Jul 2, 2024
Reviews have been very positive for an entry level Graphic Installation Technician upskilling training course Work Based Learning Consortium (WBLC) developed for the sign industry in 2023, working with the Sign Association of Canada and individual sign companies across the country.
The Graphic Installation Technician Upskilling program was given to trainees in nine locations across Canada, from British Columbia to Nova Scotia – ranging from smaller, remote communities to urban settings. The multiple location approach was deliberately done to gauge both the effectiveness of the training and as well as the ability to deliver graphic training across the country in both large and small communities.
Delivered to Smaller Communities Across Canada
WBLC’s hybrid e-learning program enables technicians in smaller communities to train without having to worry about incurring high travel costs and more days away from their busy shop to access training, which can be common in smaller communities. WBLC’s hybrid learning programs typically include interactive e-learning, e-instructions, train the technical trainer, shop floor hands-on assignments, technical language training, on-the-job training, monitor coaching and certification.
Dramatic change after graphics applied to wall
“I thought it was good and definitely learned things,” says Brandon Pullin, a sign installer for TDH Experimental Fabrications in Surrey, B.C. “It gave a lot of valuable information and was very useful.”
Pullin explains that they do a lot of work with vinyl in creating signs and he greatly benefited from this upskilling program.
“Some of the information that I found very useful dealt with different types of vinyls, such as what vinyls can go together and what vinyls can’t go together, as well as details about the temperatures for applications. Some of that content I never knew before,” says Pullin.
Pullin notes that he tried unsuccessfully doing some work with vinyl in January. After he took the WBLC upskilling program, he realized that “it was a waste our time trying to apply vinyl in those times of years” because of the temperatures.
Kenny St. Croix, an 18-year sign industry veteran with Trim-Line United Sign in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, also was interested in the newly created WBLC Graphic Installation Technician training.
| “Really good (upskilling program for) someone getting into the business or a good introduction to the graphic installation world” – Kenny St. Croix, Trim-Line United Sign, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia |
“I received a text message from my General Manager asking if I was interested and I thought you can never have too much knowledge,” explains St. Croix. “It was a good course and I felt it would be really good for someone getting into the business or a good introduction to the graphic installation world.”
He was interested in some programs and tools that were mentioned in the training that he hadn’t heard about before.
“There was mention of a couple of software applications and tools that I hadn’t seen — items that we didn’t use, so I was able to learn things about those applications,” says St. Croix. He also found it a useful refresher and thought the pace of the program was good.
“I think (the training pace) moved well and the quick tests were all pretty cool,” he adds.
Receives High Marks
In a general survey, the Graphic Installation Technician training received high marks from participants for conveying the fundamental skills to feel comfortable and confident in working in graphic installation. The presentation, exercises, quizzes and use of pictures, videos and animations were ranked as very useful or essential in the training.
“We’re very pleased with the feedback regarding the Graphic Installation Technician training,” adds Wayne Lamon, Director, Programs, WBLC. “Many noted that it teaches key fundamentals and, for some of the trainees, training via e-Learning was something new.
“This is a powerful new tool that the sign industry can use to train entry level staff. It utilizes techniques, content and e-Learning that is new to some in this industry, that has proven to be highly effective in other industries we’ve served,” adds Lamon. “Its exciting to offer new ways of training to an established industry that is seeking to add new people to the profession.”
Jun 11, 2024
In the U.S., wind turbine service technicians are one of the fastest growing jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [1] and employment is projected to grow 45% from 2022 to 2032 [2] . Opportunities also exist in Canada, where the Canadian Wind Turbine industry has been growing and the industry is on the lookout for new talent. Canada is ranked 8th in the world for installed wind capacity (2022), already has 337 wind energy projects producing power [3] and added 1.7GW of new wind energy in 2023.
Industry growth is prompting government, training and education related firms to continue to build Canada’s talent base. It’s an employment category that many job-seekers might not have known about.
Combining Training & Education Talents to Build Tomorrow’s Talent
Work Based Learning Consortium (WBLC), which offers work-based learning and hiring programs, and Relay Education, which delivers renewable energy and environmental education programs, have joined forces to train and attract workers to this industry.
