Based on the findings, the following framework was developed for the delivery of DAWN Training.
PLAR TRAINING FOR EMPLOYERS AND RESOURCE PROVIDERS
Initial Plan
The plan was to deliver workshops covering such topics as PLAR, WPLAR, and Individual Training Portfolios and Training options/vectors in order to provide employers with a basic understanding of the project and key topics prior to their involvement in DAWN sponsored training. It was believed that participation in this type of workshop will allow employers to acquire sufficient knowledge to work with the DAWN Skills Developer to initiate a training plan in collaboration with each of their immigrant employees. The requirement would be that employers would attend a 2 day workshop prior to accessing DAWN funding.
Challenges/Learnings
Asking for a commitment from employers to attend 2 consecutive days of workshops as a pre-requisite to accessing DAWN sponsored training was not well received for the following reasons:
- Production demands limited the amount of time available at one time for addressing training needs among area manufacturers.
- Making a 2 day commitment to attend a workshop before understanding the possible benefits was not seen as being a cost effective use of company time.
- There was a generalized wariness regarding perceived “strings attached” to project participation
Requiring 2 days of workshop participation prior to accessing training support was seen to be a barrier in the rollout of the project. Although employer training in RPL, Essential Skills, and Skills Portfolios remained a priority, it was determined that it would need to be presented in conjunction with the identification and selection of individual participants.
From the beginning of the project rollout, it became apparent that for the business community, time and costs are of primary importance.
The prospect of accessing available funding in support of training was the number one consideration for all employers at the outset of their involvement with DAWN.
Best Practices
The required training for employers was divided into more manageable chunks of time, to be carried out over the term of their project involvement.
- General Information Sessions:
- Overview of RPL and Essential Skills
- Outline of training costs to be covered through DAWN Project
- Roles and responsibilities of employers/DAWN
- Recognition of Prior Learning Workshop (Presented by Workplace Education Manitoba)
- Industry based RPL and Essential Skills
- How to use RPL in industry
- Customization of RPL process
- Measuring complexity of ES
- Language and ES
Essential Skills and Job Analysis Workshop
- This workshop focused on how the following fit together:
- National Occupation Codes
- Essential Skills and competency levels
- Job Descriptions with embedded ES as well as duties
- The workshop also demonstrated how the NOC and ES listed for each job profile, fit with the list of tasks or duties for an Employee in a specific workplace and included:
- Employee selection
- Employee training and development
- Employee evaluation
Skills Passport Workshop
- The Skills Passport as an employee owned document
- Documenting employee skills acquisition
- Differentiating between skills and tasks
- Using the Skills Passport template (MS Publisher)
- Logistics of implementing the Skills Passport in the workplace.
TOOLS:
- Essential Skills Presentation
- NOC Code classifications
- Skills passport presentation
- Sample skills passport
ESSENTIAL SKILLS TRAINING
Initial Plan
Based on initial training goals expressed by employers, addressing Essential Skills was identified as being the most important training need. Technical training was not identified as being a training goal.
The initial plan was to advertise for/hire Essential Skills Instructors, and to train instructors in the understanding of each Essential Skill, and how to develop curriculum to teach each ES. This service was provided as an In-Kind contribution by Workplace Education Manitoba. Trained instructors would be available to work as DAWN trainers, and/or as WEM instructors.
WEM advised that the suggested curriculum for ES training could be covered in 108 – 120 hours. (i.e. 27-30 weeks@ 4 hrs. /week)
The initial expectation by DAWN staff was that DAWN Essential Skills classes would be offered at one location, to be attended by trainees from various businesses. This was not, however, specifically stated in the DAWN proposal, so very early in the planning process, the plan was revised to provide reimbursement for training expenses to employers, who would hire their own trainers, in consultation with DAWN.
Challenges/Learnings
At an initial meeting for the first cohort of participating employers, the overwhelming preference by these employers was to have training done in-house, in twice weekly 2 hr. sessions. This was very important to employers for the following reasons:
- Workplace specific materials and facilities would make training more relevant, effective, and ultimately more sustainable
- “Piggybacking” of training would be possible : i.e. employees who were not immigrants, and therefore not eligible for DAWN funding could participate in training
- Time cost savings: having training done in-house would mean less time away from production, as time would not need to be allocated for travel
- Employers expressed a desire to choose instructors based on their specific employee needs
As the DAWN Project progressed, more employers identified technical training as a priority. At first glance, this did not seem to fit the parameters of the DAWN Project. After a great deal of discussion between staff and the Advisory Board, it was determined that all training needs could be expressed in terms of Essential Skills. The initial mindset had been that DAWN would be addressing lower level Essential Skills. Although this remains a concern for many employers, it was also identified that some immigrant employees were in need of developing Essential Skills at a higher, more technical level.
