by Staff
Education cannot, and should not be asked to, close the “skills gap” on their own. Employers have been concerned about the “skills gap” since the 1980’s, and the nature and location of the job has continued to change…at an accelerating rate. 
Employers have convinced themselves to wait for education to close the gap. In the meantime, tremendous resources continue to be expended, but the gap continues to grow.
Educational institutions are not suited, staffed, funded and equipped to train workers for every job, for every employer, nor should they be. Educational institutions do their best work when they build the labor supply with strong, relevant basic and core skills (including STEM), and industry-general skills. Whether those efforts are worthwhile and the resources well-spent depend on two important things: 1) does an employer see value in hiring a graduate, and 2) is there a method in place to ensure those skills are integrated into mastery of the job-tasks the employer needs performed; the value that will influence the employer to retain them.
Only employers can train the worker on tasks they need performed and that affect their bottom line. They have the need, the facilities, the most current equipment for their operation and the personnel with current expertise. Yet, in reality most employer’s methods amount to hardly more than pairing two people and hoping for the best. This is where the gap is most profound and continues to grow.
IF YOUR ORGANIZATION RECOGNIZES THIS BARRIER TO SUCCESS, TOO, AND WOULD LIKE TO REALIGN EFFORTS AND RESOURCES FOR GUARANTEED OUTCOMES, TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE
PROTECH© system of managed human resource development and the accelerated transfer of expertise™
The proprietary PROTECH© software system allows Proactive Technologies to provide a wide range of normally labor-intensive workforce development services in a fraction of the time and cost – with the savings passed to the client.
For decades, Proactive Technologies, Inc.™ has partnered with technical colleges, universities, community colleges, career centers, workforce development agencies, non-profit work centers and economic development offices. Proactive Technologies and its “accelerated transfer of expertise™” ensures each worker is developed to “full job mastery” quickly, efficiently and completely. Proactive Technologies sets-up the structured on-the-job training programs and provides technical implementation support so the employer can focus on business! This approach accelerates the effort to ensure the core skills achieved prior to employment are applied and reinforced before they have a chance to dissipate.
Proactive Technologies has partnered with many economic development agencies to ensure employers moving, or expanding, to the region – from within the U.S. and internationally – have the workers they need when they open their doors, not years later. Proactive Technologies’ approach helps with the growth of local businesses when they need to scale-up as the opportunity arises, not miss opportunities due to insufficient worker capacity.
Employers have many reasons to value this approach. It would be easier if workers could train themselves once hired. Obviously they cannot, but sadly they try. Putting two people together without a training infrastructure provides no guarantee a person will be trained, or be trained properly. Most likely informal, uncontrolled training is happening every day at any business, with every worker on every shift. Without structure to ensure accuracy, consistency, effectiveness and completeness firms are losing money from inefficient use of scarce training time, underdeveloped worker capacity, unnecessary scrap/rework/malperformance, misaligned pay-to-worker value ratios and high turnover costs.
The more the employer’s organization encounters change, the more they lose control. This approach facilitates and supports the employer’s compliance with the “organized processes,” “managed improvement,” “business knowledge capture” and process-based training requirements of ISO 9001:2015, AS9100D and IATF16949, and numerous client audits attest to this fact.
THIS APPROACH:
- Is designed for employer’s task-based training;
- Creates a structured on-the-job training infrastructure – ready to accept new trainees;
- Requires a low and declining per trainee investment;
- Is a perfect capstone to core and industry-general preparation;
- Can, and has been, registered as apprenticeships and provides a natural pathway for relevant and meaningful internships;
- Provides accurate metrics and record keeping to control, improve and report
outcomes; - Generates a wealth of data for educational institutions, workforce developers and training providers to validate their content and customize materials and approach;
- Immediately documents recognizable prior learning/prior skills and accumulating worker value;
- Has continued to provide employers with a high “return of worker investment”- leading employers to stay engaged in sustainable partnerships;
- Is proven over 30 years of application, some projects continuing over 18 years and still providing our training partners opportunities for products and services with pre-employment preparation, new-hire remediation and job-related lifelong learning for incumbent workers;
The PROTECH approach provides many other benefits that make employers want to remain engaged and continue/expand worker development programs.
Small and mid-size operations today are forced to run so lean they rarely can afford any deliberate worker training effort. This approach is affordable, easy to scale-up and powerful! The employer needs no additional staff, and this approach does not interfere with an employer’s staff obligations or work scheduling!
Many projects that started as pilot programs continued to expand to all job classifications and multiple sites, and have spanned decades!
Projects that were initially provided grant funding, employers were attracted by mitigating any perceived risk. The opportunity to recoup some or all of their their initial investment to setup programs and support the program’s implementation to prove the approach before expanding made it easy to “sell” internally. Proactive Technologies helps its clients with grant research, the application process and managing the grant paperwork.
Over the many years of partnerships with education institutions and training providers, this approach has expanded each partner’s marketing reach (without cost) and increased revenue-generating opportunities. The tangible outcomes raised each partner’s credibility and opened doors to new service opportunities. Where these efforts were supported, employers enthusiastically expanded their projects and were not shy about telling other local employers about their project’s success.
Instead of expending scare resources on facilities that may not draw enough students, or buying equipment that grows obsolete after purchase, why not partner with Proactive Technologies and maximize the use of resources that are already available?
Proactive Technologies will setup and manage the structured on-the-job training for your local employers so you can focus on what you do best – preparing workers with highly relevant core and industry-general skills. This approach is perfect for pre-employment development, and effective with displaced, disadvantaged, youth, senior and veteran labor candidates. The employer, the employee, the trainee, and the community all win!
To learn more, visit our website and contact a Proactive Technologies, Inc. representative. We can schedule a videoconference presentation to your computer, and follow-up with an onsite meeting. Ask about our pilot project discount program to encourage employer involvement, which takes any risk out of trying this approach. What do you have to lose?
Proactive Technologies, Inc.®; PROTECH; Human Resource Management for Tomorrow...Today!® and logo;