CWA-IUE/Visteon Systems “Knowledge is Power” Program

Program Synopsis

The Knowledge is Power program in Connersville, Indiana represents an example of a successful partnership between a union, its employer and local training providers, designed to improve a company’s competitiveness by enhancing the skills of its workforce. This partnership between the International Union of Electrical Workers - Communications Workers of America Local 84919 (IUE-CWA) and Visteon Systems has developed a training program – “Knowledge is Power” – that focuses on lifelong learning initiatives to advance its mission. The program not only provides needed skills to the workforce, but also develops a culture that values education as a way of preserving good paying jobs at the Visteon facility. The partnership also works effectively with the public workforce, economic development and educational systems in the state to achieve its goals.

The Knowledge is Power program continuously upgrades the skills and education of Visteon workers/IUE-CWA members in a comprehensive manner. The training and education programs address the needs of long-term and newly-hired production workers, as well as the requirements of both incumbent workers and new entrants (apprentices) to the skilled trades positions. In addition to receiving training in the skills essential to the future of their employer, workers can also get a state-issued Certificate of Technical Achievement (CTA) in Advanced Manufacturing while earning up to 15 credits toward an associate’s or bachelor’s degree program.

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Workforce Challenges

This project addressed two of the identified challenges:

Increasing firm/facility competitiveness and employee employment security through incumbent workers’ skills upgrading: The nature of work in the manufacturing sector is changing. Increasing use of both advanced technology and new work processes has added to the skill requirements of most manufacturing occupations. Consequently, employers seek affordable ways to finance training for incumbent workers, and workers need specialized training to help them retain the better paying jobs within their firms and industries.

Assuring a pipeline of specialty-skilled workers: Apprenticeship programs that prepare specialty-skilled workers in manufacturing have decreased dramatically in number and size during the past 20 years. Employers have been reluctant to invest in training workers whom they might not need in the future. This development has reduced the number of qualified workers able to replace the soon-to-be retiring skilled trades employees in manufacturing. The sector urgently needs specialty occupation training programs, including revitalized and updated apprenticeship programs, that provide industry-recognized, portable specialty skill credentials.

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Understanding the Demand and Meeting It

The facility in Connersville that is now Visteon Systems has successfully adapted to change throughout its 85-year history. Opened originally as the Rex Buggy Company making horse drawn carriages, it later shifted to the manufacture of Empire automobiles. From there, the company transitioned to producing refrigerators and freezers, eventually under the Ford-owned Philco brand. In the late 1970s, it shifted again into the manufacture of radiators, condensers and other automobile components. In 2000, the facility separated from Ford and became part of an independent company, Visteon Systems, LLC, which manufactures complex climate control products such as radiators, condensers and compressors.

After separating from Ford, the company saw a need to increase its non-Ford generated business – both with other auto companies, such as Nissan and Saturn, and with smaller businesses, such as non-Ford automobile dealers and parts distributors. To capture that business, the plant needed to become leaner and more flexible so it could handle limited production runs for these smaller customers. The company also had to plan for low volume production of specialized aluminum radiators (used by NASCAR racing cars). Whereas previously the facility did production runs in the thousands, it now needed the ability to switch quickly to runs in the hundreds.

The introduction of computer literacy into the plant (when Ford still owned the operation) shows the continuing evolution of Visteon’s creative culture. For its part, the company actually issued a free computer to every employee for home use! Managers recognized that, if employees used computers in their personal lives, they would integrate those skills into the workplace as well, improving the flow of information concerning the manufacturing operations. Under a separate but related program, IUE/CWA initiated training for 100 members as Microsoft Office User Specialists, so that they could serve as shop floor “experts” in the facility. Training took place at the IUE-CWA union hall. State funds, with matching employer-paid tuition assistance financed the program.

This history of adaptation to change has helped both the company and the union to understand what it takes to compete effectively in the 21st Century. As part of Ford, and subsequently as Visteon, the facility made continuous improvements in the production system in order to become leaner and more flexible. The new strategy for diversifying the customer base in the automotive products aftermarket has made these practices even more important and pushed the company and the union to ramp up and mainstream their education and training programs.¹ Out of this capacity for cooperation, the Visteon training department embarked on the Knowledge is Power program, focusing on continuous skill enhancements that would ensure the long-term competitiveness of the company and thus the employment security of its workforce.

