Have you noticed lately how the "shortage of skilled workers" is becoming a critical and urgent theme? Rightly so, manufacturing is expected to grow, but many industries are concerned that they will not have enough skilled workers to maintain it.
This supplier is doubling it's plant, and will soon need 200+ more workers.
This well-known manufacturer can't find skilled workers fast enough.
This teacher is concerned that not enough students are available for opportunities from industry.
And this article states that as many as 2 million may go unfilled in the next decade due to the skills gap!
What is causing this problem? What can[...]
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Woodworking teachers - have you ever considered opening your shop for a tour for local industry members and other supporters? ACTE has published a great 8 minute informational video about how to plan a site visit. Check it out and let us know if you are offering any upcoming tours, we would love to come see your shop and learn how to get involved in supporting woodworking education!
https://youtu.be/YHQbedNoto8[...]
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Are you involved with SkillsUSA? Whether you are a teacher, student or industry professional, SkillsUSA can help you. Be a part of a nation-wide effort to promote skilled trades!
Here, Mike Rowe speaks with SkillsUSA for a few moments regarding the skills gap in America, the value of SkillsUSA, and what he thinks of SkillsUSA's slogan, "SkillsUSA: Champions at Work."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yihG89SB00g&feature=youtu.be[...]
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Fresh Wood Student Competition Judging Panel Taps
Experts in Furniture Design, Lutherie and Architectural Millwork
ANAHEIM, CA – Feb 12, 2015 – Six distinguished woodworking and furniture industry professionals have been selected as judges for the AWFS 2015 Fresh Wood student woodworking competition.
The judging panel consists of:
Bob Barone, accomplished lap steel guitar maker/artist
Martin Goebel, owner, Goebel & Co Furniture, melding traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design
Daniel Hellman, co-owner, Hellman-Chang, creator of luxury furniture lines
Saúl Martín, shop superintendent, Architectural Woodworking Company, a high-end commercial architectural millwork firm
Richard Schroeder, Vice President, Design, Stanley Furniture Company and ASFD Board President
Davide Tonizzo, owner, Design D, industrial design[...]
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The Promise of Career and Technical Educaiton
by Randi Weingarten
President, American Federation of Teachers
This is a repost, read the complete article here: http://www.aft.org/column/promise-career-and-technical-education
On the surface, the latest jobs report from the Department of Labor is good news—an estimated 214,000 jobs were added in October, which translates into 54 months of job growth, the longest streak of uninterrupted private sector job growth in our nation’s history.
However, a deeper look at those numbers shows that while more Americans may be finding jobs, wages are standing still. As the Economic Policy Institute reports, earnings for the wealthy few have surged upward while paychecks for the vast majority of Americans have been[...]
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AWFS has announced a new Special Theme Category for the Fresh Wood student woodworking competition. The competition, which will be showcased at the 2015 AWFS®Fair, July 22-25, in Las Vegas, is open to high school and post-secondary students in accredited woodworking or related programs. Entry applications will be accepted until May 1, 2015.
The Special Theme category topic will vary with each competition; the 2015 theme of Musical Instruments is based on the overwhelming popularity of stringed musical instruments in the 2013 competition. “We have learned that high schools and post-secondary programs have adopted stringed instrument instruction as a great way to introduce students to fundamental woodworking skills”, says[...]
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Did you follow the excitement at Woodworking Network this week? It was Young Woodworking Professionals week, and five incredibly talented and driven individuals were featured with special Q&A posts and Profiles. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the YWPWeek Q&A's:
"One of the biggest challenges I faced, as silly as it sounds now, was gracefully accepting input from others. I wasted so much time trying to make all of the decisions myself and it wasn’t good for anybody." - Phil Bowers, Advanced Cabinet Systems
"(Young woodworking professionals) should avoid taking their dynamic for granted, being complacent and taking the easy path."- Adam Schneider, ConceptWorks
"(Young woodworkers should avoid)[...]
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As summer quickly approaches, the 2014 high school graduating class is faced with a difficult question, what next? With rising college tuition costs it is becoming more and more difficult for graduates to pay for college. Many of today’s college bound students will graduate with some form of student debt and no guarantee of employment once they do receive their diploma.
There is an alternative route – apprenticeships. Apprenticeship 2000 is one such program. Established in 1995 by Blum, Inc. and its partner companies, the program offers high school students free college and a paycheck. Blum graduates receive an Associates degree[...]
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Companies donate over $7,000 to woodworking students and programs
Woodcraft, DeWALT, Royal Plywood, Blum, Inc. and other generous companies showed their support for students in woodworking by contributing over $7,000 in tools, material, supplies and gifts to the 2014 SkillsUSA California Region 3 (Los Angeles) and California State woodworking contests, held February 1 and April 26, respectively.
SkillsUSA is one of the largest national career & technical student organizations in the nation. It promotes job readiness with skills and leadership training and supports students entering skilled trades.
SkillsUSA students compete in skill contests for their field of study to display their proficiency and[...]
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(From the Association for Career and Technical Education News)
In conjunction with the beginning of CTE Month 2014, ACTE worked with U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rob Portman (R-OH) to form the new Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus. As co-chairs, the senators will use the bipartisan caucus to bring attention to improving and strengthening access to high-quality, rigorous CTE. Click here to see the full press release. http://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-portman-announce-career-and-technical-education-caucus[...]
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