00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:38.000 So, welcome to the Workplace Literacy Webinar. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:46.000 And thank you for joining, and I appreciate my co-presenters hopping in as well, because I wanted to be able to, um, 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:50.000 you know, not just talking in theory, but also talk in practice. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:57.000 Um, and I do just want to briefly mention that Workplace Literacy is not a new concept. It was very… 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:03.000 Um, big with lots of federal investment in it in the 90s, um, so… 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:09.000 Maybe you all have lots of experience with workplace literacy, and I invite that to the conversation. 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:12.000 So, I just, um, have a… 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:15.000 presentation that kind of goes through all the nuts and bolts of it. 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:17.000 as far as… 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:23.000 I see it in my experience and in my research, um, but it's probably not everything. 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:26.000 Um, encapsulated, so… 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:30.000 Um, want to give shout out to Erin Sebelius. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.000 at Literacy Together. 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:38.000 Ellie Varne at AB Tech, Jennifer Pardue at Surrey. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:46.000 Haley McDaniel at Blue Ridge, Ginger, I don't know if you're on here from Fayetteville, but I've got James Mitchell from Fayetteville also. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:49.000 And Steve Gunter from Malind. 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:51.000 So, I also will address… 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:58.000 that a lot of the advertisement that went out for this webinar said, Wake Tech will be presenting. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:01.000 And, um, as we began to go through our 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:08.000 preliminary meetings, um, I was mistaken. Wake Tech is not currently running 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:16.000 a workplace literacy program, but they might in the future. So, um, that's why they're not on the list today. So, initially, I thought they would be, but they're not. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:24.000 Um, so please forgive the error. So if you were here to hear Wake Tech present, I'm so sorry. 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:29.000 Alright, let's dive into workplace literacy. 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:34.000 Okay, so… 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:41.000 Workplace Adult Education and Literacy Activities are a little bit different than our run-of-the-mill adult education offerings. 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:48.000 Because they are offered in collaboration with an employer or an employee organization, like a union, 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:53.000 And they are designed to meet the employer's goals. 00:02:53.000 --> 00:03:06.000 And improve the efficiency of the workforce. So, that get… the networking with the employer and getting to know what their objectives are in the whole thing is a new piece. It's a little bit different than some of the other work that we do. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:10.000 Um, the curriculum is generally contextualized and task-based. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:20.000 And it's often focused on what students can produce. Um, so if it's an ESL class, it's often going to be, um, heavily focused on 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:30.000 kind of speaking and writing. Um, and you're looking… if you're looking in kind of the broader academic context for curriculum or ideas or research, 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:37.000 It's often going to be under English for specific purposes or task-based instruction. 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:44.000 Um, and it's gonna result in employees gaining skills that may make them eligible for pay raises or promotions. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:54.000 And in terms of outcomes reporting, um, you're going to be reporting MSG4 progress milestones that are verified by the employer. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:58.000 They provide a letter or a progress report, something like that. 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:06.000 Um, it goes in the student's file, and then you upload it to the student portfolio in Advances, and that is how you're tracking 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:10.000 your MSGs for workplace literacy. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:13.000 All right. So… 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:15.000 Ideally, 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:21.000 employees are paid to attend, and they have some input into the course design. 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:28.000 Um, so that they are collaborating, it's participatory, they're excited at what their employer is offering them. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:37.000 Um, you're giving… you're gathering feedback from the employees and able to use that to inform the class and… and show that to the employer. 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:41.000 the career ladder is very clear, so students see… 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:44.000 Oh, if I learn these skills, 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:51.000 Or if I earn this certification, you know, my next step at this company could look like XYZ. 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:57.000 Um, when they meet certain milestones, there's celebrations for that. 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:06.000 And ideally, your data is going to be useful, like, for you as a provider for reporting MSG-4, but it's also useful for the company. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:09.000 And they're able to, um… 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:12.000 show continuous improvement over time. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:22.000 And that leads to measurable improvements in whatever their target is. They might be looking at productivity, employee morale, number of people, 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:28.000 retained over a certain period, something like that. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.000 Okay. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:34.000 So, here is a snippet of… 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:42.000 a workplace literacy class, or a part of a workplace literacy class from Malind. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:47.000 Um, and I'm sorry, my screen has… 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:51.000 Um, keeps getting pop-ups, so I don't know if you all are seeing that, so… 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:53.000 Um, alright, so… 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:56.000 Why do we do workplace literacy? 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:01.000 One of the reasons I wanted to make sure that we talk about it this year is because 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:13.000 Um, it is a little bit different, and we only have, like, 100 right now, so far this year, there's 184 students in our state that are coded as having been in a workplace literacy program this 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:19.000 program year. So, I think we have a lot of opportunity to grow here. 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:23.000 And workplace literacy students are already employed. 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:27.000 They've already filled out employment paperwork at that employer. 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:31.000 Um, it helps us serve the employers and network, 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:44.000 And the employers can talk with the Workforce Board about how great it is having Title II involved, and they begin to see you as a part of the solution about what makes North Carolina first in workforce preparation. 