The search for effective programs led them to work with Ivy Tech, Indiana’s vocational and technical college, to customize the CTA in Advanced Manufacturing coursework around specific core competencies needed at Visteon. Together, they decided that providing the opportunity to earn college credit for CTA courses would help to encourage an attitude of life-long learning in the Visteon workforce.

Because the company has facilities in Europe and Asia and operates in an increasingly global economy, it has an awareness of workforce skills in competing labor markets. The Visteon plants in Europe and Asia – many of which national union representatives had also seen – served as benchmarks for enhancing the skills of its U.S. workforce.

In addition to guaranteeing that workers understood the changing technology of the workplace, the adoption of common terminology would become a key to competitiveness. This clarity in communication would allow small employee work groups to address production, quality, safety, cost and other concerns effectively. The training department assumed responsibility for developing the common language necessary, and ensuring the mastery of the tools required to identify and solve problems such as these.

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Program Partners

In addition to the company and the union, a number of other partners, including the public workforce system, have been critical to the project. Assistance in connecting to the public system came from the Indiana AFL-CIO Labor Institute For Training, a non-profit established by the state labor federation to address the workforce needs of affiliated unions and their employers. Many parties worked with representatives of the joint training department to adapt Indiana’s Certificate of Technical Achievement (CTA) in Advanced Manufacturing (explained below) to the specific needs of the Visteon Connersville plant’s production workers, including the local Workforce Investment Board and its Incumbent Worker Council, and staff from Ivy Tech. Most of these same parties worked together to design and deliver a program that would upgrade the skills of the already higher-paid skilled-trades Visteon workers, while allowing them to earn academic credit for their studies.

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Program Activities and Methods

Responsibility for planning and conducting the various education programs falls to the joint training department mentioned above. The programs themselves target two different populations for instruction: general production workers and current and future skilled tradespersons. With respect to both of these target groups, the programs share three training and education achievement objectives:

• helping workers adapt to, and understand, the changing technology of manufacturing processes in the facility
• giving workers the tools to identify and solve important production problems in the plant
• enabling workers to achieve portable, industry recognized credentials
• encouraging workers to earn college credits.

General Production Worker Education and Training
Indiana Certificate of Technical Achievement (CTA) in Advanced Manufacturing

The Indiana Certificates of Technical Achievement (CTA) program grew out of Indiana Public Law 19, the Indiana Essential Skills and Technical Proficiencies Initiative (IESTPI) in 1992, which defines a common set of essential and technical skills for key occupational areas. In 1996, a voluntary partnership of industry, organized labor and various public education and workforce and economic development agencies came together to develop a portable certificate of competency in manufacturing. The state’s certification framework includes four manufacturing career areas: Production, Production Planning & Control, Manufacturing Engineering and Industrial Maintenance. Scenarios that represent the performance level employers expect constitute the basis of the assessment for each of these credentials. Since the passage of the IESTPI, the CTA has been embraced by labor unions, training organizations and both secondary and post secondary schools as a way to recognize the ability to perform to standards expected by industry in a real world setting.

With staff of the Ivy Tech State College Corporate and Community Services division, Visteon and IUE/CWA worked to adapt the CTA to their particular needs.

Academic Credit for Technical Training

Although workers in the CTA for Advanced Manufacturing Program automatically earn academic credit for their studies, Visteon and IUE-CWA wanted to make sure that the skilled trades workers could also get such credit for their advanced studies. As a result, not only did they allow their current skilled tradespersons to enroll in the CTA program if they desired, but they also moved their journeyperson upgrading and new apprenticeship training to Ivy Tech so that participants could earn credits toward an associate’s degree.

General Production Worker Education and Training Program Curriculum

Visteon currently employs about 1,400 production workers at the Connersville facility; they earn between $18.00 and $20.50 per hour.

Although the joint training department sponsors a variety of classes and educational opportunities, this case study focuses on the offerings related to the Certificate of Technical Achievement in Advanced Manufacturing. The company operations and training staff and the union decided to base their production worker skill training program on the CTA curriculum so that workers could achieve this statewide, industry-recognized skills credential. But rather than simply replicate the curriculum, they customized it. In doing this, Visteon became the first company to adapt the CTA curriculum to the specific needs of an actual company.

