Introducing the Automation Competency Model (Transcript)

WORKFORCE 3ONE TRANSCRIPT OF WEBINAR Welcome to the Automation Competency Model Launch Webinar WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2008 Transcript by Federal News Service Washington, D.C. GARY GONZALEZ: All right. With that I want to turn things over now to Jen Troke from the Business Relations Group at the Employment and Training Administration. Take it away, Jen. JENNIFER TROKE: Thanks, Gary. And welcome to all of you. We're excited that we have such great attendance this afternoon. I want to welcome our two presenters first. I'm going to recognize Steve Huffman who's the chairman for the Automation Federation. And let me just say thank you to Steve and the whole team from the Automation Federation who have just absolutely been stellar partners as we work hand-in-hand to develop the model. So thanks, Steve, for being here. STEVE HUFFMAN: Thank you. MS. TROKE: Also, Barbara Derwart who is part of our competency team. And she is our competency model guru so you all may have heard from Barbara before. We're thrilled that she can be here to help share the model this afternoon. So our goal really today is to share the model with you, to look at all the competencies required for this emerging occupation and profession, and then talk about how we can use the model. I want to encourage you all to really get in there with your questions, so please submit questions at any and all points during today's session. We have three major objectives. First, again, to define the competencies and show you the model and how it can be used. We really want to talk about why it's important for employers especially to understand how to use the model and really get your ideas around how you will be implementing the model in the future. And then finally we're going to take a moment to brag here at ETA and talk a little bit about our Competency Model Clearinghouse. So with that I will turn it over – oh, no. We have a quick polling question. We know a little bit who's out there but let's find out specifically who is in our audience. So you guys get your clickers ready. So who's out there? Do we have employers, educators, workforce investment system members or economic developers? Education is in an early lead here. Coming in second workforce investment. Come on economic development; get in the race. (Pause.) Good. Well, this is exciting. Okay. I'm thrilled that you guys are all here and now you are knowledge about that chat function. And so we will keep moving and I will turn it over to Steve. MR. HUFFMAN: Thanks, Jen. We appreciate the opportunity to be with you here today. You can see on the slide that we're with Automation Federation. Who are those people? Well, let me tell you that Automation Federation is dedicated to the automation profession. And certainly one aspect of shining a light on this new galvanized profession is our work with DOL in establishing this competency model. Automation Federation was begun in 2006, founded by ISA – the International Society of Automation. And you can see we have charter members as well that are making this journey with us and participating. Next slide. What's the issue here? You can see from the statistic that U.S. manufacturers really have a problem with filling new jobs with automation professionals. Unfortunately there's a skill gap and we have misconceptions about what this professional really is. Our job has been to try and, again, galvanize a number of disparate groups to galvanize an automation profession. In so doing we have to create a pipeline, not just repair it. And in order to do so, this model is going to take us a long way. Next slide. Well, we need automation engineering curricula, university programs, et cetera, and we're not going to get those overnight. Certainly we need a lot of automation professionals and that goes everywhere from technicians, technologists, engineers, et cetera. And again, the breadth and depth that this model gives us – again, prepared by a very wide cross-section of automation professionals – gives us that option to place people as necessary. We want to bring in new workers. Virtually every new industry – all the exciting things that are happening in manufacturing today are touched by automation. Why is this not a profession? Again, it is our goal to make that happen and so we need to bring in the new workers. We need to establish the pipeline and we have to understand the work that's done and what it takes to be one of these people in the future. So that brings us to the competency model. And again, this was created by a fairly large group of automation professionals over a two-session period. Lots of cat herding that was occurring, a lot of people with diverse opinions, but we came together on it. And I think this is the best representation of what it takes to be an automation professional. With that I'd like to introduce Barbara Derwart who was absolutely critical for the success of the creation of this model. Barbara? BARBARA DERWART: Thanks, Steve. It's been my pleasure to work on this competency initiative over the past couple of years and I've learned so much. And working with the Automation Federation, it really opened my eyes as to how the whole concept of the competency model initiative can help a new and emerging occupational area define itself. I must admit, I learned an awful lot from these folks going to these meetings to find out about automation. And what they pointed out to me was that there are programs out there that teach engineering or that teach engineering technicians or repairman, but they aren't specific to the automation field which, as you're going to see when we look at the model, is a combination of a group of competencies that sort of cross occupational areas. This whole project started with the ETA initiative. For those of you who have attended a previous industry model seminar, you've heard this. But for those of you haven't, let me just sort of give you a little bit of history that over the past several years ETA has been working with various industry groups – we targeted first the high-growth industries – to find out what it was that caused problems in the industry in terms of hiring and replacing existing workforce. And the competency model initiative was something that grew out of that process because what we learned, many programs prepare an individual for an occupation – a very specifically, narrowly defined occupation – failing to realize that most jobs are performed within an industry setting, so that the skills that somebody needs in one industry might vary a little from skills needed in another industry. So the goal was to take the advantage of these economically vital industries and start looking at what are skills that cross the industry? And it was decided that industry competency models would probably be a great solution so that those who do educational program planning or curriculum development could use a broader perspective when developing that type of material. So when we look at the competency model initiative – I know