In early 2024, 60 Relay Education trainees (40 in Calgary and another 20 in Toronto) completed a combined program of WBLC’s Wind Turbine Blade Repair e-Learning and Relay Education’s safety training.
“The goal of this program with Relay Education is to take people from no knowledge to enough knowledge to make a decision about a job in the industry and also give them a leg up on getting employed,” says Paul Coleman, eLearning Instructor and Content Developer, part of the WBLC Virtual Learning Team. “We’re giving the employer an opportunity to interview people that have been really well vetted. They’ve learned some key information that they wouldn’t otherwise have picked up if they walked in off the street.”
“The program provides a really good view into the industry and shows they can get into good repetition career in the wind turbine industry,” adds Coleman.
An Employer Tries the Training Himself
“It was a phenomenal program” – Maad Baobaid, President, Tomorrow’s Solutions Inc.
Maad Baobaid, President of Calgary-based Tomorrow’s Solutions Inc., a company that provides highly skilled technicians for the renewable energy sector, wanted to assess the WBLC/Relay Education program to understand the breadth of training being offered. Tomorrow’s Solutions does construction work in the renewable energy sector and sees increasing operations & maintenance (O&M) opportunities.
“I connected with WBLC and Relay Education at a conference last year,” says Baobaid, who was impressed with the combined Wind Turbine Blade Repair e-Learning and Relay Education’s safety training. “I have a lot of renewable experience but wanted to expand my blade repair knowledge and also wanted to see the reaction of people going through the training program.”
“It was a phenomenal program,” says Baobaid of the combined training. “It went into details and incorporated a lot of great material. One of the key things is the safety aspect. Safety has to be implemented inside everybody’s head from the very start, especially with newer people into the industry.”
A Different Kind of Repair Technician
Baobaid says that people often don’t appreciate the scale of the wind turbines.
“Obviously, some people don’t really know what a blade looks like. It takes you off guard,” adds Baobaid. “It’s one thing repairing blades on the ground and it is, obviously, a completely different ball game in the air. Sometimes, you have to be hanging off the blades to do the major repairs on the turbines.”
Comprehensive and Eye-opening Learning
Tisa Wright Marshall who also recently completed the Wind Turbine Blade Repair program found the combined WBLC/Relay Education program very helpful.
“It was very eye opening. It was very interesting learning about fiberglass, balsa wood, adhesives, and PPE (personal protective equipment),” says Marshall. “I also liked learning the project aspect, seeing everything from the beginning — defining what a project is, learning when a technician would be dispatched, and so on. I come from an administration background, so those kinds of things were exciting.”
Marshall was surprised at the amount of detail and level of information that was learned in the program – “It was a little surprising, in a good way.”
“It was a great experience. The combined training was beautifully meshed together – both the e-Learning training and learning the high rescue training aspects,” adds Marshall.
Combining Forces to Deliver Required Training
Based on the feedback related to the wind turbine blade repair program, virtually all program participants have indirectly commented on the combined strength of the two organizations — a winning combination.
“It’s been exciting to have such positive feedback to this newly developed pilot program, while also giving people considering employment in the Wind Turbine Repair space some important skills and knowledge that will make them even more competitive as they seek jobs in this rapidly growing industry,” says Rick Stomphorst, Employer Relations Manager at WBLC.
Apr 4, 2024
How do you consistently develop highly effective training for disparate industries, particularly when the culture, employee base, and focus can be so different across industries?
Executives at Worked Based Learning Consortium (WBLC) point to a proven approach — embrace a highly disciplined and strategic practice in training development. WBLC has developed proven training programs across a of range of industries – CNC Machinist training for the manufacturing industry, entry level training for the wind turbine industry, and graphic installation technician training for the sign industry, to name a few.
“Many companies have always done on-the-job training but typically it is done in an informal, unstructured way,” explains Rod Jones, Managing Director of WBLC. “I call the process ‘osmosis’ – exposing trainees to educational content and hope enough of it sinks in to be successful.”
Organizations typically do not pre-determine exactly what trainees need to learn and trainees aren’t always measured at the conclusion of training – elements that WBLC views as important to highly effective training success.