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:54.000 Um, when I saw that we were splashed all over, you know, national news, North Carolina first in workforce preparation, um, I really… 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:59.000 wanted a stronger, um, spotlight shown 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:01.000 towards adult ed, and what we… 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:05.000 contribute to that. I think there was a lot of discussion about apprenticeship and… 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:10.000 Workforce training, and I thought, you know, gee, adult ed needs to come 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:17.000 to the front of your mind when you're talking about why we're workforce, uh, first in workforce prep. 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:19.000 Um, 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:23.000 So it also helps the students advance at the company. We're getting the MSG-4 outcomes. 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:31.000 And it can reduce your NRS testing burden if you're using alternate placement, so I'll get into that in a little bit. 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:40.000 Um, and it's going to improve your follow-up outcomes, because these students, after they finish the program, hopefully they're still employed, hopefully they're earning more than they were 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:45.000 Um, when they first enrolled with you. 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:47.000 All right, so just to kind of help us 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:49.000 anchor… 00:07:49.000 --> 00:08:00.000 Um, I'm gonna hand it over to my co-presenters here to explain a bit about their program and how it works. So you can see a smattering of different 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:06.000 offerings that are happening across the state, so you can begin to think about what this might look like in your area. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:10.000 So I'll hand this one off to Erin. 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:26.000 All right. Thanks. So we're literacy together in Asheville, and we have done small group ESL classes led by trained volunteer tutors at various different employers over the years. 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:39.000 We've done it at a landscaping company, an insulation company. We had a hotel group where we taught in three different hotel sites for a couple of years. But this class. 00:08:39.000 --> 00:09:01.000 classes, this program that we have now at Mills Manufacturing is the first one that's ever been an official, you know, workplace literacy program in terms of in the eyes of the state, where we can get the MSG4 and that kind of thing. So what we have, we partnered with Mills Manufacturing, which contracts with the US military to make parachutes. 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:05.000 And I think other things now, but it was mainly parachutes for a long time. 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:20.000 And so we had, I think when we started, we had six or seven small group classes that met there on site just once a week for two hours, led by our normal trained volunteer tutors. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:36.000 Um, and honestly, the curriculum is mainly just English. We're, you know, English for life and work, which is what we teach all of our students. But there also was a component of vocabulary around the machines that they use there, and some safety equipment. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:46.000 And some of the paperwork that they have to deal with, some of them. So pretty basic and straightforward. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:10:02.000 The factory operates Monday through Thursday. They do 10-hour days, and then Friday, people either don't work, or if they need to finish a project, a contract by deadline and they're running behind, then they'll offer students overtime on Fridays. 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:20.000 So our classes are on Fridays, and sometimes we have to work around whether the students are working overtime or not. So we've had to change the time of the class sometimes, and we have had missed classes because students are working. They can't very easily turn down the opportunity for overtime pay. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:39.000 So sometimes that takes precedence. But we've had lots of people get promotions and be spotlighted in their, you know, employee newsletter and employee of the month, and that kind of thing. So it's been a real positive process. And this is, um, this is our third year at Mills. We started in 2023. 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:41.000 But did you want me to go into any more detail than that, Rebecca? Or is that good for now? 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:45.000 Yep, that's great. 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:46.000 All right. Ellie? 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:49.000 Okay. 00:10:49.000 --> 00:11:09.000 Hi, everyone. I'm Ellie. I'm an ELA instructor at AB Tech, and I'm currently teaching a workplace literacy course at system logistics in their facility in Arden. I created most of this course from scratch. A lot of, I think the success of workplace literacy courses. 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:25.000 It's dependent on a lot of customization and tailoring it to the needs of the employer. So I was fortunate to be able to go through like the employee handbook as well as being able to shadow students on a shift for about an hour before. 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:46.000 going through and making the materials for the class. So I was in on that shift. I was both able to evaluate what the level of the students was, and like where their English skills were at, as well as kind of seeing where there were lapses in communication and where they were really needing to have a more in-depth vocabulary for their work. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:12:02.000 So in doing so, I made the materials for the class. We meet once per week on Thursday mornings only for 2 h. And so because of that, we aren't able to cover a ton of. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:20.000 the material that I want to be able to cover. It's not as in-depth as I hope it could be. So to compensate for that, I've done a lot of homework assignments for them, as well as having weekly vocabulary tests. So that vocabulary on their vocabulary quizzes that they take at the beginning of each class. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:36.000 It's just really focusing on a lot of the technical vocabulary that I typically wouldn't expect a level one, level two, level three student to know. This is typically something like where I would still be wanting to introduce. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:52.000 basic verbs, basic things like that. But in this case, we're going to get into some really nitty-gritty specifics around, like, workplace policies, um, safety procedures, things like that. Um, so with that, I've been able to make sure that in class. 00:12:52.000 --> 00:13:07.000 We're not just focusing on that vocabulary as much, but we're really able to spend most of our time focusing on the grammar that helps us put that language into context. So not just knowing that's a screw, that's a bolt. 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:24.000 But also being able to fit that into grammar. So a good example of how I've been able to facilitate that in the classroom. We like to do a lot of discussion games. One of their favorites is Two Truths and a Lie, which is a really good way to break the ice. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:41.000 So using like positives or negatives with I have grammar. So I have a screw, I have a box, I have safety glasses, and then using realia in that so that they really are able to contextualize it for their workplace. 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:57.000 Um, we also have the fortunate, um, opportunity where our classroom has two windows, one of them looks out towards a construction site where they're building a new wing to the facility, and the other one looks out actually onto the assembly floor where the students are working. 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:25.000 And so we can actually all just press up to the window and start to build sentences looking at their actual workplace. So… For example, if we're using this thought or there is, there are grammar prepositions of place, they could say, there is a palletizer, which is what they're assembling at system logistics. There is a palletizer. 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:33.000 Next to the loading dock. And so they're able to actually construct those sentences looking at their workplace and the things that they're actually doing. 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:45.000 And we only have about three classes left. And so I'm going to be a little bit sad when we finish up this class because I really enjoy teaching it, and they're doing really fantastic. They're improving a lot. 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:48.000 Awesome. Thank you. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:50.000 And can, um, I… 00:14:50.000 --> 00:15:04.000 I know at Mills Manufacturing with Literacy Together, it was kind of a long-standing relationship, but this systems logistics relationship is newer. Can you talk a little bit about how you connected with the employer, and… 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:09.000 their role in helping you design the class? 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:25.000 Yeah, so this is the first cohort with system logistics. And Amber, I think, can speak a little bit more to how that initially they reached out to AB tech. But afterwards I was able to get involved as the instructor. 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:40.000 Um, and really build a relationship with the kind of HR person, who is my touchpoint person, and able to share materials back and forth so that I could really. 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:41.000 Great, thank you. 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:43.000 Customize the class to their specific needs. 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:48.000 Amber, did you want to say anything? 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:49.000 Yeah, sorry to put you on the spot. 00:15:49.000 --> 00:16:02.000 Sure. Can you hear me? No worries. So Rebecca will remember Lisa Richman at AV Tech. So she works with our customized training department. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:08.000 And they had already had a relationship with System Logistics with some other. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:16.000 English language trainings, so they had mentioned the need for an ELA class, and that is how we got connected. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.000 Great. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:25.000 Thank you. And then, um, I saw a question in the chat from Lori about, uh, what does the work… 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.000 incentive look like? 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:40.000 So, basically, what… what benefit do the students get after having completed this class, or what's the aim that you're looking for? 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:47.000 So, they definitely are going to earn a certificate at the end of it. So just to. 00:16:47.000 --> 00:17:04.000 demonstrate to their employer, and just for developing their own resumes as well as being paid for their time in class. So they are being compensated for their time in class. There is no direct. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:23.000 Um, line up for promotion or anything like that. But they do have a supervisor that they work directly under who is bilingual in English and Spanish. And so they understand that if they were to want to move into a position similar to his. 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:26.000 That that would require a certain level of English competency. 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:30.000 Got it. Thank you. 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:40.000 All right. Gonna move on to Surrey Community College, which is running also, um, ESL classes on-site at a few different employers. 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:43.000 Um, Jennifer? 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:53.000 Yeah. So this partnership with Applied Polymeric actually began. 00:17:53.000 --> 00:18:03.000 Our county has like a leadership class every year, and a couple of other. 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:11.000 people from our area, the College and Career Readiness was part of that group and just. 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:29.000 Talking about some different things that that we do. And actually Courtney Jackson, some of you know her was mentioned that we can actually go into businesses and and teach. 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:51.000 Classes such as English. for individuals. And one of the Hr. Leaders was actually part of that leadership class, and then reached out to us later on and said that they have a need. And so that's how that partnership started. 00:18:51.000 --> 00:19:06.000 So the class applied polymeric meets one day a week on Fridays for 2 hours. We've worked with the HR. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:22.000 manager to establish several goals focused on reporting like equipment malfunctions and issues and reporting injuries and stuff like that. 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:37.000 The goals are also broken down into milestones. So that helps guide instruction. So for the equipment malfunction issues. 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:50.000 a milestone for that would be identify and name basic equipment and vehicle parts in English. And so having those. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:58.000 smaller milestones also help. the students earn those. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:08.000 MSG's a little quicker. So it's been a positive experience for us. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:18.000 And we we do have one additional workplace literacy class that actually. 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:38.000 became. in existence, I guess, because of this current one. We've got the referral from applied polymeric. So we actually have another one at Mirta Services, which we are also doing English language arts there. 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:44.000 or language acquisitions. So. I think that's about it. Sorry. 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:56.000 Awesome. And Suri did a great job. They outlined it all in an MOU, they outlined their curriculum, um, with a checklist of skills that they were going to teach. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:21:02.000 Milestones for each skill, they also selected the content standards that they were going to focus on. 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:12.000 Um, and then kind of wrapped it up with a nice certificate at the end, which is, um, nice. So I just did a little screenshot of, um, a part of one of their work… 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:14.000 their skills progress checklist. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:22.000 Um, and these can be developed, you know, based off of whatever it is that the employer is hoping to achieve with the class. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:26.000 So if it's that they need to train somebody on some new, um, 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:31.000 job standards, or they need to, um… 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:35.000 you know, improve performance in a current role, or they're studying, kind of, 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:40.000 developing skills for a future role, you can use some of those tasks. 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:46.000 Um, and skills, and build that into a progress checklist, or kind of 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:55.000 cute modules in your curriculum, um, how you're going to structure your class to make sure that you're meeting the employer's need. 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:58.000 All right, Haley. 00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:18.000 Okay, so… We are in the process of getting our ELA classes started with Linamar. They are a local manufacturing company. So Lenamar reached out to us last year. They've wanted to get classes started for a long time at their facility. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:37.000 Um, so… When I initially met with the manager there, he told me he has a lot of people who are just fantastic workers. They deserve promotions, and the only thing in the way of that is the language barrier. Um… 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:47.000 So basically, I worked really closely with them to get what topics they wanted covered, what they wanted their employees to know, you know. 00:22:47.000 --> 00:23:09.000 workplace-specific vocabulary. I took a tour of the facility. They sent me all their guides and manuals, and um… specific words, job position titles, all of those things. And I kind of developed a… I used that to develop a scope and sequence, um. 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:20.000 And it covers… it has different units, and it covers things like workplace safety, um, talking to HR, requesting time off, reporting an incident, and then, of course, um. 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:26.000 you know, the name for different equipment and machines that they use, different job positions. 