you've all told me who you are, but I just want to know – or we want to know – if you have any experience in using competencies in the past. You may have referred to them as knowledges, skills and abilities. But if you would, select all that apply and just give us an idea of how you've used competencies in your work. (Pause.) MS. TROKE: And Barbara, so while people are responding to this poll, why don't we go ahead and take the first question that's come in. And I'll throw this over to Steve. The question is, “Is the federation primarily interested in curriculum development at a secondary or postsecondary level of education?” MR. HUFFMAN: Actually, both. Our curriculum development is not only in two-year community colleges for technicians, we're looking to develop curriculum in four-year engineering schools and also areas of concentration in the vertical disciplines. And we already have a – we also have a master's program but would like to expand upon that as well. MS. TROKE: Great. Awesome. Thank you. MS. DERWART: Okay. Well, the poll is coming in and it reflects what – that many of you have used competencies for developing testing and assessment instruments, for developing curricula, but also for looking at cross-industry certifications. This is something that becomes very interesting. When you look at the Web sites related to the association in the Automation Federation you'll see that there are several certifications related to automation. And for developing position descriptions and hiring, I found it very interesting that when we looked at some of the auto sites regarding hiring there was a whole new language that needed to be defined so that people that are looking at career guidance, people that are writing job descriptions, that they get the right folks, that we're not necessarily looking for an electrician if you're looking for somebody who works with electronics. And again, we'll see that more when we get into the competency model itself. MS. TROKE: And the questions are pouring in so this is great. So thanks for the questions. The next question, “Is the standard mapped to the ISO or other international standard?” MR. HUFFMAN: If I understand the question correctly, you're talking about the competency model. And again, what we've used was the – actually a framework for advanced manufacturing that was developed by DOL as the model itself – or the framework for the model itself. In terms of standards, ISA, the founding member of Automation Federation, is a standards development organization and, yes, they do publish standards in conjunction with ISO. But again, those are only some activities that that organization does, as opposed to being involved specifically with the model. Perhaps you could answer that, Barbara. MS. DERWART: Well, working with Steve and the group, if you were to visit the ISA.org Web site you'll see the standards that are involved in many of the process that are going to be shown in the model. And one of the things that we were very careful to do was to show – or to see that, all those standards, whether it was working with controllers or working with electricity, working with dangerous environments, places where safety was important. They are definitely reflected in the model. MS. TROKE: Another great question, “Are there specific nationally recognized certifications being developed?” MR. HUFFMAN: Well, ISA has two certifications related to the automation profession. The first is for – it's called CCST, stands for Certified Control System Technician. And it is a technician's certification. It's been around since about 1995 and is quite popular for (estimate ?) technicians – automation technicians. The other one was developed in 2004, I believe, and is the Certified Automation Professional, a very rigorous program that really touches all elements of this competency model. So I would say that closely mirrors the top tiers of this model. MS. DERWART: Thanks, Steve. I guess we'll continue on and take your questions as they come in. Just generically again, who benefits from competency models? And all of you that have refined it in ways that you've used models. The concept of a model is to provide a resource. It's not an end product, but it's a resource to be used for various purposes when planners meet with business so that they can talk about this common language. Steve used the word “controller.” And that's a common English word but it has a specific connotation for this process, so that we all know we're talking about sensors and controllers in this arena. For perspective workers Steve mentioned attracting the pipeline, that you're going to see when you visit the Web site that there's a wonderful booklet about careers in automation and defining exactly what does that mean. Obviously the education and training group is way out in front with developing curriculum around competencies that are needed. But the government and workforce professionals, we need to know what we're doing, anybody out there in the public sector, so that we can support the right initiatives with federal and state dollars. So basically we want to go into what is a competency? And for our purposes, remember we're not talking about competent. We're not talking about a level of proficiency or a skill standard. We are identifying the knowledge, skills and abilities that are essential for effective performance in a work setting. So a competency is broad. It's defined in terms like interpersonal skills, problem solving, mathematics, customer-focused. And when you have the opportunity to look at the model, you'll see that all the competencies are followed by some key behaviors or some descriptive text, that the intent is not to set a standard. This is a competency. And what is a competency model? And that is nothing more than a collection of multiple competencies that define successful performance. A model can be developed for various levels. You can develop a competency model around a job, around a set of jobs or an occupational area, and for our purposes we are defining the competencies across the industry. So it's a clear description of what somebody needs to know and how to do to be successful. When the process started a couple years ago, ETA worked with industry organizational psychologists that do this type of work for a living and they conducted research around what are the most common competencies that are needed for success in the workplace; and created a building blocks tier or a model that we use when we're working with the industry leaders. The first three tiers are what we call the foundational competencies. Tiers four and five are industry, that being the broad industry or the industry sector. And then six, seven and eight are occupational competencies. Off to the side is a list of competencies for management and leadership that actually can apply at any level, depending on how you define it. This graphic is something that you'll become very familiar with. The intent is not to say you need to learn things on tier one before you move to tier two; it's just a way of grouping competencies. MR. HUFFMAN: Want to do some questions? MS. DERWART: Okay. We're going to take a couple questions. MR. HUFFMAN: I can read it or – MS. DERWART: Okay. MR. HUFFMAN: Question reads, “Since the U.S. IT certification market is flat, meanwhile Germany and Japan highly respect international certification, I am curious if they would adopt or modify this model to their country.” Well, the certification programs that ISA has that I just mentioned before are in fact international certifications. Done in some different languages, we are exploring that now as a global organization. Currently it's in Spanish in Mexico. We're developing certified automation – actually, they want it in English in Brazil and other areas – of course in Canada, naturally. Next question, “Is there a curriculum available for implementation at the community college level?” Yes, there are programs that do exist for associates in automation science. So, yeah, there are programs that currently exist; however, we really need to get our arms around many of these things and try to galvanize that effort as well. “Has this team considered using the competency-based internship and/or apprenticeship model? The Office of Apprenticeship registers competency-based, hybrid-based and time-based programs. Also, some programs are developing career lattice.” And the answer is yes. MS. TROKE: The next one, “To your knowledge is there a DOL apprenticeship for an automation technician?” I'll let Barbara answer that piece as well. MS. DERWART: Well, as a matter of fact, Steve is in town for a couple days with a few of his colleagues from the Automation Federation and the plan is to have them meet with the apprenticeship group and try and work out some details there. So yes, there is a plan but there is not an existing apprenticeship program at this time. MS. TROKE: Great. And then I think, Barbara, this last one is for you, “Which group of organizational psychologists determined the model?” MS. DERWART: The model was developed with a group called PDRI. That's the initials. They used to be called Personnel Decision Research Institute but it's just PDRI. Yeah. I think in the essence of time we want to just move on a little bit and take some questions as they come. The competency model – we mentioned these tiers. MR. HUFFMAN: Oh, I want that question. MS. DERWART: Okay. MR. HUFFMAN: I'm sorry to interrupt. MS. DERWART: Steve wants a question. He's all excited. MR. HUFFMAN: Oh, I like this one. It says, “Has any thought been given to developing cross-curriculum training and recognition of that training through the training provided by the military?” Absolutely. And that's one reason for our visit to Washington this week. We have an initiative actually to try and map MOS training within the military and see about application for automation careers. So absolutely. That's not only on the radar screen, that is the radar screen. Thanks for that question. MS. TROKE: Great. MS. DERWART: Thanks, Steve. Okay. So when we get to the tiers, personal effectiveness, academics, workplace, industry-wide, industry sector, and then the occupational-specific competencies – I think we mentioned them. So let's just move ahead because each of those tiers – and I realize this is probably too small for you to read – but each of the tiers is broken up into blocks. And the blocks are the competencies that relate to those tiers. We frequently get questions, are the foundation competencies on tiers one, two and three the same for all the industries? And I would say they're similar but they're not the same. Each industry group that has come together, believe it or not, debates heavily around the competencies to include, which ones they feel are critical, and how to define those competencies. And the Automation Federation wasn't different from anybody else. As Steve mentioned, we pretty much started with the competency model that had been development for advanced manufacturing and then the changes began. So you will see, if you were to actually sit down and compare the two, that they are similar but different. And the way work is defined is very similar but broader in this competency model. In a couple slides I'm going to show you how we branched out from just manufacturing to a broader concept of the competencies required for automation. The next step – what we generally do is to go out and look at existing sources of information – find the curricula; find the skill standards, if there are any; find certifications. And after doing the research we analyze those resource materials. Again, we're coming up from an occupation to an industry level. And we do something I call thematic mapping, which is to look at those knowledge, skills and abilities that are most commonly found across the industry in the key occupation. We don't go down to the – everybody has an accountant, everybody has a sales force, but the key competencies that define automation. Develop a draft model and then engage the industry partners. Well, we had the benefit of working with the Automation Federation that had done quite a bit of work around developing an automation body of knowledge. And those folks were very instrumental in helping us define first the draft, and then the Automation Federation brought together a group of their colleagues of about 35, 40 people weighed in and told us what changes needed to be made. We made the changes. We redrafted the model and came up with version two. They picked it apart again and then we came up with a final version. So what you're going to see today is a work in progress because as automation advances the job is once we launch and promote the model to continue to update the model on a regular basis. And I believe, Steve, we agreed that maybe once a year would be sufficient – MR. HUFFMAN: That's our plan, yes. MS. DERWART: – to revisit the model. MS. TROKE: Do we take a – the questions that are coming in, we're loving them. They're excellent. This one is, “Does the Automation Federation have or plan to implement an internship program as a component of their activity?” MR. HUFFMAN: I have to be careful how to answer that. The answer is yes, however remember that the Automation Federation is an umbrella organization as an advocate for the profession. I think our job there would be to try and facilitate internship programs within industry and the answer is yes in that regard. MS. TROKE: Great. Should we take a couple more questions? The next one, “Should regional industry invest in joint apprenticeship programs?” I'm not sure – whoever typed that question, could you give us just a little bit more info on that and we'll keep – we'll roll on to the next question. “Is there a thought of cross-coordination with the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council – or MSSC – which offers the certified production technician certification? Their curriculum and assessments touch on automation competencies.” MR. HUFFMAN: Well, there has not been a thought but there is now. Thank you for the input. MS. TROKE: And we – (inaudible) – right here people want us to keep moving through the presentation and