WBLC’s Layered Approach to Training Development
“Identifying the job standard, meaning defining what the technical learning outcomes are for a given position, is a crucial first step before we even start developing the training content,” says Jones.
Technical learning outcomes are the skills and knowledge that a person is required to learn and demonstrate in order to be assessed successful in a given job.
“Technical learning outcomes also are a highly effective benchmark for measuring a trainee’s success,” adds Jones. “Have they successfully learned the competencies taught in the training?”
Getting Started – Subject Matter Expert (SME) Involvement is Critical
Who is better to identify the skills and knowledge required than a panel of subject matter experts (SME)? This is an essential first step.
During these scripted conversations, WBLC works very carefully with the subject matter experts to identify the necessary information, which are the backbones upon which WBLC’s training is developed.
“These sessions are invaluable, but they also follow a very detailed, methodical process,” says Reema Duggal, a lead for the virtual learning initiatives with WBLC. “People don’t generally talk at this level of detail. One of the keys to our success is the skill that our team has in working with these experts to extract all of the information that is needed.”
Once captured and the information is assembled, WBLC then designs and builds the course content, thinking about the best way to communicate the information.
Hybrid Upskilling Approach
WBLC has developed a hybrid approach to upskilling, which has e-Learning and on-the-job training at the core and layering in other elements to deliver a blended and comprehensive approach. WBLC’s learning programs typically include interactive e-learning, e-instructor led virtual classroom, train the technical trainer, on-the-job training, shop floor hands-on assignments to reinforce the e-learning, technical language training, monitor coaching and certification.
The employer is also a key participant by providing a technical trainer who conducts job instruction training and coaching for trainees, supported with practical exercises that reinforce the theorical e-Learning content that the trainees have just completed. Additionally, WBLC offers a train-the-trainer program to ensure a positive and robust experience for the trainees.
All About Achieving Results
WBLC has had strong success creating a range of upskilling programs. It received strong, positive feedback for both the recently developed graphic installation technician training program as well as the entry level program for the wind turbine industry. One of its longest running programs designed to develop CNC machinists continues to have expanded enrolment.
“We work very hard at creating high-end e-Learning,” adds Duggal. “Good e-Learning has always been welcome. We want people to learn and master skills at a specific level, regardless of what industry they’re in. That’s really what we’re after – a solid understanding of each topic and we’ve received very good feedback about our e-Learning programs along the way.”
A funder’s comment on WBLC’s unique approach
‘Frankly, we have never encountered another company, large, small or otherwise, that does as full and proper job of defining learning outcomes for a skilled job position at the outset as WBLC does.’
Dec 14, 2023
Wind Turbines dot the landscape across Canada, standing 85 metres (280 feet) tall. That means a lot of the repair and maintenance involves people working high in the air to service these clean energy sources. Training is an important element and Work-Based Learning Consortium (WBLC) has created an introductory Wind Turbine Blade Repair program to assist in training new or recent hires. Funding for WBLC was provided by the Future Skills Centre.
Unknown to Most – Blades Require Repairs
“It’s a pretty severe environment for wind turbines,” says Aaron Miller, President of Composites Canada, which provides composite material to companies in many industries across Canada. “These blades don’t look like they’re doing much, lazily trundling away but, just given their sheer size, the tip speed can reach 100+ mph (160+ km/h), sometimes double that. So, you get a lot of erosion (caused by) anything that happens to be in the air (striking the spinning blades). You also get ice damage falling from an adjacent blade, among other things.”
| “In many industries, you can bring the product inside for a repair. This is extremely impractical with wind turbine blades – Aaron Miller, President of Composites Canada |
Frank Sabatier, Wind Technical Manager at Mistras Group Inc., agrees with the importance of doing a lot of work out in the field.
“Many companies don’t want to take the blades down unless they absolutely have to because it takes a five-figure sum to take them down and put them back up, involving cranes and other things,” says Sabatier, who works with technicians both in the U.S. and Canada. “Add in the logistical challenges with road access, platforms, and much more to overcome.”
Skilled Workers Required to Repair Blades
Training new workers and keeping technicians up to speed is an ongoing challenge and comes in several forms.