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:41.000 things like that. Um… So that took quite a bit of time to develop, um, and they have a lot of people interested. They have… so this is kind of a challenge that I ran into. Um… 00:23:41.000 --> 00:24:11.000 when we were finally ready to start the class, he told me, you know, originally I thought it was like a group of 20 and then we were ready to start. And he said, oh, I have 90 people and they want to start right now. And I was like, okay, hang on, I need to… Need to get my stuff situated here. Um, and he told me that, like, while I was there doing intake paperwork. And, um, so I kind of had to backtrack and say, okay, you know, we really need to… I need to pilot this with a smaller group. This is new to us, we haven't done it before. I want to make sure that we're doing things the right way, that this is, you know, going to work well. I don't want to just. 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:40.000 you know, jump all in, and it'd be chaos with 90 people. So, um… we're gonna pilot it first for a month or two with one class of 20, uh, and then add classes as things feel sustainable. Um, the other issue that we ran into was. 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:55.000 his employees only wanted to attend one hour per week, so he… we were going to run 4 classes each at 1 hour per week, so students were only going to get 1 hour of instruction per week. So, again, that was a lot of conversation. 00:24:55.000 --> 00:25:01.000 I'm just trying to help them understand the educational side of things that, you know. 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:21.000 for students to make progress, we really need a minimum of 4 hours per week, at least, with ELA students. Um, so a lot of this has just been sitting down, conversation, you know, kind of going back and forth about things, um, just to try to help them understand… they're not in that educator mindset, um, just to try to help them understand. 00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:42.000 the things that we need to happen, and what's best for the students. So, they did finally agree to four hours per week. Um, they are paying their employees for this, so that's a huge deal. Um… And then we ran into one other challenge. They were a little uncomfortable with the employer letter piece. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:26:01.000 when I first explained to them that we needed a letter that kind of stated that this could potentially lead to a promotion or a raise in the future, their HR was a little funny about that. So, again, that took another more conversation and just explaining, you know, um. 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:18.000 I'm not… you're not promising this to employees, you're just acknowledging that this could be an opportunity… or this is what this could lead to. This would be the end goal, is that they improve their skills and eventually get a promotion or a raise with that. Um, and so they finally. 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:31.000 Understood, and we got the letter taken care of as well. But again, it was just another one of those things that takes time and conversation. Um… 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:36.000 Okay, and then the only other thing I was gonna say about Lenamar. 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:50.000 was originally, you know, we're doing, uh, we… we are… we were going to use TABE tests as the placement test for this, but I have recently learned a lot about alternative placement. So I think I am now going to revise. 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:55.000 my submission for this to include alternative placement. 00:26:55.000 --> 00:27:08.000 Nice. And one of the things about Linamara on their company website, they talk a lot about their commitment to growing their own talent and promoting from within. Um, they have a lot going on in the… 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:12.000 internship and apprenticeship space, so, um, this… 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:14.000 fits that nicely, so… 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:17.000 Um, I'm glad you leaned into that, and… 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:20.000 explained in the letter, you know. 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.000 right where the idea is that they're gonna grow with the company. 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:27.000 Yeah. 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:35.000 All right, pass it off to Eric and Ginger, if you're here. 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:36.000 Yes? 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:57.000 Well, good afternoon. Can you hear me? Okay, cool. So, uh, good afternoon again. Eric Mitchell, James Mitchell, whatever works for you guys, it works for me. So I'm gonna preface this with I just started doing this in January. I'm new to Fayetteville tech, not necessarily new to Ccr. But what we do here is a B step class, and you can see the acronym at the bottom of your screen there. 00:27:57.000 --> 00:28:06.000 We work with soldiers who are going to re-enlist. And so they take the AFCT, which is just the armed forces classification test. So. 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:25.000 Um, they have a JT score there, a general technical score, general technical score there. And the goal for this class is to raise that GT score. The higher the score, the more open they are to different opportunities and jobs within the military and within the Army, because we work in the Army base here. 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:46.000 Um, so we focus on three things, um… Arithmetic reasoning, which is just word problems for their math portion. A lot of basic math, fractions, decimals, word problems, ratios, proportions, and the application of those problems. Word knowledge, um, just in vocabulary. 00:28:46.000 --> 00:29:01.000 pretty much just what it sounds like. We're acknowledged, working on the vocabulary. And then the paragraph comprehension, which is pretty much what you would see in your regular ABE classes. Um, taking a passage, extracting information, answering questions based on that. 00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:17.000 Um, so we have the soldiers for a month, I always say students, but I like to go with soldiers, right? We have the soldiers for a month. We generally start a new cohort beginning of the month, the first of every month. We have a new cohort that starts Friday. 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:32.000 Um, and then the testing center here at Bragg reserves two days for our students to test at the end of the month. And so we have those days scheduled for them as well. And so we spend that time from when they come to class until test day. 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:42.000 Um, just remediating, reteaching, introducing them to some new concepts, uh, showing them how to navigate and better prepare for those tests. It's just myself. 00:29:42.000 --> 00:30:03.000 And our other instructor, Dr. Bullock, who focuses on those things. Every month we see about… Depending, uh, but, you know, the most I've seen since I've been here in January is around 90 students. Um, but every month, you know, about 85 or so given what's going on currently, you know, with some deployments and things, we've seen the fewer students, but… 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:11.000 We focus on that pretty intense. It's a month sounds like a long time until you start going through the curriculum. 00:30:11.000 --> 00:30:41.000 Um, and then it's pretty intense. It moves pretty well, but we are… I don't want to bribe, we are the best in the country at what we do. So, um, um… But it relies on the students to have a little give and take back and forth with us, and we spend our time just revising curriculum, updating curriculum as we go along. We have students who've tested today, so we're eager to get those test scores back right now. The goal for them is to raise their their GT scores, like I said. 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:53.000 Most of them come in with a score lower than 100. Um, so we look for that growth. Um, our average growth so far has been about 12 points, which is. 00:30:53.000 --> 00:31:06.000 quite a big leap for a lot of our soldiers. Our high so far has been a 142. I think the max you can get is like a 14… 53, if I'm not mistaken, so we've seen some great growth there. Um… 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:21.000 And some counseling. We do some educational counseling with our soldiers as well, just if it doesn't go the way they like, we invite them back. We talk about their next steps. I know they're in the military, they submit their packets to. 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:38.000 increase their opportunities and their money, their pay, but also in just continuing their education. We are at an education center here, so there are other colleges that are represented at the center, and so we do make sure that we introduce them to those as well. 00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:41.000 Yeah. 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:42.000 Awesome. 