stop answering questions. So we will stop answering questions for a moment and let Barbara get through the meat of the presentation here. MS. DERWART: Okay. This slide just goes through the process that we went through to validate the model, so I think we can just move on here. This is a very important slide and I'm going to let Steve talk a little bit. But I have to tell you, from somebody from the outside this slide opened my eyes. And Steve, you want to talk a little bit about – MR. HUFFMAN: Certainly. MS. DERWART: – automation? MR. HUFFMAN: Early on I think I mentioned that what was impressive about this model was the breadth and depth, not only vertically but in trying to define what types of manufacturing where automation is very prevalent. And unfortunately there are a lot of proprietary terms that the general public doesn't understand, so this is our way of trying to explain that. “Process” has to do with Web-processed chemistry, basically, Web process control, process automation; whatever word you want to use, but it's process. Chemical, refining, brewing, et cetera. And usually have to do with continuous – some sort of continuous process. That in itself is a whole different set of measurements and control then – say discrete, which is again another term that would be factory automation, discrete parts manufacturing such as automotive, aircraft, et cetera. And then there are many, many plants that actually have something in between. We'll just call it a hybrid. That's not a recognized term other than for an automobile and maybe some corn. But that has to do with plants that actually have packaging operations, et cetera, that utilize both types of measurements. And so we decided that the best way to create some horizontal breadth on this was to call – just list these as process, discrete and hybrid. So that's about as clear as we can get on it and about as far as we could agree on it as well. MS. DERWART: And just to put something about that from the outsider perspective, as somebody said to me “automation” and I guess the first thing I think of were cool words that I'd heard: robotics or mechatronics. And these folks said to me, well, yeah, but that's more related to discrete manufacturing. It's really not so much in the process side. So it opened my eyes that automation is bigger than the standard thought of manufacturing as the ordinary person might think of it. So we love this slide. The automation competency model then built on the work that had been done with the advanced manufacturing folks. And if you look at advanced manufacturing, the model, you'll see words around automation but not defined. And when we went through tiers one, two and three, the terminology was somewhat changed but the basic foundation was there, so that the skills that are required are the same as those that are required in the manufacturing model. If we go into tier one, the personal effectiveness competencies, the competencies that we're seeing for everybody – interpersonal skills, integrity, personal acceptability, initiative, dependability, life-long learning – it became very clear to me that these are extremely important for the automation person because there's a lot at stake if you don't do the settings correctly for the dials, the sensors, that it can be worth millions of dollars. Having those basic skills are one of the extremely important aspects of automation. We keep stressing that with every model that we do. When we came to the academic competencies there was quite a bit of discussion because, again, we're not defining the level of reading or the level of math or science, but the fact that all workers need to have a concept around math and how it is used in the workplace, scientific principles, information around the discovery process. It sort of flows into problem solving and the ability to think critically, that if something isn't going right, how do you solve that problem? So the academic competencies are defined in detail. With workplace competencies we got into not only the basic business fundamentals, but when you look at the information in the model it talks quite a bit about business ethics and intellectual property rights. Because and individual who is changing a controller actually has access to information sometimes that most folks don't get access to. And if it is a patented process, you don't want somebody giving away that information. So teaching these kinds of skills in our curriculum might not be overt but they are extremely important. Working together in teams. How you fit into the process. Why your particular job is so important. Being adaptable, of course, because that's important everywhere. Marketing and customer focus. One thing that came up with this model that I thought was very interesting was it was anticipating customer needs. That whether you're the designer, the engineer or a worker, if you can see what this process or this automation – what it could do in the future to solve a problem that hasn't happened yet – you are a valuable employee. So it's pushing the envelope. Planning and organizing. Problem solving. Checking and transcribing; everybody has to keep track of the work that they do. And being able to just work with tools and technology. Somebody said that for the technician, the one who was actually in the plant – and I say “plant” rather than factory – they have to be able to get their hands dirty. They have to not mind actually getting down and doing something, that it's not all just thinking. When we move to tier four you'll notice, if you were to compare this to the advanced manufacturing model, the word “manufacturing” has disappeared. It's pretty much the same block but they don't only apply to manufacturing because if we did that we would lose the process people. And process, remember, can be a waste water treatment plant, so they might not think of themselves as a manufacturer. And yet automation and control is very big in that whole area. MR. HUFFMAN: This is just one of those “gotchas” where discrete and manufacturing almost mean the same thing. So when someone talks about manufacturing they're talking about factory automation. So that's why we tried to avoid those words specifically. MS. DERWART: Okay. But design and development is not just for the manufacturing process as all – MR. HUFFMAN: That's right. MS. DERWART: – design and development. But instead of “production” we say “operations.” So it can be the operation in a process plant or in an actual – in a manufacturing area. The maintenance, installation and repair; supply chain logistics; quality assurance and continuous improvement; and health and safety. Something that came up here, again, we're moving into the future talking about sustainability and the most cost-effective way of doing things. Not necessarily the cheapest, but to perform operations that are cost-effective and yet meet the customer needs. And then we move up to tier five and this is where – automation is not exactly a sector. If you were to think of it in terms of the NAICS codes, the way industries are classified – the North American Industry Classification System. But it is a specialty. It's a sub area of the whole tier four process. And automation fundamentals is the things people need to know around automation. Measurement and actuation, sensing – learn the difference between sensors and controllers. And I always think of it in my humble little brain as when the thermostat senses that the temperature has dropped, the controller changes something that makes the heat go on or the air conditioner go on. But these types of processes are everywhere. And what was really cool is everybody is talking manufacturing but this is being incorporated into smart buildings, into security systems. So there's a question up here about, “With the downward spiral of manufacturing organizations how is this going to affect automation?” And I think Steve would agree that the impact of the manufacturing sector per se does not impact automation because automation is everywhere. MR. HUFFMAN: Quite the opposite. We need more automation. We need automation in order to be globally competitive in the U.S. And I think the more that that's applied, particularly in traditional industries that have not fully automated, I think the more competitive they have an opportunity to be. MS. DERWART: Communications, integration and software. The automation professional at the design and engineering – I'll say – level is working very much around the IT that is making the controllers and everything work together. And again, process and equipment safety becomes extremely important and it's repeated again on tier five around automation. So if we move into the fundamentals – I'm not going to read all of this to you because, first off, it would be boring. But you can download the competency model from the Competency Model Clearinghouse Web site and you will be able to see all that information for yourself. Someone asked about codes, standards and regulations but they are referred to in the technical content area. Tier five measurement and actuation. We're talking about the basic processes around measuring, whether it's fluid, gas or an actual process. This is a little aside. I was talking with someone in a – we're doing another – a development of a model for transportation, distribution and logistics and someone had visited a warehouse that processes supplies for a hospital. And when a surgeon requests supplies to do a knee replacement, they might want six suture kits and three dressings and 14 gowns, et cetera, et cetera. And that's all packaged for that surgeon, that individual, and sent to the hospital on an as-needed basis. The hospital is not maintaining a warehouse anymore. And the sensors and the controllers within the warehouse read all the bar-coded equipment, sped that information into an area where it was pulled together in a package and shipped out, again bar-coded. And nobody was touching anything. It was just fascinating. MR. HUFFMAN: There are factories that have been doing that for years, automated warehouse, yes. MS. DERWART: When we get into the controllers I think this is more with the actual – it can work between the process as well as the actual manufacturing. You're going to see a lot of words up here that may or may not mean a lot to you. But that's why when the people sit down between those who are developing curriculum or those that are planning, those that want to do an apprenticeship, you sit down with your employers, at least you know – tell me something about motion control. Is that an area that we need to talk about or address in our plan or in our curriculum? Communications and software. Again, there are certain specific processes with the manufacturing operations management, industrial communication protocols. These are all technically defined in terms of how the overall process works and the IT works everything. So that kind of – MR. HUFFMAN: Let's not use that term IT – MS. DERWART: Okay. MR. HUFFMAN: – because there is a difference between automation field protocols – communication protocols – and actually IT. So – MS. DERWART: Okay. MR. HUFFMAN: – I think we want to keep that separate for now, though we are trying to work more closely in automation with IT. But there is a perceived wall between those two disciplines. I can tell you that as a matter of reality. MS. DERWART: This is why we need to have somebody in the room that knows what they're talking about. With process and equipment safety, again, you're going to talk about things like reliability and alarm management, the fact that when the controller or the sensor or some of the automation is ceasing to function there are certain safeguards that need to be taken to protect property and people. Okay. So the next thing – we've got lots of questions so I'm just going to move quickly here. You can go to the careeronestop.org/competencymodel. And if you were to click on that you would get the Web site that looks like this. If you've not visited the Web site before, I invite you to. And the next slide sort of blows up the functions on the Web site. We can look at the – access the high-growth industry models – that's where you'll find the automation model – learn about competency models; search the database of resources for information around competencies; and that includes all the apprenticeship records that show all the competencies needed for an apprenticeship. There are several certifications, there are curricula, things that just sort of lay out competencies for you at all levels of the model. We have the basic math skills in there, the basic science curriculum standards; quite, quite replete. We have stories about competency models. And that is we just write up case studies around how people have used competency models to spark your brains and give you ideas, or even somebody to contact to say, oh, that's how they did it. I think we could do something similar. Our latest and greatest is the Build A Competency Model. You can actually go into the tool, use one of the released models – and now automation will be up there – and customize it for your use. At the top of that tool there is the career ladder/lattice tool. And one of the things that we are promoting is the concept that if you have the basic industry model as a foundation for all the competencies needed, then you can build on top of that the occupationally specific descriptors and the hierarchy of occupations. Which ones lead to the next level in a career ladder format? I believe some of you have gone and attended a webinar on the career ladder/lattice. If you haven't, I invite you to look at the archived webinars that are on the Workforce3One Web site. Also, we have two tutorials online in the Build A Model tool that will show you how to go through the tools. They have voice over. It's really kind of neat. So that's just sort of the overview. The model itself, if you were to click on the link here in this PowerPoint that you can download from Workforce3One in about two days, it'll take you right to the model. But you don't have to wait. You can go right to the Competency Model Clearinghouse today. MR. GONZALEZ: You can also click