Sabatier says there are some courses offered by technical colleges, but a large portion of the training is done directly by companies using their own training curriculum. Training is also offered by original equipment manufacturers (OEMS) who build the wind turbines.
“Most big OEMs are located in the U.S., so if a technician were to start working for Siemens or GE, they would receive their training in the U.S., because Canada just doesn’t have the facilities,” says Sabatier.
Training in composite materials is an area that Miller believes could use some assistance.
“There’s not a lot of training content or training material for the composite industry. Composites pop up in all kinds of strange and unexpected ways,” says Composites Canada’s Miller. “Wind turbines are fairly obvious because there aren’t very many other suitable materials to make these blades.”
WBLC Introduces an Upskilling Option
WBLC launched a pilot entry level Wind Turbine Blade Repair training program in 2023 that focuses on working with composite materials. The training was offered in conjunction with Relay Education, which delivers renewable energy and environmental education and training programs in classrooms and communities.
The WBLC program is designed to initiate people into the wind turbine industry. It covers applications and equipment used in wind turbine blades, mathematics, and understanding work documents.
Composite Canada’s Miller worries that there are gaps in the knowledge of working with composites in the field, so he welcomed the opportunity to work with WBLC on constructing a new entry level training program.
“This is a great program for a level-one person to learn about the industry,” say Reema Duggal, a lead for the virtual learning initiatives with Work-Based Learning Consortium (WBLC), who designs much of the e-Learning. “The reality is that there is no training for wind blade repair, locally, or that we can find in Canada. Each of the companies does their own training. So, this is a way to entice people to come to the industry and find out what the job is all about.
“For people interested in the industry, if you’ve gone through this our training, you are a much more valued applicant,” adds Duggal.
Trainees Found the Upskilling Program Valuable
“This WBLC program was definitely very helpful with a few videos and also quizzes that were at the end of each unit and that definitely helped me gain more knowledge,” says Justin Lau, a York University environmental studies student, who took a Relay Education Wind Energy Operations course at Holland College in PEI and then completed the WBLC training.
| “I’ve had a great introduction to the industry for wind turbine blade repairs and I am definitely way more confident in doing it in real life” – Justin Lau, Relay Education Wind Energy Operations student |
“I have not worked with fibreglass or carbon fibre or any type of composites before, but I think with this eLearning course, I’ve had a great introduction to the industry for wind turbine blade repairs and I am definitely way more confident in doing it in real life. I’ve learned a lot of the basics, especially with the composition of wind turbine blades and also a lot on the fibreglass repairing units.”
Lau says he’s likely to pursue a career in the wind industry, starting out as a wind turbine blade repair technician.
Another student, Ahmad Jabar has a background in electronics and is very interested in Green Energy. He also took Relay Education’s Wind Energy Operations course and then also followed up with the WBLC program.
“It was very helpful indeed! I really enjoyed every part of it and got to learn about many concepts that I had no idea about before enrolling in the program,” says Jabar. “Knowing about the whole process for Blades manufacturing was insightful and informative. It was interesting to learn about the difference in fiberglass and carbon fiber.
“It was surprising and intriguing to know about the procedure on how to fix blades defects while hanging in the air,” adds Jabar. “I think e-Learning is very convenient and it helps specifically when having busy schedules. To study at my own pace helped do more with my time.”
Work is planned to expand the new Wind Turbine Blade Repair program and develop other programs required by the Wind Turbine industry.
Oct 26, 2023
Upskilling or reskilling is happening daily across the country as organizations seek to narrow the skills gap. But surprisingly, it appears that many businesses do little in terms of tracking such an important component of their training strategy, resulting in an inability to make evidence-based decisions around workforce training.
Leveraging some data collection capabilities, employers could potentially make better utilization of their staffing requirements and their training needs. They could ask themselves:
- How many employees working in their current job would realize a performance improvement with additional training?
- How many employees could be moved to a more complex job with additional training?
- How many employees could move into a different job with comparable complexity with additional training?
By answering these questions, could employers potentially make more informed decisions about their staffing and training mix? Would government policy makers be better informed if they had more relevant data on actual upskilling and reskilling requirements? We think so.