Challenges also became apparent related to the costs of training to be reimbursed through the DAWN Project
- HR and internal supervision requirements are difficult to track
- HR and internal supervision wages are quite confidential, and employers are reluctant to provide this information
As training plans were developed and implemented, some challenges were identified by Essential Skills Instructors:
- In some instructional groups, there was a wide disparity of Essential Skills levels, causing some learners to feel inadequate, and others to become bored.
- Some groups were identified as being too large to accommodate different ability levels.
- Where the ES skills levels of learners was identified as being exceptionally low, there was a concern that the time allotted for training would not be adequate to effect significant change
Best Practices
Based on what was learned, the following adjustments were made.
- Essential Skills Training was planned to take place at each workplace, using workplace specific documents and Safety Procedures. The focus of training, although workplace specific would be designed to fit the framework of Essential Skills.
- Learning group sizes were limited to 5, and grouped according to Essential Skills levels
- Training contracts with employers were revised to allow for additional hours of training, where deemed necessary
- Each contract allowed for an allocation of an agreed upon number of hours for HR and upper management regarding the administration of DAWN training
- In response to the general reluctance to divulge upper management wage rates, a set rate was applied of $25/hr. for HR Management Time, and $30/hr for upper management. (If actual wages were higher than this rate, and businesses chose to divulge the information, then compensation would be provided at the actual rate)
- It was decided that time tracking for managers and employees would be an onerous task, and it was agreed that DAWN would not require documentation regarding the time spent in planning and implementing training. It was determined that the monitoring process would confirm that the training actually took place. Employers were advised that upon request, they would need to produce employee records confirming that they were paid for their attendance at DAWN sponsored training.
- The scope of training opportunities was expanded in response to the determination of workplace needs. In addition to Essential Skills classes, lead by DAWN instructors trained through DAWN, training was sponsored in response to employer identified needs for some technical training. DAWN agreed to reimburse for training that was provided through the local college, Red River College, as well as through other sources. This training included:
- Microsoft Office Applications
- CNC Operator Training
- Blueprint Reading
- Project Management
- Lean Manufacturing
- Crucial Conversations
- Forklift Operator
- Equipment Manufacturer Training for specific workplace equipment
- Technical Writing
- Manitoba Workplace Culture
- Canadian Welding Bureau, Supervisors Training
PROJECT ROLL-OUT
Initial Plan
In determining how the DAWN resources would be provided to local employers to support training of their immigrant workers, it was decided that the project would be offered on a sector basis. The original plan identified 6 sectors; Metal Manufacturing, Wood Manufacturing, Agriculture, Health, Education, and the Service Sector.
The DAWN Project was to be rolled out one sector at a time. It was anticipated that lessons learned in one sector could be applied to the next. This plan was related to the original plan regarding the delivery of Essential Skills Training. Because the original plan was to have trainees from various businesses brought together in centralized DAWN training seminars, it was determined that training groups would be most effective if they consisted of employees from similar businesses. Expected results of the project were that 40 employers, representative of each of the 6 sectors, would be involved, with a total of 80 immigrant employees engaged in DAWN sponsored training.
Challenges/Learnings
Early on in the project, it was identified that the 2 year timeline presented some challenges in terms of the scope of the project. With the time and resources available, the Skills Developer and the Advisory Board realized that it was impractical to expect that DAWN would be able to offer services across such a wide spectrum of business sectors within this timeline.
The numbers identified in the original proposal were viewed as being overly ambitious. The general feeling was that providing service to 80 immigrant employees in 40 different workplaces would not be possible.
The lessons learned regarding the delivery of Essential Skills Training (as outlined in the ES Training section) also affected the plans regarding sector roll-out. The first sector to be rolled out was the Metal Sector, followed by Wood and then General. In the process of determining and addressing the workplace needs, it was quickly learned that each workplace presented unique needs. With the identification of employer preference for on-site training, the concept of sector by sector roll-out appeared to serve no practical purpose.
Best Practices
It was decided that the most important impact of DAWN sponsored training was to be on addressing the needs of immigrant employees in the Pembina Valley. The decision was made to strive to reach the goal of 80 individuals, but that to reach this goal it would be more viable to do so through a smaller number of employers.
Thus, some decisions were made regarding the sectors to be involved in DAWN Training. It was determined that the greatest identified need was in the Manufacturing Sectors. Originally, the manufacturing sectors were identified as being categorized as either Wood Fabrication or Metal Fabrication. Not all manufacturers, however, could fit into these 2 categories, so General Manufacturing was the third sector to be included.
After the initial roll-out of training in these 3 sectors, and the realization that categorization by sector was not useful, the decision was made to do a continuous intake of manufacturing businesses across all 3 sectors.