on – if you would like, you can click on the hyperlink now on the slide itself and it'll open up. Just come back to the room, though, after it's opened up. MS. TROKE: So Gary, can you do us a favor and scroll all the way back up to the top? There's a slew of questions. I think we should just start at the top. “What percentage of competencies are industry-specific and what percentage are organization-specific?” That is on the job training. MS. DERWART: I don't think we ever did percentages. That's a good question and maybe something we should look into but I don't have a percentages answer for you. MS. TROKE: Okay. Great. I think we answered the next one. Oh, this is an interesting question, “Is there an automated way to compare and contrast competency models? My interest would be in looking across the models and identifying the most transferable knowledge, skills and abilities.” MS. DERWART: That's something we've been thinking about doing. And we've been so busy whipping out the models that I'm sorry to say it hasn't happened yet. But at this time, no, there really isn't one way to do that other than download all the models and take a look at them. MS. TROKE: Okay. That's a homework assignment for us. “Have any WorkKeys assessments been incorporated as another tool for skill identification?” Barbara, is that you? MS. DERWART: When you say “incorporated,” into the model specifically? I would say no, we've just built the model. But in the database of resources there are WorkKeys assessments. And I believe a couple of the case in point stories refer I know to WorkKeys and how some people have used WorkKeys as an assessment instrument. MS. TROKE: Great. The next one – we alluded to this a little bit – “The rise in awareness of green jobs is an important alternative economic model but we have an absence of national occupational classifications for new green jobs; that is, refurbishment of wind turbines.” So I guess do you, Steve – would you like to comment a little bit on green jobs? MR. HUFFMAN: Yeah. What I want to do now perhaps is open it up to my colleagues from the Automation Federation in the room. One of them actually is involved in this sort of activity. Leo Staples (sp) works for a public utility. I'll introduce him now. Leo? LEO STAPLES: Good afternoon, everyone. Certainly the green jobs – one of the problems we have just overall as a classification of jobs in the automation area, and the green jobs are a great example of that. We've had problems as we've tried to fill wind farm technician positions. And when you go define what that job is, what it should be paid and all that, those just don't exist. And so there's going to have to be a great deal of effort brought to bear on that. Those are just another piece – at least, part of the technical and engineering staff working in the green industries are just another piece of automation professionals. MS. TROKE: Great. I know even here in ETA we're having conversations about green; how will it impact our competency model work? So thank you so much. A comment from Florida. They are moving core technical competencies into secondary programs and using industry certification as a mechanism to validate attainment of these competencies and serve as an articulation pathway into postsecondary education. “ISA certifications require many years of education and/or experience. Is there a fundamental certification aligned with the core of this competency model that would be appropriate for secondary students?” MR. HUFFMAN: Not at this point in time. ISA does have – we're preparing to roll out K through 12 programs in workforce development which may address that in the future. The 2009 ISA president, Dr. Gerald Cockrell is in the room with us. Would you like to comment on that, Gerry? GERALD COCKRELL: Yeah. The workforce development program is a four-tier effort and it's going to begin with an effort in the kindergarten through 12th grade. And we're looking to partner with many of the groups that are doing some great things, like Project Lead the Way, Technology Students Association. And I'm sure that somewhere along the line there would be some level of assessment certification for the secondary student I think. We haven't visited that yet but that's on our to-do list. MR. HUFFMAN: One thing I want to add to that is that postsecondary – I know there's another mention of the CCST certification. Both the CAP and the CCST certifications have entry level exams during the education process. CST is an exam that puts you in training to be a technician. Similarly, there's a CAP associate's program again to frame your career so that you can get the years in service necessary to finally sit for the exam and be fully certified. So I don't know if everyone is aware of that. MS. TROKE: Great. And we'll just keep rolling here. “Are sample examples available to demonstration technical competencies, for example, in mathematics, decision making, et cetera?” MR. HUFFMAN: No samples. MR. STAPLES: There's no samples. The certification programs that we do, do – in the different competencies there are examples and study guides that go with that. I'll go back real quickly to the last question to and make this comment. As more and more of our high schools are offering our students opportunities to take college level courses and working with our technology centers and our two-year colleges, this is going to be an excellent pathway for people while in high school to obtain some of the credits towards meeting our certification requirements. MS. TROKE: Great. Barbara, I think this next one is for you, “How does the model deal with the different levels of specialization, from the need for awareness to the need to be an expert?” MS. DERWART: That's a great question and what that shows is we're talking at the occupational level now rather than the industry level. And one of the things we're going to talk about next is how to build out the other tiers of the model for the Automation Federation. And the thought would be to take words – I don't know if you non-educators are familiar with Bloom's Taxonomy, but it goes from a hierarchy of awareness through application and decision making/problem solving. So the idea would be to go through the occupations that are prominent for the automation area and define whether or not someone needs an awareness of controllers or be able to define a controller, as opposed to fix a controller, install a controller or design a controller. So that's work to be done; it has not been done yet. MS. TROKE: Great. The next question is around developing a curriculum for an entrepreneurial program. We actually are doing some work in that area. Barbara? MS. DERWART: We're in the process of working with the Council for Entrepreneurial Education and several other players to develop a similar model for entrepreneurship. There should be something around that in another I'd say month or two. MS. TROKE: The next one is really a comment from Lisa Lutz (ph). So we'll say Lisa, thank you for that. We've jotted down your contact information so the Automation Federation guys will be