What is Upskilling and Reskilling?
It’s useful to have a baseline understanding of the two terms ‘upskilling’ and ‘reskilling’.
Upskilling: Training existing employees to meet the changing skill requirements for their existing job.
Reskilling: Training existing employees with a new set of skills for a new job within the company.
Upskilling is often the terminology used when hiring new employees who lack direct work experience in their new job.
“These definitions are typically used to define training for existing employees, but they also can be used for new employees,” says Morley Gunderson, a Canadian labour economist and Professor Emeritus at the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto. “There are no hard and fast definitions in the literature out there.”
Work Based Learning Consortium (WBLC) discovered some companies have a broader view of upskilling.
“Many of the employers we work with had a broader definition of upskilling,” says Wayne Lamon, Director, Programs, WBLC. “They consider upskilling to include training existing employees already in a specific position, as well as the new hires.”
Lamon explains that several employers, who had hired a large number of new employees at one time, wanted to ensure these new employees all achieved a specific level of competency. But they also wanted existing staff (not just the newly hired employees) in a specific job, such as CNC machinists, to receive that same training.
“This ensures that everyone learns and uses the same processes and terminology on the job, whether they are a new hire or an existing employee,” adds Lamon. “It’s tremendously beneficial and many of these employers noted that our upskilling training led to a strong uptick in efficiency and productivity across the board.”
The Information Gap Around Upskilling/Reskilling
While it is assumed that there is a lot of upskilling and reskilling occurring, WBLC discovered that few companies track it with any thoroughness.“
If you’re a policy maker or a corporate executive and trying to sort through the challenges of the skills gap, you’ll likely be surprised to learn that there is no valid data source available for upskilling,” says Lamon. Further he goes on to say – “How much upskilling is being undertaken by employers? What assistance is required around upskilling? How much upskilling work is being undertaken by employers on their own?”
There’s an information gap that currently exists. Lamon believes WBLC has a solution to address this knowledge gap.
Creating an Upskilling Database for Industry and Government
As a result, WBLC has engaged with Future Skills Centre (a Government of Canada initiative dedicated to helping Canadians gain the skills needed to thrive in today’s changing labour market) to build a conceptual upskilling data collection system and work with some Canadian companies on a trial application of that system.
The first step was to conduct research around upskilling. This involved looking at the definitions of upskilling and reskilling. It also involved looking at what type of information is available to help companies and policy makers with decision making regarding upskilling and reskilling. WBLC also researched trends around upskilling and reskilling.There was a surprising amount of information about upskills/reskilling, but very little in the form of data.
| “If I’m an employer with an internal skills challenge and I’m facing the great resignation after the pandemic, I need to know what’s happening in the general market. For those in the industry, finding the right information is likely to prove challenging,” – Canadian labour economist and Professor Emeritus at the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto |
“If I’m an employer with an internal skills challenge and I’m facing the great resignation after the pandemic, I need to know what’s happening in the general market. For those in the industry, finding the right information is likely to prove challenging,” says Gunderson, who conducted the research elements of this project. “The real problem is ‘sorting the wheat from the chaff’, or as we say more formally in the statistical analysis, ‘finding the signal given the noise’ that’s out there.”
The second step was to build a data collection system, which WBLC recently completed.
WBLC also has identified an industry group to pilot and test the system, which will include working with Linamar of Guelph and the Canadian Association of Mold Makers (CAMM) member companies.
“We’re just about to launch this aspect of the project and it will be fascinating to see the results,” says Lamon. “We believe employers and policy makers within government could really benefit from this new type of information.”
Benefits of data tracking
Lastly, Lamon explains that tracking upskilling and reskilling data could potentially lead to better informed, evidence-based decisions.
For example, by evaluating the data, executives at a trade association could verify at a glance that while there are 2,000 vacancies for a particular position within the industry, there also are an additional 3,000 people already employed in that role who require upskilling.
“Equipped with this information, industry can potentially reach out to government to talk about how they could collaborate to address the issue and government policy makers will have a clearer understanding of the whole picture because data would now exist to support decision making,” adds Lamon.