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:43.000 Um… I think I've hit the highlights, um… Not sure what more. There's questions I'm open to them. 00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:52.000 And the fun thing about… or, I mean, I'm sure there's a lot, I don't know if fun is the right word, but, um, my understanding is that this 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:57.000 Partnership between Fort Bragg and Fayetteville Tech has been going on, you know, maybe 00:31:57.000 --> 00:32:00.000 for decades, decades and decades. 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:01.000 Um, but it's only been written up as a workplace literacy program. 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:06.000 Yes. Yes, decades. Yes, um… 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:10.000 Um, just in the last few years, and it has shot 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:13.000 the MSG rate through the roof. 00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:15.000 Um, so that… 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:16.000 you know, having these new MSG types 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:18.000 Yes. Yeah, um… 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:25.000 3, 4, and 5, um, you know, we as a state are evolving in our data collection practices, so, like, 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:33.000 The program has been around for a long time, um, we just haven't been able to really showcase the results until the last couple years. 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:38.000 Um, for the federal government. So it's, um, it's a great example of 00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:50.000 the adult basic ed programming, or the adult literacy programming, really being designed to meet the needs of the employer so that the student can level up their employment and gain more in their… 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:52.000 Um, career path. 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:55.000 And so, I love that example. Thank you. 00:32:55.000 --> 00:33:00.000 I'll say roughly about 61, 62 a month since I've been here. 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:01.000 Phenomenal. 00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:08.000 That's been the average, so… we achieved that goal that, like I said, the soldiers achieve that goal, and so we… we help them all. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:15.000 Awesome. So, as we look at, um… so, in Power BI, there is… 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:17.000 an option to run your NRS 00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:24.000 tables, and that's where you're gonna get your most, um, accurate data there out of Power BI Table 6. 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:30.000 We'll show you all the students that have been flagged as in a workplace literacy program. 00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:35.000 Um, you can drill into it and kind of see them all there. 00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:44.000 And so, um, as I look at it, there are more colleges in the state, or more providers in the state than this, um, that make up that 180… 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:52.000 6 that we have students in workplace literacy across our state, but these are the ones where, um, I see 00:33:52.000 --> 00:34:01.000 outcomes being reported, or I've had conversations with people, and I know that they have a program running, or have had one running, um, in 00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:05.000 not too, um, not too long ago. 00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:13.000 And so, uh, Wilkes Community College, uh, partners with Tyson Foods. You may have seen them present at conferences in the past. 00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:26.000 Um, we've got an example here from McDowell, and I didn't have Steve explain mainland Community Colleges' workplace literacy program, because it is also ELA. 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:37.000 focused, um, but just wanted to give you an idea that other colleges and programs are looking into this, and it's an option. You can network amongst yourselves and get some good ideas as well. 00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:43.000 Um, here is a flyer that Surrey Community College ran in their 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:46.000 Con Ed Catalog, Mailer? 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:50.000 Uh, that goes out across their service area. 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:56.000 help spreading the word about some of what we can offer for employers. 00:34:56.000 --> 00:35:03.000 I'm just kind of an idea of something you might want to consider locally, if this is something you want to go after. 00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:06.000 Okay, and then in our… 00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:14.000 previous… in our planning meetings for this, and I said, you know, what do we need to cover? What do people really want to know about workplace literacy? 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:18.000 And, um, several times I heard, we just need a checklist. 00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:25.000 Um, so this is my attempt at the checklist, and apologies in advance, because it's a lot of words, but I… 00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:34.000 wanted to be true to the ask, and make sure that I included a checklist here in the presentation so you all have it. 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:36.000 So, you… and you've heard… 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:49.000 these programs kind of talk about these different stages that they've gone through with their program. And I will also admit, you know, people who have worked with me in the past know that, like, I can talk about things that, like, 00:35:49.000 --> 00:35:58.000 might be in the theoretical world, or the ideal world, and then, you know, in the trenches, it looks maybe a little bit different. So, feel free to ask questions like that. 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:00.000 And, um… 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:03.000 people who are doing the work currently can… 00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:10.000 Um, address it from, you know, what they see at their level. So, uh, you're gonna tour the workplace, 00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:18.000 And talk with the key players and kind of get the lay of the land in terms of who are the stakeholders, what do they hope to achieve, 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:26.000 And are they also working with another partner, um, at the college? Like, is NC Edge involved, or apprenticeship? 00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:32.000 Um, what does the career ladder look like for employees at that organization? 00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:38.000 And what skills would the employees need to develop in order to be competitive for the next promotion? 00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:46.000 Um, you're gonna hash out those details about program length, timing, location, how the employees will be recruited or selected. 00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:51.000 Whether or not the company will pay them for all of their time, some of their time, 00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:56.000 Um, not pay them, you know, I always like to try to get 00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:59.000 the employees paid for the time, if possible. 00:36:59.000 --> 00:37:03.000 And what the learning outcomes should be. 00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:08.000 And that employer is probably not familiar with education speak. 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:16.000 So, after you've asked a lot of open-ended questions and gathered this info in your notes, you might need to draft 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:26.000 something, and you might say, here's, you know, based off of what I heard you say, here's what I think we can deliver. Does this line up with what you're looking for? 00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:29.000 And so maybe, um, 00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:36.000 that coming up with those learning outcomes might be on you. Um, so just be prepared for that. And then you would 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:42.000 flesh out your, um, MOU in terms of what classroom space, whose Wi-Fi am I using? 00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:45.000 Um, how long's the program gonna last? 00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:51.000 what's the company's role in helping get students into the class, that kind of thing. 