Two core manufacturing technical areas of knowledge were identified: Production and Product Realization. The courses for the Production core were: Participate in Performing Production Planning; Materials Planning and Control; Participate in Maintaining and Optimizing Equipment and Machines; Participate in Managing Quality Systems; Participate in Improving the Manufacturing Process; and Provide for Health, Safety, and Environmental Concerns. For the core area of Product Realization the core courses were: Participate in Establishing Customer Needs; Participate in Design for Manufacturing; Participate in Design of Production Systems; Participate in Design of Support Systems; and Participate in Development of Prototype. These ten courses each have specific learning objectives and activities built into practice scenarios and worksheets.

Workers volunteer for these courses. The classroom training is offered at the Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana’s Connersville Instructional and Technology Center and until this year, was offered on company time (See Barriers Overcome section below). Hourly workers are offered the chance to participate based on seniority.

After successful completion of the Visteon/IUE-CWA parts of the CTA curriculum, students have a foundation on which to construct a career in manufacturing. A student may use this foundation to go on to earn a Technical Certificate (CTA), Career Development Certificate (CDC), an Associate Degree, a Bachelor’s Degree, or prepare for a specialty certification. To date, approximately 600 production workers have completed the Visteon manufacturing core curriculum and have received their CTAs.

For production workers, this comprehensive training enhances their flexibility as employees and their overall skills in manufacturing. Together, these achievements make program graduates more valuable at Visteon, as well as more marketable in today’s volatile labor market.

Specialty Skills/Skilled Trade Education and Training Program

There are approximately 180 skilled tradespersons at the Connersville Visteon facility. Once fully trained, skilled tradespersons at Visteon earn between $20.00 and $23.00 per hour.

Becoming a Skilled Tradesperson: Joint Apprenticeship Training Program

Almost every manufacturing facility employs a percentage of its workforce in the higher-skilled, higher-paid categories. These positions are often referred to as skilled trades and, until relatively recently, workers who have gone through a registered apprenticeship training program filled them.² Apprenticeship programs have certain common features. Typically, they combine classroom training and on-the-job training, and the length of the program varies according to the specific trade for which it prepares workers. Three to four year programs are not unusual. Trainees are usually paid while they are working and training, and they earn wage increases as they progress up the training ladder. Once a worker reaches the end of the training program, he/she is deemed a journeyperson or master in his/her trade. Until then, he/she is referred to as a first year or second year apprentice. In unionized firms, the union and the company jointly run the apprenticeship program.

IUE-CWA has had a formal, state-registered skilled trades apprenticeship program with the Visteon facility since 1965. The joint training department (mentioned above) and a Local Union Skilled Trades Chairman oversee the program, which includes a full range of trades. The skilled trades occupations at the facility are: Machine Repairer, Electrician, Plumber, Gage and Layout Technician, Charge Board Technician, Instrument Repairer, Service Garage Hi-Lo Operator, Carpenter, Tool and Die Maker, and Cutter-Grinder. All the training takes place at Ivy Tech with Ivy Tech instructors (many of whom are journey level union members. Funds negotiated from the company pay for the entire program; apprentices pay nothing.

Apprentices are selected after a two step process: 1) the submission of a formal application and an aptitude test that is administered by a third party; and 2) an interview by the Apprenticeship Committee, comprised of both union and salaried employees. The results of the aptitude test trigger a “go-no go” decision and the successful applicants are referred to the committee for an interview. Those receiving the highest scores in the interviews are offered a placement for openings. Approximately 80% of the successful candidates have been production workers who have bid for an upgrade to the skilled trades and received it. About 20% of the candidates come from the outside, many of whom are unemployed and are nominated by local groups.

As mentioned above, the program updated the curricula for the skilled trades apprenticeship training at the same time that Visteon and IUE-CWA offered production workers the new CTA-based training opportunities. Since this program began, 25 apprentices have gone through the enhanced apprenticeship program, 15 of whom have earned their journey cards.

These steps to revitalize the company’s apprenticeship program help to meet a growing need to replace soon-to-be retiring skilled workers at the plant.

Upskilling of Incumbent Skilled Tradespersons

The training department also identified the specific skill upgrading needs for journey level skilled tradespersons in order to adopt new technology and processes in the plant. Once again, the department worked with Ivy Tech to develop new continuing education curricula for these already skilled workers. Journey level upgrading training included such courses as Introduction to Vibration Technology, EMonitor Odyssey Basics, and Vibration Analysis. Some of the courses are equipment specific (e.g. Adept Robot) to the plant, other courses such as Vibration Analysis are generic to facilities in the industry.

