Acknowledgements

This tool kit was first prepared for distribution at the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Strategies Forum, held April 19-21 in Dallas, Texas.  We would like to thank the participants at that conference, and those we contacted after the event, for their review and comment on the draft version.  The publication benefited from their feedback.

The principal authors of the tool kit were Teri Bergman (Director for Public Economic and Workforce Development Strategies), Tom Gannon (Manufacturing Field Specialist) and Jeffrey Soth (Program and Economic Analyst).  They were aided by extensive contributions from other Institute staff:  Tom Burress, Beatrice Edwards, and Shea Shackelford.  Also assisting on the production of case studies and development of the resources guide were our AFL-CIO colleages Matthew Bates and Joel Yudken.  We also thank our administrative staff, Evangeline Ganuelas and Shelia Marion, for their help on this project.

We also want to acknowledge the many people who contributed to our understanding of the promising-practice programs featured in this tool kit.  Our interviews with union leaders, employers, workforce and educational practitioners and the administrators of the specific programs featured in the case studies were critical to both the success of the Forum and the development of this tool kit.  We thank them for the time and expertise that they shared with us and for the inspiring work they do everyday to help workers and employers succeed in today’s economy.

The Forum was conducted in partnership with the U.S Department of Labor.  We would like to thank the Employment and Training Administration's Business Relations Group (BRG) for their support and encouragement during this project. 

This project was supported by the U.S. Department of Labor under a grant to the AFL-CIO Working for America Institute: # AN-14603-05-60.  The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor.