The Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers® (AWFS®), the Architectural Woodwork Institute (AWI), and the Woodwork Career Alliance (WCA) have come together to produce a video about careers in the wood industry in partnership with the “In Depth with Laurence Fishburne” program. The six-minute feature video will be distributed to public television stations nationwide beginning in June.
In Depth programs are “short form” videos which cover many topics and feature an introduction by actor Laurence Fishburne. They are distributed to public television affiliates and they run between full-length public television programming. A one-minute commercial version of the video was also produced,[...]
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Industry professionals from AWFS® (Association of Woodworking and Furnishings Suppliers®) member companies and the Society of Wood Manufacturing (SWM) supported students from high schools across the state competing in the first ever remote SkillsUSA California Cabinetmaking and Introductory Woodworking contests. The contests were designed to be completed entirely at home, and students submitted videos and participated in virtual interviews with the judges.
Virtual Competitions a New Experience for All
The virtual woodworking skill contests consisted of four components: a written test, which included safety, mathematical, and woodworking knowledge questions; a woodworking project that could be built at home; a brief video presentation[...]
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YouWood is a new industry-wide website that provides information and resources about careers in wood. The site was developed by WIRC (Wood Industry Resource Collaborative), a group of leadership representatives from wood industry organizations. AWFS® is a Founding and Executive member of WIRC, and other member associations include: WMMA and WMIA (also both Executive members), AWI, CPA, IWF Atlanta, NWFA, NBMDA, WCMA, and WMA.
Click Here to Read Ten Ways You Can Help
Spread the Word to Students and Job Seekers about Careers in the Wood Industry!
To learn more, contact AWFS® Assistant Executive Director, Education Adria Salvatore.[...]
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SHARED FROM WOODWORKING NETWORK
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought many day-to-day activities to a halt, but woodworking and technical training is continuing, both in person and online.
Madison Area Technical College in Madison, Wisconsin, is currently offering hybrid instruction. Students attend lab every other day. On their off days, students access videos and other learning resources online. When in class, students are required to wear masks and practice social distancing, said Patrick Molzahn, Cabinetmaking & Millwork program director. He has actually seen an increase in enrollment, and 80 percent of their students who had to delay graduation this past spring have returned[...]
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Anaheim, Calif. – November 9, 2020 — The 2021 AWFS®Fair show cycle is under way and the Call for Proposals for the show’s “College of Woodworking Knowledge” (CWWK) educational seminar program is now open.
Technical experts, exhibitors with an educational segment, business owners and managers, consultants and other wood products manufacturing professionals are invited to submit proposal ideas for seminars to be held at the AWFS®Fair, July 20-23, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The deadline for proposal submittal is December 1, 2020.
Seminars are presented in a variety of time slots ranging from 60 minutes to three hours. The program includes classroom-style presentations, panels,[...]
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The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of
Apprenticeship (OA) has announced approval of a new Competency-based Occupational
Framework (CBOF) for the occupation of Woodwork Manufacturing Specialist. For the past 3
years, a group of visionary industry and education members from Michigan and across the
country collaborated on drafting the framework for an innovative 21st century registered
apprenticeship, “Woodwork Manufacturing Specialist” with assistance from the Urban Institute
in Washington DC and Workplace Intelligence Network (WIN) and led by Kelly Victor-Burke of
Burke Architectural Millwork, who conceived and drafted the initial framework.
The newly approved registered apprenticeship was created to address the employment gap in
woodworking and[...]
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This year, SkillsUSA California put students’ woodworking skills to the test at six regional competitions throughout the state. As the national SkillsUSA website states: “Skills USA is a national nonprofit organization serving middle school, high school and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations. SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce.” AWFS® sponsored Society of Wood Manufacturing (SWM) members volunteered at three of these California events.
Region 3 Introductory Woodworking Students with their projects.
The SkillsUSA CA Region 3 Conference was held on January 25th at[...]
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AWFS® announces the second Design it Digital, a CAD-based design competition that is open to middle school, high school, and post-secondary students …This contest is entirely free to enter and entry applications will be accepted until May 29, 2020. Read more…[...]
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The Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers® (AWFS®) educational program, the College of Woodworking Knowledge® (CWWK®), was held at the AWFS®Fair and provided value for thousands of AWFS Fair attendees through current topics and addressing business questions and concerns.
Designed to meet the current needs of the show audience demographics, the 50 sessions spanned topics to strengthen corporate culture and grow workforce, enhance business management expertise, improve skill sets, and increase knowledge of the latest technologies.
CWWK Educational Track Highlights
Business Management: Expert Tom Grandy spoke on mastering your cash flow. Marketing pro Jonathan Mills dove deep into digital marketing, including the role[...]
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AWFS®) is honored to announce the judging panel for the 2019 Fresh Wood competition. This year 188 entries were received by Fresh Wood from high school and post-secondary students throughout the US and Canada. Forty-two projects were selected for the final round of judging which will take place at the AWFS®Fair in Las Vegas. The students and their instructors whose projects advanced to the final round are invited to attend the AWFS®Fair in person, with a majority of the travel costs covered by AWFS®. Read more...[...]
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