm that has flourished since joining the San Diego Technology Incubator in June 2008.  Founded by President, Barry Holwerda, Ph.D., the company specializes in the design, expression and purification of recombinant proteins for pharmaceutical and biologics discovery. The company differentiates itself by concentrating on difficult proteins and high-throughput expression systems. 

 

There are numerous benefits of being in an incubator setting.  According to Holwerda, "The Incubator's location at San Diego City College has given us access to graduates of their biotechnology technician training program. It also offers items that are generally not standard in a commercial lease, but can be a substantial burden on a new business, like security, mail room services, photocopying, parking, custodial services in shared areas and garbage removal."

 

By launching a business from the supportive walls of an incubator, entities like Molecular Throughput benefit from the synergy and institutional focus on small business development.  For more information on the Incubator, contact Trudy Gerald at (619) 388-3730.
 

For more information on EWD's Centers for Applied Competitive Technologies, go to www.MakingItInCalifornia.com, or contact Jose Anaya at (310) 973-3165 or janaya@cccewd.net.

Spanish-speaking Entrepreneurs: Tecnificate Forum Builds Capacity

Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs, armed with the latest Internet knowledge and skills, are a huge asset to California's economy and can help it grow by extending its reach into new markets throughout North, Central and South America-anywhere that Spanish is spoken. Among the 25 percent of Californians who consider Spanish their primary language, there are many among them who are entrepreneurs. Like so many other people who struggle with the rapid evolution of the Internet, these Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs are equally challenged by the fast pace of Internet technology and how it ultimately impacts their businesses.

 

In an effort to bridge the information and technology gap, the New Media & Entertainment Initiative hosted Tecnificate; a five-hour Internet seminar, in Spanish, held at Los Angeles Mission College. This seminar featured Internet experts, elected officials and college executives who shared their stories and ideas about new opportunities for doing business on the Internet.  The seminar was promoted through Spanish language TV, radio and newspapers and over 200 small business owners and entrepreneurs attended. For more on the forum, see the one-minute YouTube video at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XckmGHOg_h8.

 

For more information about EWD's New Media & Entertainment Initiative, go to www.NMEIEWD.net or contact Steve Wright at (805)496-8583 or swright@cccewd.net.

Business and Entrepreneurial Success Training: Helping California Small Businesses Success

Like many Californians, Maria Salazar was laid off from her job of almost twenty-two years when the electronics manufacturer she worked for decided to close its Los Angeles facility and move its manufacturing operations to China. Ms. Salazar was one of 972 employees who lost their jobs as a result of the facility closing.

In the spring of 2010, Ms. Salazar was referred to the Workplace Learning Resource Center (WpLRC) at El Camino College, by her local One Stop Career Center after she had seen the description of the WpLRC's Business and Entrepreneurial Success Training (BEST) on the California Employment Development Department's Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL).  She was interested in taking the training that would allow her to help her son open a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) company. The 16-week, 320-hour BEST program provided instruction on how to write a business and marketing plan, assess risk, perform basic bookkeeping, prepare spreadsheets, and understand human resource management and tax codes. She was able to develop both basic and advanced computer application skills including Adobe Dreamweaver which enabled her to build a website, and QuickBooks and Microsoft Excel so that she could manage accounts for her son's HVAC business. She also learned how to help her son apply for a federal EIN number and get his California business license. 

 

Her son's business, Ambient Heating and Air Conditioning, is now in full operation. Thanks to the computer and job preparation skills Ms. Salazar received at the WpLRC she not only helped her son with his business, but she went on to secure a new job for herself as an Inside Sales Account Manager for Crislu Jewelry.

 

 "As an eligible ETPL, we are able to provide affordable and relevant training to unemployed workers and the local business community," said Phil Sutton, director of the El Camino WpLRC.

 
"We are always pleased to hear how we were able to provide our participants with the skills and confidence needed to rejoin the workforce. We are especially pleased when one of our participants is able to start a new business and find employment in a difficult economy."

