(Reprinted with permission from the Employment & Training Reporter
Vol., 35 No. 5, September 29, 2003, p. 68)
Copyright © 2003 by MII Publications Inc.
ETR is published weekly by MII Publications
P.O. Box 34504, Washington, DC 20043
1-800-524-8960, ext. 101 • E-mail: service@miipublications.com

by Christopher Maloney

Youths at risk of dropping out of school are scoring higher in reading and math and remaining in classrooms through a technology-based education and training program run by the construction and engineering firm Henkels & McCoy.

Based in Blue Bell, Pa., on the outskirts of Philadelphia, the firm is primarily engaged in telecommunications work, power transmission and water pipeline construction, but has been providing job training since the 1970s.

The firm's major training effort under WIA is the TechBridge program for in-school youth, ages 14 to 18, who are economically disadvantaged and face multiple barriers to success. It employs a combination of work-based education, work readiness, occupational skills training, incentives and recognition to increase school attendance and raise math and reading levels.

A key component of TechBridge is teaching the youths how to build a personal computer and allowing them to keep the unit when they complete the program.

Currently, the firm is operating about 40 WIA in-school youth programs and also provides training for welfare recipients, juvenile justice programs and in several Job Corps centers.

In New York City, the program is in its third year and is run in conjunction with the Department of Employment. DOE contracted with the firm to serve 200 youths for about $1.2 million. In program year 2001, 193 of 200 youths successfully completed the program and increased their reading and math levels by an average of two full grade levels under the Test of Adult Basic Education. Of the 14 seniors who were enrolled and graduated, all either obtained employment, went on to higher education or were accepted into the military, according to company numbers.

In PY 2002, TechBridge enrolled 218 youths and raised math skills by an average of 1.92 grade levels to 6.8 and reading comprehension by an average of 1.83 grade levels to 6.5. Company officials explained that one group of students was from an alternative education school for the emotionally disturbed and had very low math and reading skills.

Exceeded Enrollment Goals

The program also exceeded contract-specific goals of enrollment, basic skills attainment, school retention, work readiness, occupational skills and program completion, by an average of 131 percent.

Across the state in Buffalo, the local workforce board contracted with the firm to provide summer enrichment for WIA youths and participants enrolled in the Youth Opportunity Grant program, which targets youth in the two poorest areas in the city.

In the 2001 summer 34 of 35 participants completed the program and raised reading comprehension 3.2 grade levels and math skills 3.3 levels and all passed a general competency test. In the following summer, 36 of 37 youths exited and all participants improved their skill levels with similar gains. The contracts for those years were not quite $100,000, and 2003 outcome numbers are still being gathered, said a board official.

"We regard the program as a success. It not only teaches technology skills but uses technology to improve basic education skills for seriously disadvantaged youths,” said James Finamore, executive director of the Buffalo and Erie County board.

The wraparound approach that covers basic education, technical skills and job readiness is “very attractive,” said Anthony Scello, a senior planner for the board.

“Kids seem to like the program,” he added.

A year-round program with a summer quarter is about 300 hours long and is broken up into six modules that cover assessments and basic skills; computer assembly, computer applications and keyboarding; workplace learning; and job readiness training and employability skills. The last module offers a choice of occupational skills training, including Microsoft Office User Specialist certification and the A+ certification for computer repair offered by CompTIA, the Computer Technology Industry Association.

The program also incorporates the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills competencies, an educational approach developed in 1991 by the Department of Labor to prepare youths for work. The main elements of SCANS are basic skills, including reading, writing and mathematics, thinking skills, personal qualities and workplace competencies (ETR 5/12/99, p. 601).

TechBridge also conforms to WIA sec. 129 (c)(2), which prescribes youth program elements, including tutoring, skills training, supportive services, adult mentoring and others (ETR Reference File, p. 91:0220).

Math skills get a boost through real-world applications, including budgeting and financial planning, and explanations of paychecks and deductions, said officials.

Typically, a TechBridge program includes a certified teacher from the school district, a TechBridge technical instructor and a case manager for every 15 students. With special education students, the ratio is even higher, said Jon Rubin, director of program development.

Incentives generally consist of $500 Savings Bonds for graduating seniors who continue to achieve positive outcomes and gift certificates for clothing, book and electronics stores for other positive outcomes. TechBridge also aims to recognize youths' achievements with graduation

ceremonies and certificates, plaques and diplomas throughout the program for meeting goals, including attendance and good attitude. It may be the only time these youths have been applauded on a stage, said officials.

“These are typical reinforcement techniques. We find ways to recognize virtually every kid,” said Rubin.

“We teach the kids that this is how the business world works — based on performance,” said Rick Sutliff, director of national training services.

The program also helps bridge the digital divide for disadvantaged youths and their families, instills confidence and inspires envy in brothers and sisters who are driven to do better academically, Sutliff added.

TechBridge was built on the foundation of other employment and training programs Henkels & McCoy has operated in the past. The company began its foray into the publicly funded job training system in the 1970s after training workers for cable television installation jobs in Denver. Participants were expected to be responsible, punctual and display a good work ethic and were taught the necessary technical skills, including pole climbing, wire splicing, cable lashing and customer service.

“The purpose was to replicate a business environment — productivity, working as team and doing what the boss says — in a classroom situation,” said Sutliff.

That experience led Henkels & McCoy to provide cable TV and business telephone installation training for adults at other locations, and then through federal programs funded under the Comprehensive Employment Training Act and the Job Training Partnership Act.

Company officials formed the training services division in 1980. The training program found itself idle during the summer months as some programs geared up toward serving youths and focused less on adults, so it gradually expanded its focus to youths in 1987.

With the transition from the JTPA era, when classroom-based contracts were the norm for serving adults, to the individual training accounts codified under WIA, the firm has shifted away from serving adults, said company officials.

As the youth program has changed with the times from CETA and JTPA summer youth to WIA in-school and out-of-school youth programs, training has evolved. The program began teaching youths basic electricity and electronics and how to construct sirens, AM and FM radios, color televisions and basic personal computers from kits. Those first computers had a small monochrome monitor, one floppy disk for the operating system and another for data, which was standard for the period. Today, the young people are building contemporary PCs that are much more complex, said Rubin.

 

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