Where do you work and what are your responsibilities?  I currently work for the Pittsburgh Human Resource Group, Inc., Murrysville, PA, in the capacity of Senior Consultant. I am responsible for providing consulting services to organizations in the areas of organizational assessment, process improvement, and program implementation.

Why did you agree to serve on the WIB?  “Serving on the WIB was an opportunity for me to have a direct impact on how our tax dollars can more effectively be used in workforce development and improve the process of connecting our area workforce with the needs of the employer. When first asked to help facilitate the process of forming the WIB at its inception, I immediately volunteered my services and spent many rewarding hours working with Bill Thompson and other agency members to bring WIB into fruition. Subsequently, I was asked to serve on the WIB and accepted since it was a continued opportunity to contribute to the community.”

What unique perspective do you bring to the WIB?  My varied experiences in the manufacturing and development areas provide me with the ability to understand the “employee on the floor” issues as well as the senior management concerns. In addition, my program assessment experience gives me the capability to review and understand the complexities of organizational structure, program evaluation, and process improvement.

BattleBots IQ (BBIQ) is an educational program created by the producers of the wildly successful BattleBots television series (in which homemade, remote controlled robots face-off in competition). As the television show grew in popularity, so did the number of student fans who wanted to build competitive robots of their own. It soon became evident that this activity, the sport of robots in competition, had the unique potential to impact middle school, high school and college students in a powerful and positive way: Through the process of robot building, student's imaginations are captured as they design, build and compete with their own robotic creations; and through this hands-on effort students gain practical knowledge of math, science, engineering and manufacturing.

The reception to the BBIQ program in the educational, manufacturing and technology communities has been overwhelming. What started as a program for middle and high schools has grown to include post secondary schools and institutions. Manufacturing and technology sectors have been impressed with what BBIQ has done in creating an awareness of the manufacturing industry that until now was lackluster.

The WIB hosted a teacher training course in January for twenty-one local Career and Technology Center teachers at the Westmoreland County Community College. These teachers spent three intense days learning all about Battlebots IQ and will now implement the curriculum in their local schools. The schools represented were:
Butler County AVTS
Central Westmoreland CTC
Eastern Westmoreland CTC
Forbes Road CTC
Lenape Tech
Northern Westmoreland CTC
Steel Center AVTS

Teams will be formed in each school to build battlebots and will compete in a Battlebots IQ competition. The competition is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 13, at the Westmoreland Mall.

The WIB welcomes three new members - Dr. Steven Ender, Dr. Phil Savini, and Andrew French. Dr. Ender is the President of Westmoreland County Community College. Dr. Savini is the Superintendent of the Southeastern Greene School District. Andrew French is the Executive Director of the Redevelopment Authority of Fayette County.

The CareerLink Quality Review (CLQR) was developed to serve as a quantitative and qualitative measure of CareerLink effectiveness and quality of services, to move toward continuous improvement and better business results. This vehicle was developed to provide a set of quality benchmarks to measure performance for all CareerLinks, and to support and encourage performance improvement.

Preparation for the CareerLink Quality Review began at the individual CareerLink office. The process was in two-steps: a self-assessment analysis performed on site by the CareerLink office staff, followed by an on-site review conducted by a team of 3-4 ‘reviewers’. The assessment looked at seven key indicators in the operations of a CareerLink: leadership, local planning, workforce connections, service delivery, facilities and equipment, business services and system indicators.

The self-assessment was followed by a site visit and a final determination and written report. The CareerLink Operator/Consortia was the point of contact for all activities related to the assessment.

The final determination and report has been completed and received. The PA CareerLink Westmoreland County scored within an average range.

The PA CareerLink Fayette and the PA CareerLink Alle-Kiski will be undergoing their Quality Reviews later this year.

The Westmoreland-Fayette Workforce Investment Board has received a grant to support a Building and Construction Industry Partnership. The partnerships will help identify specific training needs and skill gaps, help connect young people to careers, help educational and training institutions align curriculum with industry demand, address recruiting and retention of workers, develop career ladders within and across companies, highlight best practices and promote communications among companies.  

The Youth Council of the Westmoreland-Fayette Workforce Investment Board is soliciting proposals for youth workforce development programs to be funded through the 2006-2007 Program Year (July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007).

Youth programming for Program Year 2006 is subject to the developments brought about by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA).

WIA programs, therefore, differ in key ways from previous programs:

 *  Service to out-of-school youth is emphasized. At least 50% of the funds available for youth programming under WIA will be reserved for targeting this hard to serve population.

 *  In-school youth activities should be geared toward 11th and 12th grade students.

 *  Activities must be preparing youth for career opportunities in the following industry clusters: manufacturing, health care & biotechnology, information technology, hospitality & tourism, financial services, building and construction trades.

 * Summer activities must be integrated into a program’s overall strategy for addressing the youth’s employment and training needs.

 * Programs must demonstrate the ability to provide the WIA required 12-month follow-up.

 * WIA funds will support the Strategic Plan of the Westmoreland-Fayette Workforce Board for youth workforce development activities.

The entire Request for Proposals (RFP) can be viewed and downloaded from the WIB website www.westfaywib.org. It is listed on the Other Resources page.

Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

Equal Opportunity Employer Program.