 

Each year the WpLRCs provide basic and advanced workplace training to unemployed individuals through the One Stop Career Centers and Regional Workforce Investment Boards.  These programs include general office skills, basic Math and English, computer and software training, communication, leadership, conflict resolution, and diversity training.

 

To learn more about the Business and Entrepreneurial Success Training (BEST) program or other small business and entrepreneurial training opportunities contact Phil Sutton at psutton@elcamino.edu or (310) 973-3172.

 

For more information about the WpLRC initiative and how it can serve your business contact Bruce Whistler at bwhistler@cccewd.net or (650) 641-0161, or go to www.WPLRC.org.

Smart Businesses Continue to Invest in Employee Learning

The 2010 ASTD State of the Industry report indicates that even in the face of a deep recession business leaders continue to recognize that they can't skimp on employee training. ASTD estimates that $125 billion was spent on training by U.S. organizations in 2009. That's because businesses understand that investing in their employee's education and career development increases productivity and efficiency, improves employee retention, and positively impacts overall customer satisfaction.

 

For over 20 years, businesses have been turning to the Workplace Learning Resource Centers (WpLRC) for employee training and professional development. Programs offered by the WpLRC range from basic skills to advanced training programs including Communication, Leadership, Conflict Resolution, Customer Service, Spanish, Computer Software, and Generational Diversity.

 

In 2010, the WpLRC provided training to hundreds of incumbent workers and diverse types of businesses and organizations throughout California.  One such business included H&R Block, one of the world's largest tax services providers, utilizing more than 100,000 highly trained tax professionals. H&R Block offices in Merced, CA contracted with the WpLRC @ Merced College for the second year to provide credit-based training to their tax preparers and front office staff to create a more cohesive team environment. Topics of training have included Generational Diversity, Team Building, Conflict Management, and Communication.  

 

Non-profits also benefit greatly from WpLRC. The Children, Family, and Community Services Inc. (CFCS), a non-profit that provides education and family support services to over 3,000 low-income families living in Southern Alameda County each year received professional development and staff training from the WpLRC @ Chabot Las-Positas Community College; courses included Introductory Speech  and a course in Serving the Exceptional Child an Early Childhood Development.

 

"Initially these courses were delivered as a result of changes in the federally mandated education requirements for Head Start Agencies," said Project Director Judi Watkins, WpLRC @ Chabot Las-Positas Community College. "However, CFCS found that the benefits of investing in their employee's education and supporting their move towards advanced degrees has not only allowed them to meet these requirements, but has also led to greater productivity and employee engagement."

 

To learn more about how the Workplace Learning Resource Centers can develop a professional development program for your business, contact Bruce Whistler at bwhistler@cccewd.net or (650) 641-0161, or go to www.WPLRC.org

Hollywood Sound and Video Technicians: Training Investments Payoff in Employability

If you've been to the movies or watched TV lately, you know that Hollywood has gone digital.  Virtually all the sounds you hear and pictures you see are produced with digital equipment and software technologies that did not exist just a few short years ago. These new technologies require constant retraining for industry professionals. 

 

But, industry professionals don't work for a traditional company or business;  a 'business' is a temporary project  that  assembles a team of talent (above the line) and Union workers (below the line) for a specific production.  Before and after each production the 'workforce' is essentially unemployed until the next project.

 

In the Entertainment Industry, it's the Unions that coordinate training for these workers, and one of the greatest challenges is getting the right software training which can advance the skills of these technicians.

 

Education Director, Laurence Abrams, of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 695 representing Production Sound Technicians, Television Engineers, Video Assist Technicians and Studio Projectionists in the motion picture and television industry took the problem to EWD's New Media and Entertainment Initiative (NMEI) for a solution. One of NMEI's Centers in Los Angles called IDEAS: Institute for Developing Entertainment Arts & Studies acquired a training grant to alleviate these challenges. IDEASDirector, Richard Holdredge, leveraged the grant with partial funding from Union Local 695 to design a customized program utilizing the training staff from the IDEAS program and their two fully-equipped computer labs located on the Los Angeles Valley College campus in Van Nuys, California.   