00:37:51.000 --> 00:37:58.000 Um, you'd complete that IET template for workplace literacy MSG-4. 00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:04.000 And submit it to the Career Pathways Moodle portal, just like you would for an IET. 00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:07.000 And… in… 00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:13.000 Situations for workplace literacy, it is helpful, like, if you have that employer letter on letterhead, 00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:23.000 And even the MOU, um, if you have a kind of a scope and sequence, or, you know, the more information you can submit with that, it's helpful. It helps give the system office 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:29.000 kind of a full picture of what you're proposing to run at this location. 00:38:29.000 --> 00:38:36.000 And I know you're working with another partner, and so if you submit something and you need, like, 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:46.000 advice before you submit it, or you need a rush order on something, I can't always promise, but it's okay to ask, because we want to make sure that we do what we can to make sure that you're able to, um, 00:38:46.000 --> 00:38:48.000 meet the need of your employer. 00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:52.000 Erin, you've got a hand raised? 00:38:52.000 --> 00:39:05.000 Thanks. Yeah, I just wondered if you could clarify that last bullet, whether an MOU signed by both parties could replace the employer letter. 00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:22.000 Um, because it looks like you're saying either or, and I thought it had to be the letter, and we actually have a situation right now where we're doing this with another company, another employer, who I didn't make sure that they provided that letter for us, which I offered a draft of. 00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:39.000 But I didn't make sure that they were fine with it and signed it and gave it to us before we started. So we're not counting that as a… we have not submitted it as a workplace literacy thing with the state, because I thought we had to have that letter. 00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:40.000 Okay. 00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:42.000 But we do have a signed MOU, so if they don't want to sign the letter, but I have the MOU, can I just… Go ahead and put that in there. 00:39:42.000 --> 00:39:48.000 Well, so what I'm looking for here is, like, what is going to count as evidence that's going to go in the student file? And so that might be a part of your MOU, 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:51.000 Lots of ships. So, you know, when we maybe go someplace, and they take 5 or 6 ships. 00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:57.000 Um, where it's kind of like program outcomes, or, you know, so if it's built into your MOU, you could do that. Um, but you… you need… 00:39:57.000 --> 00:40:01.000 That's what it means. This can also mean. He was very pleased. 00:40:01.000 --> 00:40:07.000 to submit something that says, like, this is what we're gonna count as evidence of having obtained. 00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:08.000 or reached our goal for MSG4. 00:40:08.000 --> 00:40:10.000 You can use it as a bird, and that means the person's facts. They're quick enough. 00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:16.000 Um, but I'll also say you can always, uh, like, revise, so if you get to the point where 00:40:16.000 --> 00:40:19.000 you know, you've got something that you're going to use for evidence for that MSG4, and you want to submit it. 00:40:19.000 --> 00:40:22.000 Yeah, anything in a big group can be considered a food. Yes, yeah, yeah. Not M. 00:40:22.000 --> 00:40:25.000 for an IET template that you previously submitted, uh, reach out to Matthew. 00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:30.000 by cars or boats or thanks. Yeah, that's what I do, very well. 00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:37.000 All right, um, and then, like, just, like Ellie talked about, gathering relevant artifacts from the workplace. 00:40:37.000 --> 00:40:40.000 Um, what does this company do? 00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:46.000 Who do they serve? Whom do they serve? What products do they use? What things do they make? 00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:52.000 Do they ship things out and receive things? Are they talking to customers on the phone? 00:40:52.000 --> 00:41:01.000 you know, what's going on here? Um, so take some time, look around the workplace, check out your potential training space, 00:41:01.000 --> 00:41:05.000 And see what they'll share with you in terms of job descriptions, 00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:08.000 job aids, uh, that kind of thing. 00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:15.000 Um, you want to select or design your curriculum and assessments, and you want to consider task-based assessments. 00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.000 And make sure that whatever the, you know, this… 00:41:19.000 --> 00:41:27.000 assessment gets to your proof of the student making progress. That… that's going to go in your student file and be uploaded into 00:41:27.000 --> 00:41:29.000 um, advances, but… 00:41:29.000 --> 00:41:36.000 make sure, like, are the results of these assessments meaningful to the employer? Could they go on the employee's resume? 00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:46.000 Um, is it going to be useful in helping them prepare for a future promotion? So, an example would be, like, the workkeys, um, CRC test. 00:41:46.000 --> 00:41:56.000 Some employers really value that, and leveling up from bronze to silver helps them get a raise. Or, like at Fayetteville Tech with Fort Bragg, that 00:41:56.000 --> 00:42:01.000 you know, leveling up their GT score is very clearly associated with being eligible for certain promotions. 00:42:01.000 --> 00:42:03.000 Um, at some employers, 00:42:03.000 --> 00:42:08.000 they won't let you… they won't hire you full-time, like, they might have you on as a temp. 00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:22.000 If you don't have your high school equivalency diploma, but they might not hire you full-time until you have that diploma. Or maybe they don't allow you to move into a supervisory role until you have a high school diploma or equivalent. 00:42:22.000 --> 00:42:30.000 Um, or if it's, uh, you know, developing your English communication skills and 00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:35.000 So, you want to kind of showcase, okay, they've been in this class so that we can help them learn English. 00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:48.000 We want to then showcase what they've learned to their managers, or to HR. You could do, um, have them do a sample interview or a reverse job fair. 00:42:48.000 --> 00:43:09.000 you know, complete a task and evaluate it using a rubric, um, to show to HR that, you know, you said to be eligible for promotion, they would really need to be able to do XYZ better, and they've just demonstrated that they can now do that better. Um, so that would be your evidence. So there's a lot of things you could… you could be a North Star, 00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:20.000 digital literacy certificates, if digital literacy is the focus of your class. Um, it's just gonna depend on what it is that the employer said they wanted to achieve. 00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:29.000 Um, you need to identify and orient the instructor to the teaching site and share the company's why for the program with the instructor. 00:43:29.000 --> 00:43:40.000 Because that instructor is really the magic that makes the whole thing happen. They're representing your organization off-site at this employer. They're the face 00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:47.000 of the program. Um, and they're important for curriculum and communication. 00:43:47.000 --> 00:43:54.000 So, if they're enthusiastic about the opportunities at this company, then those employees become enthusiastic as well. 00:43:54.000 --> 00:44:03.000 Um, so make sure that that instructor has some buy-in and understands, um, who to go to at the local site if they need something. 00:44:03.000 --> 00:44:05.000 That kind of thing. 00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:17.000 And then brainstorm some ideas about how you're gonna kind of put the cherry on top at the end of the program. Um, is it going to be a graduation party, or a reverse job fair? Students gonna do presentations? 00:44:17.000 --> 00:44:19.000 Um… 00:44:19.000 --> 00:44:23.000 you know, what does that look like at the company? 00:44:23.000 --> 00:44:26.000 does the HR team write up 00:44:26.000 --> 00:44:33.000 a bulletin board display for each completer, or, you know, something like that. 00:44:33.000 --> 00:44:41.000 Uh, you're gonna launch the class, and then you're gonna think about what times are we going to give updates to the employer, 00:44:41.000 --> 00:44:45.000 reflect on how this program is going, revisit, tweak. 