INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS

Local Industry Partnerships

West Central Job Partnership is the fiscal agent for four Industry Parterships in the industries of Advanced Materials & Diversified Manufacturing, Building & Construction, Health Care and Transportation & Logistics.  For more information on Industry Partnerships, contact Eric Karmecy at (724) 658-2501 or at ekarmecy@wcjp.org.

The Advanced Materials & Diversified Manufacturing

Industry Partnership of Lawrence & Mercer Counties (AMDM IP)

Originally part of the Manufacturing Education and Employer Network (M.E.E.N.) initiative,the
Advanced Materials & Diversified Manufacturing Industry Partnership of Lawrence and Mercer
Counties was formed in order to advance the efforts and increase the competitiveness of the
Manufacturing industry throughout the region. Historically, Manufacturing has been a
predominate part of western Pennsylvania’s economy and workforce and continues to comprise
nearly 15% of the total workforce in Lawrence and Mercer counties.

During the past six years, over 2,500 incumbent workers have been trained in the advanced
manufacturing field through the support of the AMDM IP. In addition, of the 355 manufacturing
employers in the two counties, over 50 are partners in the IP. AMDM Employer Partners
represent 45% of the total manufacturing employees in Lawrence and Mercer counties.

The AMDM IP promotes youth outreach and pipeline development through its 'Industry Needs You' campaign and website.  Visit it online at www.IndustryNeedsYou.com.

SkillUp: Building & Construction Industry Partnership

Founded in 2006, the SkillUp: Building & Construction Industry Partnership grew out of a collaboration between local Building & Construction Employers, the Northwest Pennsylvania Cooperation Council, and local school districts. While the original objective of the initiative was to build a pipeline for the industry by promoting career awareness in the skilled trades, with the introduction of Incumbent Worker Training in Program Year 2009-2010, the focus of the partnership expanded to incorporate career advancement for employees through training. Since then, the partnership has trained over 1,000 workers in the Building & Construction Industry.  The partnership has also increased its membership, from 18 employers in 2009 to 121 at the end of the 2010-2011 program year.

The West Central Health Care Industry Partnership (WCHC IP)

Originally part of the Northwest Pennsylvania Healthcare Industry Partnership (NW PA HIP), the West Central Health Care Industry Partnership was formed in 2009 in order to advance the efforts and increase the competitiveness of the Health Care industry throughout Lawrence and Mercer counties and the region as a whole.

During the past six years, over 3,500 incumbent workers in Lawrence and Mercer counties have been trained in the health care field. The Scope of Work for the 2011-2012 fiscal year was strategically formed by employer input in order to address the issues of worker shortage due to turnover, skills gaps in incumbent workers, and a shortage workers due to the lack of adequate numbers of new employees and the high number of health care retirees leaving or planning to leave the workforce.

The Northwest PA Transportation Education and Economic Network

(T.E.E.N. IP)

The Transportation Education and Economic Network (T.E.E.N.) is an integrated and
cooperative project of the North Central, Northwest, Tri-County and West Central Workforce
Investment Boards and their partners to strengthen the L&T Industry. The mission of the
partnership is to aggregate the activity of the private sector, economic and workforce
development along with education and government to create a synergy for attraction of
additional business elements in the region as well as to better prepare entry-level and incumbent
workers for Logistics and Transportation occupations; to increase retention and enable positive
movement throughout the industry’s career paths within the 17 county region.

Since the 2009-2010 program year, the partnership has conducted incumbent worker training and
served over 2,100 incumbent workers employed throughout the 17 counties of Northwest PA.
During the 2010-2011 fiscal year, the employer partners were able to train nearly 1,000
incumbent workers. By working together to identify common industry training needs, the
partnership was able to achieve a consortium training rate of 77%. The IP employers contributed
a total match of $417,828.49, and with the support of the PA Department of Labor and Industry,
invested over $584,448.49 in total training.

The T.E.E.N. IP promotes youth outreach and pipeline development through its website www.TEENindustrypartnership.com.