following up with you very soon. Sorry – “the guys” – but you guys are here, so – Let's see. The next one, “Do you have any labor force data on the number of people in the automation tech profession and what the growth numbers are expected?” That's a great question. MR. HUFFMAN: There are estimates, of course. But I think we estimated that – I would prefer not to – I don't want to be wrong so I'm going to bag that question right now. But I do know that statistically we figured that we needed something like 15,000 new graduates annually just to keep up with current demand for the people that are going to be leaving the workforce. So I think in the interim what's going to happen is the curve is going to shift because older workers may not be retiring right away because they're becoming more and more indispensable. It really depends. With the economy that could change things back again. But I think right now we're struggling just to maintain status quo. And I know that's not the correct answer but that's the reality. MS. TROKE: Great. This is a person who has worked on the assembly line for two years, another factory worker another three years. “This model probably helps me understand the terms used but isn't the main point that we review this model and know how to apply it in our own jobs and then provide this model to others?” MS. DERWART: I'm going to try to take a crack at that. And maybe this is splitting hairs, but when we developed the model I know we've been approached by some career guidance people and some counselors, and we actually had one comment on our Web site that this was too hard to use for the individual; it didn't make sense to them. The whole competency model project was not developed for individuals who are doing career seeking or career exploration or trying to identify what it is they need to do or what they need to learn. There's another Web site called careeronestop.org that tries to focus more on that type of information. So I can apologize for the model. It really doesn't do what I think you want it to do. MR. HUFFMAN: Let me go back – (inaudible) – Jen. MS. TROKE: Sure. Please. MR. HUFFMAN: That question on the automation professionals, I see that Vernon Trevathan has weighed in here, who is actually the editor of the Automation book of – Body of Knowledge. And my guess was going to be what he said, so he confirms that 200,000 is the best guess for automation professionals, to answer your question specifically. MS. TROKE: Great. And the next question is, “What distinction would you make between mechatronics competencies and automation competencies?” (Laughter.) Do we bag that one, too? MR. HUFFMAN: Well, I mean, I'd say there's a whole lot of more mechanics that's involved in mechatronics, though you're using automation techniques with mechanical equipment. Not unlike robotics somewhat, but different. About as specific as I can get. I do know that National Instruments does a lot of work in mechatronics and there are actually labs that are set up in some institutions to further develop the concept. But that's about all I can answer on it. MS. TROKE: Okay. That's great. “Will health sciences/healthcare be added to the list of models?” We have a long-term care model in the works. Barbara, do we have anything else? MS. DERWART: We've just started researching healthcare. In terms of priorities, because the allied health field and many of the health occupations are so very well defined and regulated through certification and licensure, that wasn't one of the first ones out of the gate. But we are working on a healthcare model. MS. TROKE: Okay. The next two questions are great, “Have you used this competency model to build print/electronic materials to attract youth into automation careers?” MR. HUFFMAN: Yes. We just printed how many thousand – 20,000 brochures to send to the career counselors – the National Career Counselor – Career Development Association. And we have a number of other informational items that we're working on to attract the young folks into automation. We've got some efforts at our expo to bring in high school and middle school students to expose them to some of the exciting things that we're doing right now. MS. TROKE: It says, “You said community college curricula are out there. Where?” I think that we will put that again on our homework list. What I heard Steve say is that that's still a to-do for all of us. Let's see. “When looking at automation as a whole I see two very key areas, which is design engineering and implementation technology. To create competencies in these areas they both tie very closely to the electrical industry. My question is, how do you introduce a core competency that is automation-based that does not require some of those basic skills and understandings?” Who wants to take a shot at that one? MR. HUFFMAN: They do. The answer is that they absolutely do. MS. TROKE: Okay. Good. We have a yes. All right. We have, “First is an example and we – ACSS – is a sponsor/mentor?” Any comments on that? It's just a good example that we should look at. Somebody would like for everybody to share their e-mail addresses. “How can we get that so we can network together?” MR. GONZALEZ: If you'd like, you can use that chat feature to the bottom left. Just type in your name, your e-mail address, and what you're typing it in for, and we can then make it available on the Resources page tagged with the transcript, recording and PowerPoint so that everybody else who was in today's session can download your information. So again, your name, your e-mail address, and with a brief message saying why you're entering that information in so that we can share it. And use that chat feature to the left of your monitor. MS. DERWART: If I could just jump in for a second here. I asked Gary to put the slide back on the screen that shows – oh, he actually just took us to the Competency Model Clearinghouse. And when you see the model up in the right hand side there's something that says Related Links. There's a question around, “Are there materials for the careers in automation?” And the Automation Federation has some wonderful resources and we actually link to them in this Related Links box. You'll see there's a link called “careers in automation: an overview.” If you click there you have the PDF version of the automation careers. There's also a document on the importance of workforce development in automation. And both of those resources are right there on the Web site on the Automation Federation home page, but we've put direct links to them so that you can find them easily. MS. TROKE: Great. MS. DERWART: Thanks, Jen. MS. TROKE: Okay. Let's see. Oh, this is a great question, “Will ETA offer grant opportunities to enable development and implement automation-related training programs in the near future?” Currently we don't have any plans right now to put out any sort of solicitation around automation. But we will keep you posted. “Do you see career opportunities in the automation field for the under-skilled and lower income worker?” MR. HUFFMAN: Well, yeah. I would say you need