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Connections to the Public Workforce and Economic Development Systems

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) limits local workforce area funding for incumbent worker training to helping workers below the area’s self-sufficiency standard, a wage level set by local workforce boards. Visteon workers earn too high an hourly wage to qualify for funding support from the local workforce system. Incumbent worker training is an allowed activity, however, for the WIA funds controlled by the governor of each state – what is called the governor’s 15% account. Moreover, other state sources of funding to support incumbent worker upgrading and training are also available.

The facility has therefore worked with the Southeastern Indiana Workforce Investment Board to obtain multiple grants for its training programs from an array of state sources. These grants have been awarded under the State’s “Advance Indiana” grant program that began in 1998. The Governor developed a “Skills 2016” initiative focused on four industry sectors that were critical to Indiana’s economy. The initiative combines resources from both the workforce and economic development systems to address needs in these industries. The sectors relevant to Visteon included advanced manufacturing and information technology.

The state has made workforce development, and particularly incumbent worker training, a priority in recent years and now has an array of programs that support workforce training. Four major programs make up Skills 2016:

1. Advance Indiana, administered through the Department of Workforce Development (DWD), provides funds to companies and organizations that enroll incumbent workers in training programs and enable them to earn industry recognized credentials.
2. The Skills Enhancement Fund (previously Training 2000) provides funding to new and existing companies that commit to training new and incumbent employees. It is administered by the state’s Department of Commerce.
3. The Technology Enhancement Certification for Hoosiers Fund, also administered by the state Department of Commerce, provides funding to companies that train their workers in the up-to-date information technology skills.
4. A new program, Indiana At Work began in 2004. This program uses WorkKeys, a tool that evaluates employee skills against job profiles. WorkKeys identifies skills gaps and devises training to fill them. This initiative will complement other programs to insure that worker skills match employer needs.

Financing from the Indiana Incumbent Worker Training Fund complements Indiana Department of Workforce Development and Department of Commerce dollars. The state created the Fund in 2001 through a tax levied on manufacturing employers to improve manufacturing productivity and competitiveness.

As a result of tapping these various state sources, the Visteon Automotive Systems plant in Connersville, Indiana has received grants totaling $1,166,331.

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Program Funding Sources

The state grants received by Visteon require matching contributions. Therefore, in addition to the public dollars cited above, considerable other matching resources are devoted to the Knowledge is Power program. Thus the employer’s own contributions to the program supplement public funds. The company provides funds to support the administration of its training department and specific training programs, reporting that it has contributed twice the amount of public funds received as matching dollars to the overall cost of training. The company also contributes all the costs associated with conducting classes on-site. Until recently (see the section on Barriers Overcome below), the company’s contribution included the provision of paid work-release time to employees during the time they participate in the training.³ While there is a joint labor-management training department funded by a negotiated amount of dollars, Visteon’s policy requires the plant, not the parent corporation, to provide training funds from its own facility budget. Thus, state funding for the expanded training initiatives was essential to help defray the costs of the program. The money has been well spent: 2,626 employees to date have availed themselves of the training opportunities.

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Barriers Overcome

Although the company, union and workers had adapted to product change in the past, the company and the union knew they had to change the company culture to one that accepted and valued the need for continuous education and training in order to ensure the competitiveness of the facility and retain the jobs of its employees and members. When the training was first offered there were numerous empty seats. Employees were suspicious of the company and its motivation for the program, and worried that their participation – especially if not immediately successful – might affect them adversely. Despite the union’s support for and leadership of the program, stewards heard comments like “what are they up to?” and “how are they going to mess with me?" on the shop floor. However, once the initial group started the CTA program and gave positive feedback to their co-workers, a great number of employees expressed interest in attending.

Ironically, the popularity of the program became a problem for the company. So many workers wanted to take the courses that maintaining staffing on the lines was becoming too difficult and costly. As a result, in the last round of negotiations, the union and the company agreed that, in the future, workers would have to take the coursework after their regular work shifts. The student-employees nevertheless continue to get paid for their time in class at straight time wages.