00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:48.000 Etc. Um… 00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:51.000 So that is my checklist, in theory. 00:44:51.000 --> 00:45:02.000 Do any of my current providers want to weigh in on any component… components of it? 00:45:02.000 --> 00:45:07.000 I'll just… just interrupt me if something comes up, because I do want to save time for questions as well. 00:45:07.000 --> 00:45:11.000 Um, so a couple of notes here in regards to student enrollment. 00:45:11.000 --> 00:45:16.000 So we've talked about alternate placement in lieu of NRS pre-testing. 00:45:16.000 --> 00:45:21.000 And so, if this is an approved MSG 00:45:21.000 --> 00:45:29.000 for workplace literacy program, you can use alternate placement. There's a place on the IET checklist, or IET template that you would check. 00:45:29.000 --> 00:45:36.000 that that's your plan. Um, but don't use alternate placement until you have gone to the assessment manual, 00:45:36.000 --> 00:45:44.000 And read up about it. You do have to, like, submit something to system office, and Jess and Jen are involved, and um… 00:45:44.000 --> 00:45:49.000 But it's a great plan. It eliminates your need to do NRS pre-testing. 00:45:49.000 --> 00:46:02.000 And post-testing. Um, so I saw a question about, what do we do about the 40 hours? And in a workplace literacy class, um, you don't have to let that stop you from really meeting the needs of the employer. You have… 00:46:02.000 --> 00:46:09.000 The flexibility by using alternate placement to really tailor to the needs of the students and the employer. 00:46:09.000 --> 00:46:14.000 Um, talk with the company about what their role is going to be in, um, 00:46:14.000 --> 00:46:17.000 maintaining your enrollment, um… 00:46:17.000 --> 00:46:24.000 you know, signing… are they going to select a certain percentage of employees off of certain shifts, or off of certain teams? 00:46:24.000 --> 00:46:29.000 Um, how are they going to stagger workload? Um, that kind of thing, and… 00:46:29.000 --> 00:46:37.000 does HR communicate with supervisors so that supervisors know when a student is going to be absent? Kind of, what does all that look like? 00:46:37.000 --> 00:46:46.000 Um, and is HR interested in the students' progress as they go along, and are they supporting this with any career counseling, or 00:46:46.000 --> 00:46:54.000 Um, talking to the student about what those next steps are. So that's something to talk with the employer about ahead of time. 00:46:54.000 --> 00:47:04.000 On the LEIS form and in the Advances Demographics section, you want to remember to mark Workplace Literacy. That's what helps them show up on NRS tables. 00:47:04.000 --> 00:47:08.000 6. And in advances, 00:47:08.000 --> 00:47:15.000 you need to add the IET secondary registration type when they begin the program. 00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:18.000 All right. 00:47:18.000 --> 00:47:20.000 Whew! Um… 00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:32.000 Here's an example, this is from McDowell Tech, where they were running one with Baxter. This is an example letter, and I'm recycling this slide from Lindsey and Ginger's presentation a couple years ago about workplace literacy at the 00:47:32.000 --> 00:47:41.000 System Office Conference. Um, but if you wanted to see an example letter, here's a good one. Um, it explains… it's… one, it letterhead. 00:47:41.000 --> 00:47:48.000 Um, two, it explains that there's an opportunity for pay raise or promotion. 00:47:48.000 --> 00:47:52.000 Three of the classes being held on-site at the employer. 00:47:52.000 --> 00:47:57.000 And then for it outlines what the progress milestones are. 00:47:57.000 --> 00:48:14.000 Um, and so here it says also progress milestones set in collaboration with employer and specified in company letter checklists for MOU. So there it is again, Erin. Um, if your MOU outlines what the milestones are, um, you can do that. 00:48:14.000 --> 00:48:17.000 All right, so they have HiSET practice test, 00:48:17.000 --> 00:48:20.000 HSE test… 00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:27.000 or a North Star Digital Literacy Assessment. 00:48:27.000 --> 00:48:30.000 Okay. 00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:33.000 documenting MSG4 results? 00:48:33.000 --> 00:48:46.000 There's a process, um, just very fast. I included this, so in case you want to reference this later, um, they need a workplace literacy and demographics, they need the IET secondary registration type. You want to verify that the 00:48:46.000 --> 00:48:56.000 student, um, met the milestone with the employer and document that. You want to put the evidence in the student's file. You're going to upload a copy to the student's portfolio in advance this. 00:48:56.000 --> 00:48:58.000 You're going to report the outcome. 00:48:58.000 --> 00:49:12.000 Um, in advances, and then, if appropriate, you're going to remove the Workplace Literacy and IET secondary enrollment from the student, um, if they have finished the program and are moving on. 00:49:12.000 --> 00:49:15.000 Okay, um… 00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:25.000 I've got panel discussion, and then a references page, and resources, and I'm just going to point this out, uh, Coave has a Beyond the First Meeting, 00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:36.000 It is a PDF guide on how to set up a good workplace literacy program. And then there's some other stuff down here, our MSG345 webinar. 00:49:36.000 --> 00:49:39.000 The state policy on MSGs, 00:49:39.000 --> 00:49:46.000 Um, so just wanted to… they have the Behind Every Employer campaign, which is great, so just… 00:49:46.000 --> 00:49:49.000 Those are linked there for future reference. 00:49:49.000 --> 00:49:51.000 So, um… 00:49:51.000 --> 00:49:55.000 I am going to do a quick… 00:49:55.000 --> 00:49:57.000 Um… 00:49:57.000 --> 00:50:07.000 Steve, do you have any of… anything from this that you wanted to share on the panel piece? I'm gonna do a quick scan through the questions to make sure I'm getting what I need to. 00:50:07.000 --> 00:50:08.000 Sure, I'd be happy to. 00:50:08.000 --> 00:50:10.000 And share it. 00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:11.000 Yeah. 00:50:11.000 --> 00:50:12.000 Thanks. Kick us off on this section. 00:50:12.000 --> 00:50:18.000 So, um, Eric was the IT kind of, I mean, the workplace literacy opportunity. 00:50:18.000 --> 00:50:22.000 kind of landed at our laps. We were talking with a local employer, 00:50:22.000 --> 00:50:26.000 Who wanted us to serve about 9 students and their, um… 00:50:26.000 --> 00:50:31.000 Employees there with English language skills, kind of to set them up for 00:50:31.000 --> 00:50:34.000 Possible promotion to middle management. 00:50:34.000 --> 00:50:36.000 And I'm proud to say that, um, 00:50:36.000 --> 00:50:38.000 Before, I think we offered a 12-week program. 00:50:38.000 --> 00:50:42.000 And before the end of the program, 3 of them had already qualified for 00:50:42.000 --> 00:50:46.000 Promotions and had moved into middle management, and more… 00:50:46.000 --> 00:50:48.000 Since then, so we're quite proud of that. 00:50:48.000 --> 00:50:53.000 That I just to address that 1st question. 00:50:53.000 --> 00:50:57.000 That's what we're proud of. Before the program was even over, we had 3 00:50:57.000 --> 00:51:01.000 of those non-students who had qualified for a promotion. 00:51:01.000 --> 00:51:02.000 I love that. 00:51:02.000 --> 00:51:04.000 Yeah. 00:51:04.000 --> 00:51:07.000 The thing that didn't go as expected, I'll slide this in there too. 00:51:07.000 --> 00:51:11.000 We were having… as we were kind of finalizing the plans for the content, 00:51:11.000 --> 00:51:12.000 We're collaborating with our HR to identify the skills to teach and all. 00:51:12.000 --> 00:51:15.000 Yeah. So what better? These are our other one. 00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:17.000 Um, we often mentioned, like, if you have other students who'd want to join an English class here, 00:51:17.000 --> 00:51:21.000 You miss 4 of them. If that tags on the spot. Here you go on this tomorrow. 00:51:21.000 --> 00:51:24.000 You know, they'd be happy… we'd be happy for them to join. 00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:28.000 Well, on enrolment day instead of none, we had 63 show up. 00:51:28.000 --> 00:51:29.000 So we were… we were completely unprepared, 00:51:29.000 --> 00:51:31.000 Wow. 00:51:31.000 --> 00:51:34.000 But it was it was great. It was. We quickly brought in 00:51:34.000 --> 00:51:37.000 The troops, as far as additional teachers, and… 00:51:37.000 --> 00:51:38.000 It was quite a summer. 00:51:38.000 --> 00:51:43.000 So much better. These are really confusing, right? sound exactly the same. You can't tell by the voices who's who I was. I was telling my wife about this exercise and and how difficult I think it is because they. 00:51:43.000 --> 00:51:44.000 to any of my… oh, can you all just check to make sure you're muted? I'm getting some ambient noise. 