 

Local 695 has booked the IDEAS training facilities each June for the past three years; each training has been fully booked and at full capacity for over 90 union entertainment technology  workers.  The training has been invaluable to helping these men and women stay employable with the rapidly evolving technology in entertainment.  Their work can be seen on productions like Glee, Avatar and American Idol.

 

For more information about EWD's New Media & Entertainment Initiative, go to www.NMEIEWD.net or contact Steve Wright at (805 )496-8583 or steve@cccewd.net.

Olympus America Inc. National Service Center: Investments in Training Lead to Top Workplace Award

Based on employee surveys from over 1,200 companies of 50 or more employees, Olympus America's National Service Center (Olympus) in San Jose has recently been named one of the Top Workplaces in the Bay Area for 2010 by the Bay Area News Group.  The Center for Applied Competitive Technologies (CACT) @ De Anza College played an integral role in building their workforce through investments in training.

Through a Responsive Training Fund grant, the CACT @ DeAnza College has been working closely with Olympus since June 2009, to improve processes in their production and repair lines involving about 300 employees. Director of Customer Solutions and Training, Mike Jensen, said, "It's clear that the CACT played a key role in helping us achieve productivity gains, financial goals and attainment of QCD (Quality, Cost & Delivery) business metrics. In addition to these improvements, we were able to add nine employees to the organization between August 2009 and June 2010."   

 

A key benefit brought to Olympus through CACT efforts was a systematic approach to a Continuous Improvement transformation that utilized training, workshops and the alignment of project teams; the process included:

• Defining a leadership structure to provide overall direction, identification of key business value streams, team goals, metrics and methods to validate success.
• Stressing the need for a holistic approach to Continuous Improvement which requires everyone's involvement in identifying opportunities for waste elimination and value creation.
• Providing a discipline to ensure sustainability of the Continuous Improvement transformation including; preliminary activities (Steering Team actions, deployment planning, value stream mapping), process improvement activities (kaizen) and post activities (financial documentation, kaizen follow-up).
• Learning and applying a Change Acceleration process (obtaining a shared need, communicating a simple vision, mobilizing team commitment, assessing company system & structures, measuring change).

According to Olympus, the project was extremely beneficial in furthering the development of a flexible customer-focused workforce consistent with individual job descriptions and career paths. The combination of on-line and instructor-led training proved ideal in formalizing competency based training and fundamental skills certifications beyond traditional on the job training.

 

Grant resources were leveraged to strengthen employee engagement and promotion of Lean production principles. "My thanks to the entire CACT @ DeAnza College team for making this grant a key component of our success this year," said Jensen.

 

For more information on EWD's Centers for Applied Competitive Technologies, go to www.MakingItInCalifornia.com, or contact Jose Anaya at (310) 973-3165 or janaya@cccewd.net.

Training Investments Boost California Exports

California's economy and our workforce are increasingly dependent upon global markets. With China expected to surpass the U.S. as the world's largest economy in the next ten years [and India to follow], the greatest contribution to global economic growth is expected to come from emerging economies. Just as tens of millions of Chinese today are learning English as a second language, so they can compete for jobs at home and business opportunities abroad, Americans also need to prepare themselves to compete in and contribute to the changing global economy.

 

Recognizing the critical role that exporting plays in stimulating economic growth, President Obama launched the 2010 National Export Initiative (NEI) with the goal of doubling exports in the next five years. The NEI is designed to help firms, especially small businesses, overcome the hurdles of entering new export markets; improved export performance will, in turn, create good high-paying jobs.

 

Centers for International Trade Development (CITD) provide a critical function by raising awareness of the benefits of exporting and helping to prepare firms, and entrepreneurs, to respond to international business opportunities through workforce training programs and technical assistance. Each of the eight CITD centers provide international business workshops on global marketing, logistics, international finance, sales contracting and other topics that provide companies and entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills needed to capture export opportunities and reduce risks associated with conducting international business.

 

Don Barton, CEO of Gold River Orchards in Oakdale California, is just one of the hundreds of California businesses that has benefited from CITD export training programs. He attended the CalAgX export training program, offered by the CITD @ Fresno and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and has seen his exports grow substantially from only 30 percent of his business in 2004 to the majority of his business in 2010.

 

For more information, go to www.CITD.org or contact Jeff Williamson at (951) 571-6458 or jwilliamson@cccewd.net.

 

Enloe Medical Center: Investments in Annual Employee Training Plans

Enloe Medical Center is making an investment in their employees in workforce training through a partnership with the Health Workforce Initiative (HWI) and the Butte College Training Place which assists local businesses with high quality workforce education and services focusing on continuous workforce improvement. As a Gold Level sponsor of the Training Place, Enloe is provided 170 sessions of workforce training for its $5,000 yearly investment.

 

The HWI worked with Enloe's Education Department to plan training and topics for its workforce which includes an annual training plan for each of its participating employees. General areas of workforce training include Supervisor Development, Communication and Conflict Management, Manager Development, Sexual Harassment Prevention, and Technology/Computer Training. These training plans are a benefit to Enloe in retaining the workforce talent in which it invests.

 

The Health Workforce Initiative Centers are located throughout California and continue to invest in high demand training for health occupations.  For more on this initiative, contact Linda Zorn at lzorn@cccewd.net or go to http://ca-hwi.org.

 

Goodrich Aerostructures: Investing in Workforce Training for New Company Programs

Their business may start with manufacturing aircraft engine nacelles, but it really gets going when a corporate culture believes in employee investment, environmental responsibility and safety. Nacelles, the "pods" that surround aircraft engines and help airplanes stop, are the primary product of Goodrich Aerostructures. In 2008, the company contacted the San Diego Environmental Training Center (ETC) @ Cuyamaca College to assist with their environmental health and safety (EH&S) training needs in Chula Vista; most recently the company is hiring 50 new employees to support over 20 new programs. With a growing need for EH&S training staff, Lito Alfaro, senior EHS engineer, looked to the ETC to bring economic and workforce development resources to the table. The ETC is working with Goodrich to plan their training schedule for 2011.

 

Goodrich Manager, Rick Siordia, said, "As awareness and a culture of compliance grow, so does the need for additional training, including EH&S compliance.  To help us in our growing need, we wanted to find a local supplier that could provide trainers with a wide variety of expertise to cover the many training requirements. ETC is not only knowledgeable with the various training topics but also knows the local regulators and what is important to them."

 

Goodrich understands that investing in workforce training and education helps to keep them competitive.  For more information about EWD's Environmental Training Centers (ETC) and its programs, or if you need assistance with California state compliance issues related to environment, health, safety and homeland security, go to www.envtraining.org for low-cost or free technical assistance, or call Richard Della Valle at (925) 672-2209 or rdellavalle@cccewd.net.

BEC Invests in Green Energy Businesses

The Business & Entrepreneurship Center (BEC) @ Kern Community College District partnered with the Clean Energy Center to support the expansion and growth of green energy businesses in the region through a recent educational conference. The Green Energy Business Conference provided workforce training to 160 business owners to help them understand this new market and the opportunities.

Panama Bartholomy, advisor to the California Energy Commission and panelists from Southern California Edison and Southern California Gas shared insights into what programs are predicted to drive the home retrofit demand and what will be required of contractors; a separate session addressed accreditation programs and requirements for contractors to participate in the various home retrofit programs. Michael Picker, senior advisor to the Governor's Office for Renewable Energy Facilities, joined economic development professionals on a panel to share their forecasts of activities and opportunities in the utility scale arena.

The BEC develops and delivers training to California's small business owners and future entrepreneurs; targeting industry sectors and/or those businesses most likely to create or retain jobs, increase sales and investment is a priority. For more information about Business & Entrepreneurship Center go to www.CCCEWD.net/BEC or contact Michael Roessler at (916) 361-2964 or mroessler@cccewd.net.