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Program Results and Returns to Stakeholders/Partners

Benefits to the Company:

The Advanced Manufacturing Core Curriculum focuses on the principal processes that make up an advanced production system. After completion, a worker knows not only about his/her individual portion of the production process, but also about the ways in which processes relate to each other. Companies working on continuous improvement can capitalize on workers who understand the overall system to make implementation more effective. The course work provides a basic overview of manufacturing activities and shows how each activity fits into the overall production environment. Course work also provides a general understanding of the system, so that the worker can help to improve the manufacturing process. For example, CTA graduates understood International Organization for Standardization (ISO) quality requirements and Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) regulations and were able to effectively participate in resolving quality and safety concerns. Workers also participated in designing improvements in ergonomics and safety to reduce accidents and repetitive injuries. The retention of a production line scheduled for closure by the company due to inefficiencies serves as another example of the success of the training. The facility used small groups to develop solutions to identified problems and saved the line, as well as 28 of the 32 jobs involved. While the company has not quantified the results of the training per se, it does know that, over the years, operating costs in the plant have been reduced by millions of dollars. New production lines have been brought into the facility, designed with the input of production and maintenance personnel. This participation has made operations leaner and more cost effective and allowed the facility to compete, not only with outside competitors, but also with other Visteon plants throughout the world.

Benefits to the Employees:

The program has made possible a career ladder for workers at the plant. The CTA in Advanced Manufacturing provides: a recognized, statewide, portable credential for manufacturing production workers; training that may lead to career advancement; and the skills to retain existing jobs or find new ones. The CTA in Advanced Manufacturing curriculum was recently aligned with the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council’s Production Skill Standards. Thus, the CTA curriculum will help prepare workers who want to become certified in the MSSC Production Skills – a nationally recognized credential.

Approximately 85%of the employee participants in the various educational offerings are production workers, 8% are skilled trades maintenance employees and 7% are salaried personnel. To date, the production worker and skilled trades training initiatives have produced over 630 CTA recipients. In addition, 12 employees earned Associate degrees, 8 earned Bachelor degrees and 32 earned Masters degrees. The company and its workforce have experienced a total culture change – one that now values education and lifelong learning

Benefits to the Union:

Widespread participation in the program is one sure sign that IUE/CWA members support their union’s embrace of the program. The union benefits by being able to help provide its members with advanced skills enhancement opportunities that make them more employable – and with a portable skills credential that helps workers advance in their existing companies or assists them in finding new employment. The union also benefits by retaining the jobs of its members.

Benefits to the Educational System:

Ivy Tech has benefited by providing students with training and receiving fees for instruction and training-related expenses. Further, the college benefits by interacting with the employer and employees, thereby increasing its visibility in the community as a provider of education and training that is relevant to workers trying to retain their jobs and careers in manufacturing. As a result of this activity, The Ivy Tech State College built a technology training center (The Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana Connersville Instructional and Technology Center) within a mile of the plant to support the training initiatives. The center is utilized today by the surrounding counties and their businesses.

The culture of knowledge as power has permeated the greater community of Connersville as well. The Technology Center has expanded its evening classes for A+, MOUS computer certification and other courses to meet the demands of the community for additional educational opportunities. The parents and grandparents who attend these classes are demonstrating to their children and grandchildren the importance of education in their lives. The schools report that this emphasis on education has filtered down to influence youth in the primary and secondary schools.

Benefits to the Community:

The community benefits from the increased likelihood of retaining an important local employer, as well as from the jobs and tax benefits that accrue from the employees who work at the plant. The presence of this employer attracts other related businesses; the Visteon plant has numerous suppliers and vendors in the community. In addition, the continued presence of Visteon, with its reputation for continuous workforce development, generally enhances the reputation of Connersville vis a vis other prospective employers.

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Next Steps for the Program and/or for the Partnership

As mentioned above, the partnership intends to pursue MSSC certification for its employees on a voluntary basis. The Ivy Tech curriculum was aligned with the MSSC skill standards so the training provided in the CTA coursework can help workers to achieve positive MSSC assessments and receive that national credential. The company will use the newly developed Indiana LIFT Skill-MAP tool to enable workers to benchmark their training and skills to the MSSC Standards and Assessment Tool in order to determine whether they are ready to test for the MSSC certifications. The company will also use the McGraw-Hill textbook and materials to prepare workers for the MSSC assessments.

For more information, contact Tom Gannon at tgannon@workingforamerica.org or info@workingforamerica.org.