00:51:44.000 --> 00:51:50.000 you know, it's a man or a woman, you can tell the voice. The voices are almost the same. They're almost like a good job. 00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:54.000 Um, or Matthew, maybe you can help me figure out where that's coming from and mute it. Thanks. 00:51:54.000 --> 00:51:58.000 Um, was there anybody else from our… 00:51:58.000 --> 00:52:01.000 panel colleges that wanted to, uh, address 00:52:01.000 --> 00:52:09.000 any of these highlights. 00:52:09.000 --> 00:52:26.000 I can say that one thing that we didn't expect or a challenge that we faced has been attendance. So, you know, in one we've had employees, you know, leave the company. We've had employees working overtime instead of coming to class. 00:52:26.000 --> 00:52:47.000 We, uh, one of our companies laid off half the class 3 weeks into the program, and so our enrollment dropped. So that's just. And I guess, you know, that's just something that we always have to deal with in adult ed. But that's probably been the most challenging thing. 00:52:47.000 --> 00:53:05.000 In a similar note, I've had students, 2 students no longer work with their company. We started with a cohort of 10. So then that brought it down to 8. And then I have 2 students who are part-time employees. And so sometimes they're there, sometimes they're not. And then I had another 2 students. 00:53:05.000 --> 00:53:24.000 That got transferred from this main assembly facility to the warehouse facility in Fletcher. So no, they're no longer attending class. And I've also had students show up to class that were not enrolled in class, and since they missed the census date, they cannot participate in our class. 00:53:24.000 --> 00:53:41.000 So, and in that sort of sense, I think it's important to make a very clear distinction of what our policies have to be for attendance and things like that to the employer so that they're really communicating that clearly to the students. 00:53:41.000 --> 00:53:48.000 And I'm glad you mentioned that, Ellie. I would say in most cases, your workplace literacy 00:53:48.000 --> 00:53:53.000 Um, program is probably going to be, like, a BSP2000… 00:53:53.000 --> 00:54:01.000 contact hour kind of class. Um, unless, you know, what the company is asking for fits really nicely with 00:54:01.000 --> 00:54:09.000 One of our, like, um, combined course library membership course options, so I don't want to say 100% of the time, but very often it's going to be 00:54:09.000 --> 00:54:25.000 a contact hour class that wouldn't have that same, um, enrollment limitation. Um, but it is going to be different, like, depending on how the company wants to set it up. So they might be running cohorts of students through the class, or they might want one class that they can add students to as you go 00:54:25.000 --> 00:54:34.000 Um, so, you know, talking through some of those logistics ahead of time with the employer is helpful. 00:54:34.000 --> 00:54:36.000 Anybody else have… 00:54:36.000 --> 00:54:38.000 Successes, hiccups? 00:54:38.000 --> 00:54:41.000 Improvements? 00:54:41.000 --> 00:54:46.000 Or I can open it up also, because we're coming near the end, to questions. 00:54:46.000 --> 00:55:08.000 If anyone wants to come off mute and ask a question. 00:55:08.000 --> 00:55:17.000 I'm curious, those who've participated. What would you say your general success rate is? 00:55:17.000 --> 00:55:43.000 by the end of the class, because I've experienced that. We've not done it set up like this, but I've done it. I've had, like, ESL classes at, um… local industries, and I'm curious how most of you are seeing, like, you know, your numbers from who starts, and how many complete, like. 00:55:43.000 --> 00:56:00.000 I can say with our program at Mills that we've had just kind of ongoing for years like it hasn't been a 12 week class or a you know, 6 month class, or whatever. It's just kind of started 3 years ago, and some people have left, and new people have come on, but. 00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:07.000 We're just kind of working through our regular life skills materials. 00:56:07.000 --> 00:56:22.000 And so, in terms of retention, you know, I mean, like I said, people have left the company or stopped coming to the classes because they weren't able to fit it into their personal schedules anymore. But we've constantly had new people join as well. 00:56:22.000 --> 00:56:33.000 Um, and… as far as success in terms of, you know, Msgs and meeting the meeting the. 00:56:33.000 --> 00:56:49.000 The progress milestones that we set up in advance. I think the beauty of this kind of program is that you can set those up to be really achievable. And so anyone who, you know, stays with the program for a reasonable length of time can can meet one of your potential. 00:56:49.000 --> 00:56:57.000 milestones or progress checkpoints and earn an MSG that way. So it is successful in that way. 00:56:57.000 --> 00:57:06.000 I think it's been helpful explaining… to the HR contact, like. 00:57:06.000 --> 00:57:15.000 what these milestones actually mean for us as a program and. 00:57:15.000 --> 00:57:32.000 like that it means. for our performance. I mean. So they know that we can continue offering these classes at no charge for them. 00:57:32.000 --> 00:57:48.000 I don't know. And when I first started talking to them about it, that it was a win-win, you know, it helps us and our students and our performance. And so maybe it'll help. 00:57:48.000 --> 00:58:08.000 motivate them like to. push, like, supervisors to get these turned in. I mean, I don't know. I think it's just being transparent. I think that has helped. 00:58:08.000 --> 00:58:17.000 And that's part of the beauty of the MOU, and then planning some time in to kind of revisit how it's going. 00:58:17.000 --> 00:58:21.000 Also, great if you can run a cohort kind of program, because… 00:58:21.000 --> 00:58:26.000 Then you have the opportunity to do it in a shortish period of time, like, 00:58:26.000 --> 00:58:33.000 Um, Amber and I were doing one at AB Tech that was 00:58:33.000 --> 00:58:36.000 five cohorts, and each cohort was five weeks long. 00:58:36.000 --> 00:58:39.000 Um, so we got the opportunity to kind of 00:58:39.000 --> 00:58:45.000 learn cohort to cohort, so by the time you get to the end, you've got it kind of 00:58:45.000 --> 00:58:48.000 Well, ironed out. 00:58:48.000 --> 00:58:55.000 Or our instructor did in that case. We had a very motivated instructor. 00:58:55.000 --> 00:59:03.000 Well, that's awesome. And then you get more MSGs per year, because the way we're doing it, we can only get one per student per year. 00:59:03.000 --> 00:59:07.000 So you're running more students through a program like that than we are the way we're doing it. It's a good point. 00:59:07.000 --> 00:59:09.000 Yeah, I mean, and that program kind of ran for a year, and then it didn't. 00:59:09.000 --> 00:59:12.000 All that. 00:59:12.000 --> 00:59:20.000 You know, so that's the… the benefit is that you gain the bench strength and the, like, the experience of how to do this. 00:59:20.000 --> 00:59:25.000 And the downside is that it's really based on what the employer needs, and um… 00:59:25.000 --> 00:59:32.000 So, we're being responsive to the needs of industry, and if they don't need it in an ongoing way, um… 00:59:32.000 --> 00:59:44.000 then that becomes… you gotta take your show on the road to a different employer and see what you can replicate. 00:59:44.000 --> 00:59:47.000 But MSGs are really… 00:59:47.000 --> 00:59:50.000 strong in workplace literacy, so… 00:59:50.000 --> 00:59:52.000 It's a… it's a good… 00:59:52.000 --> 01:00:01.000 good option for you. Um, so again, here's your resource page. Lee will send this out, so you'll have your links to everything. 01:00:01.000 --> 01:00:10.000 co-abes behind every employer campaign does include a website for employers about how they can rely on Adult Ed to help 01:00:10.000 --> 01:00:14.000 meet some of their needs. Um, so you might want to 01:00:14.000 --> 01:00:19.000 Use that to lean in on some of your marketing or something, um, if you're… 01:00:19.000 --> 01:00:26.000 communicating with someone, and you want to give them, like, a here's an example kind of thing to get them thinking. 01:00:26.000 --> 01:00:31.000 the Behind Every Employer campaign may be useful. 01:00:31.000 --> 01:00:41.000 All right. I'll stay on for any last-minute questions, but, uh, thank you all so much for joining. It's 3 o'clock on the nose, so we'll let you go if you need to. 01:00:41.000 --> 01:00:47.000 Um, and I really appreciate your time, and look forward to questions, correspondence, 01:00:47.000 --> 01:00:53.000 emails as they come up, as you programs and, uh, opportunities for your local programs. 01:00:53.000 --> 01:00:59.000 It's next year. 01:00:59.000 --> 01:01:06.000 And… 01:01:06.000 --> 01:01:07.000 Yeah, thanks for joining. 01:01:07.000 --> 01:01:37.000 Thanks, Rebecca, for putting this together. Yeah, thank you. 01:01:47.000 --> 01:01:55.000 Okay, I don't see any lingering questions, so I'm gonna go ahead and shut it all down. Thanks, everybody! I appreciate your help. 01:01:55.000 --> 01:02:02.000 Thank you.