to improve your education and then you've got a shot. The jobs are out there. You have to be qualified, though. That's why we're going through this exercise. MS. TROKE: Great. And I think we've tackled – Barbara just gave everybody the link to those brochures so people can click through to that. We'll give just another little bit for closing comments but also any other questions that are coming through, because I know people are still typing frantically out there. And I know a lot of you are giving us your contact info, so that's great, so we can network and you can network with the Automation Federation professionals in the room. (Pause.) Oh. The brochure? MR. HUFFMAN: About the ISA – the Automation Federation brochure. So those are available. We'll provide contact information for that. MS. TROKE: Right. You mean beyond the PDF link that we showed for hard copies of it you can – we can work with Automation Federation guys and they'll get it to you. MR. HUFFMAN: Yeah. MS. TROKE: All right. “Are there other educators listening today that are attempting to implement new courses?” I wonder, Gary, could we open the phone lines and see if folks – MR. GONZALEZ: We can. If you want to jump in over the phone line you're going to have to press *1 on your phone's keypad. Just verbally say your name and then the operator will un-mute your line. So do you want to jump in? Star-1 on your phone's keypad, enter (sic) your name and then the operator will un-mute your line. Go ahead and take a second now, if you want to jump in, to do that. MS. TROKE: And if folks have other questions that they'd like to just throw out there to the group I think this is a great opportunity to do that as well. (Pause.) Okay. We have another question coming in. “Has ETA thought of adapting the YouthBuild model for similar programs in automation or other fields?” That is a great question. Have we thought about it, Barbara? We will start thinking about it today. But we have models obviously for construction. Do you want to talk a little bit about those two models? MS. DERWART: Right. We have a meeting with the YouthBuild folks because they work primarily in residential construction, for those of you that are not familiar. And the idea is they do residential because these are primarily disadvantaged youth. It might be in large city areas and they gather these folks and teach them sort of on-the-job training around residential construction. And that is a great – it's a very successful program for, number one, teaching youth teamwork and interpersonal skills, showing up on time kind of skills at a young age, while they're also learning some of the technical skills of the profession. So it sounds like a great model idea to me. I'm not in a position to say that ETA is going to create a program like that, though. MR. GONZALEZ: And Janice, do we have anyone on the phone line? OPERATOR: You have a question from the line of Keith Griffith. MR. GONZALEZ: Keith? KEITH GRIFFITH: Hi. I work in economic development but I'm an educator. I work with colleges, universities and school systems here in Central California in the San Joaquin Valley. Looking for partners out there in the rest of the world that might have access to curriculum, et cetera, because we have a large food processing and beverage manufacturing industry sector here in California where we're always looking for help and assistance. MS. TROKE: Excellent. Thank you, Keith. And did you submit your contact info to us? MR. GRIFFITH: Yes, I did. MS. TROKE: Perfect. Thank you, sir. Thanks for joining us. OPERATOR: Your next question comes from the line of Tony Helm (ph). MS. TROKE: Okay, Tony. Welcome. ERNIE HELMS: That's actually Ernie Helms (ph). MS. TROKE: Oh. Hi, Ernie. Sorry. MR. HUFFMAN: Yeah. Say hi to Tony for us. (Laughter.) MR. HELMS: I'll let Tony know. I think he was a famous actor at one point in time and I don't fit that bill. Hey, listen, you can tell Keith out in San Joaquin to get in touch with me. He's got my contact information. And we are working with adjuncts who are developing curriculum, particularly in the automation area and where it crosses over into the manufacturing sector for both the electrical and instrumentation folks, as well as in the mechanical area and in the supply chain industry – packaging and repackaging industries. And like San Joaquin we have a large food processing certainly with citrus and truck farming, and you name it. So we're well into this. We're always looking for more. And my purpose in giving you the information was to network with the Automation Federation. MR. HUFFMAN: Thank you very much. MS. TROKE: Great. We have another question, “Can the careers in automation materials be disseminated locally/regionally? We have an outreach campaign that reaches 750,000 high school students a year.” I'm sure the answer to that is a big yes. DR. COCKRELL: Well, actually, the answer is of course. MR. HUFFMAN: One of Gerry's plans is – with workforce development and getting into the schools – is to actually put professionals from the various industries into the schools to share with those students what is an automation professional, what training you need and to get them excited about the various opportunities that are out there. MS. TROKE: Another question, “Is there a standard for the first three tiers that crosses multiple industries?” I think Barbara addressed that earlier. MS. DERWART: Yes. That would be the generic building blocks model. When you go into the Competency Model Clearinghouse and you select Industry Models, the first one you see is the generic building blocks. It only goes to tier three because it's generic and there's no industry involved. And then from the dropdown you select all the industries that we built models for. MS. TROKE: Do we have other questions on the phone line? MR. GONZALEZ: Janice? OPERATOR: At this time there are no further questions via the phone line. MS. TROKE: Final thoughts from the group here? Steve? Barbara? MR. HUFFMAN: I have one. Only that – again, the reason why we're trying to do this is to hopefully reenergize the efficiency and the competitiveness of American manufacturing. One unintended consequence that actually works in our favor is that if we establish automation as a strong discipline it really becomes more general. It's because it crosses a lot of the normal vertical disciplines and really crosses territory, so to speak. So it makes that person a more valuable employee. So I just hope that we can continue to shine the light on this profession and we can make it even more exciting. MS. TROKE: Great. So with that I will just say thank you to all of our presenters, especially to our Automation Federation partners who've been absolutely wonderful to work with. We're excited that so many of you are willing to work with us going forward. Say thank you again to Barbara Derwart who is amazing, has done incredible work with our competency models – all of them, not just automation. So for the whole team, thank you. And for all of you, thank you so much and we will talk with you soon. MR. HUFFMAN: Thank you. (END)