 

Baxter Bioscience: Leverage Reinvestment Funds and Invest in Biotech Pipeline Workforce

The U.S. Department of Labor has identified manufacturing as one of the nation's highest growth industries. While Los Angeles County is the largest major manufacturing center in the nation with 463,300 workers (2006), public awareness of career opportunities in this sector is limited.  With 40 percent of the workforce in the chemical industry expected to retire in the next five years, there is an urgent need for a pipeline of skilled workers who are prepared to succeed in this industry. 

The Biotech Initiative Center at Pasadena City College collaborated with the partnership of Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) and Community Career Development, Inc. (CCD), the nonprofit operator of the Wilshire Metro WorkSource Center, to develop an innovative vocational training and job placement program to address the hiring needs of employers in the high-growth manufacturing/biotechnology industry sector. This program, recently funded by the City of Los Angeles through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), provides vocational training and assistance to 125 low-income individuals and dislocated workers in securing and retaining jobs in manufacturing with an emphasis on biotechnology.

 

The five week (128-hour) course was created by LAVC and customized to the needs of Baxter BioScience for biomedical and healthcare industry-related jobs.  The training includes Good Manufacturing Practices, Science as it Relates to the Field, Math for the Healthcare and Biomedical Manufacturing Industry, Workplace Readiness, Team building, Ethics for the Workplace, and Cultural Diversity in the Workplace.

 

The pilot program was composed of a cohort of 30 candidates (narrowed from a field of 300) who were screened, interviewed, given assignments, and enrolled into a BioTech Academy.  These students presented a strong interest in the field and a dedication to obtain new knowledge to advance in the field or secure an entry level opportunity.

 

The pilot course produced new hires for both Baxter and Dendreon in Southern California; a second group graduated in December 2010 and these successes led to plans with Baxter for multiple academies in 2011 and to the Baxter Leadership Academy.  The Leadership Academy was a seven-week incumbent worker training that included volunteer components at the L. A. Food Bank, Tree People, and MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity). Baxter utilized this training to avoid laying off incumbent workers while meeting professional development needs during a period of temporary facilities shut-down. Employees were paid for their training hours to upgrade their skills utilizing Employment Training Panel (ETP) funds that were accessed through the Los Angeles Community College District. This training served over 80 Baxter employees.

 

For more information about CCCEWD's California Applied Biotechnology Centers, go to www.cccbiotech.org or contact Jeff O'Neal at (916) 484-8052 or onealj@cccewd.net

Port of Long Beach: Investments Lead to First Diesel Technicians Training Program in Country

The Port of Long Beach has made tremendous improvements to the environment in recent years. Their Green Port Policy, aimed at reducing harmful air emissions from port-related operations, focused initially on the heavy duty trucks. To develop training for incumbent diesel technicians in the new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) engine technology, the Advanced Transportation Technology & Energy Center (ATTE) @ Long Beach City College (LBCC) partnered with the Port of Long Beach, fuel system innovators Westport Technology, and truck manufacturer Kenworth Trucks on a training grant. Led by ATTE LBCC's Director, Cal Macy, the grant was instrumental in developing the first LNG training program in the country.

As LBCC rolled out the program, the Port of Long Beach promoted the training, with Port Commissioners contributing to partner meetings. The Port provided support when LBCC decided to pilot a co-enrollment program in Advanced Transportation Technology with a local high school targeting low-income at risk youth. At the first graduation, 100 percent of the class passed, with a 92 percent attendance rate. Port Commissioner, Mario Cordero, addressed the group at the Port-sponsored graduation dinner and told the youth "they were the pioneers of a new era of work in the green economy."

Creating public/private partnerships to obtain and leverage funding has proven to be a great investment in having the only industry certified LNG training program in the country and supporting local clean air strategic goals.

For information on the ATTE, contact Peter Davis at (619) 473-0090 or pdavis@cccewd.net or go to www.ATTEcolleges.org