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Proactive Technologies, Inc. Worker Development News |
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Celebrating The American Worker! Labor Day, 2021 |
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A Simple, Low-investment Solution to Closing Skill Gaps; New-Hires and Incumbents |
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
Proactive Technologies, Inc. has worked with many employers over the years, establishing and technically supporting cost-effective, task-based structured on-the-job training programs. For each employer, every effort is made to tailor the worker training system to accommodate the employer’s budget, job classifications (even unique training programs for each job classification in each department), business goals and manage the system through all types of change. Unlike some products or services that require the employer to change practices that work in order to utilize them, the PROTECH© system of managed human resource development is built around what is working for the employer, incorporating established information such as work processes and specifications, safety standards, quality standards, etc. This approach minimizes the need for the employer’s culture to drastically change what works for them, focusing instead on improvements in an area of weakness.
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"There is no doubt this approach is effective. After all, what is better: unstructured and haphazard worker training that cannot be explained, measured, improved or understood, or structured on-the-job training for all workers that is easily measured, implemented, improved and explained to auditors?"
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The main steps used to build an employer-based structured workforce development system starts with understanding the desired outcome first: Read More
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A “Pay-for-Value” Worker Development Program – Fair to Management and Workers, and Effective Too! |
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
A conundrum for many employers - those who are allowed to consider the wage-value relationship in their business strategy - is “what is the right pay rate for work performed.” An often used strategy is to establish a competitive wage range for a job classification based on area surveys of similar job classification in the industry, adjusted for the uniqueness of work requirements for the employer’s job classification. Once hired, an employee progresses through the wage range measured by time in the job classification, in some cases with wage adjustments based on merit. While consistent, this approach may limit the employer to paying, in many cases, more for labor than the value derived. And here is why.
If an employer purchases a new, technologically advanced, piece of machinery that is advertised to increase the output of a process from 100 units per hour to 300 units per hour, the employer would be disappointed if it only received 150 units per hour. That employer would, most likely, challenge the manufacturer and perhaps request a refund if not satisfied.
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“How would one determine the proper wage rate for the value derived if there is no effort to hire workers accurately to today’s job needs, train workers to all of the required tasks and measure workers for the work they were hired and trained to perform?”
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Why doesn’t that same sentiment apply to hiring workers? In a hypothetical, but typical, example an employer has an opening for a job classification that consists of 50 critical tasks that the employer expects the person filling that job classification to perform. Why shouldn't the employer expect that person to master all 50 tasks? What might happen instead, after what is considered to be the “training period” is completed, the employer notices through anecdotal evidence and whispers that the output from that hired individual is below expectation. As time goes by and dissatisfaction grows, the decision to terminate the employee is made, often not measured against the investment in the employee thus far. If retained, the employee progresses through the wage range with no guarantee that the employee’s output increases. Where is the concern to correct this? Read More
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Custom Glass Solutions Holds Ceremony to Convey First Certificates to Employees Completing its Job Mastery Program |
Proactive Technologies, Inc. - Staff
On August 31, 2021, Custom Glass Solutions, LLC. held its first ceremony to convey Certificates of Job Mastery and Task Mastery to its employees completing their job-based structured on-the-job training program today. Collectively, 156 employees received the portfolio at its Upper Sandusky and Fostoria, OH facilities.
In attendance were dignitaries from The Greater Ohio Workforce Board, Inc., OhioMeansJobs of Seneca and Wyandot Counties, and other workforce development agencies and educational institutions that have supported Custom Glass Solution’s program since it began in 2020: LuAnne Cooke, Lt. Governor’s Regional Representative for Northwest; Carol Kern; OhioMeansJobs Seneca County, Kathy Oliver, Seneca County Department of Job and Family Services Director, Greg Moon, Wyandot County Economic Development; Diana Jacoby: OhioMeansJobs Wyandot County, John Trott: Greater Ohio Workforce Board Executive Director; Rocky Rockhold, Greater Ohio Workforce Board Program Director; Kyle McColly, Mayor of Upper Sandusky, Jeff Long, Ohio Dept of Job and Family Services, Project Manager, Tonia Saunders, Assistant Director of Employment Services for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services; Richard George, Tri-Rivers Career Center Adult Education Director– RAMTEC; Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc., Frank Gibson, Independent Workforce Development Consultant.
Custom Glass Solutions has been on a rapid growth path. While the more familiar, informal one-on-one training of its workers served its purpose, Custom Glass decided it needed to formalize it by building an infrastructure around what was in place. This standardization makes it possible for the company to accelerate the transfer of worker expertise, document the training progress more accurately, provide metrics to measure and improve outcomes, and provide credentialing opportunities to its employees. Read More
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Confusion Over What Constitutes “Training” is Stumbling Block to Effective Worker Development Strategies |
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
For the anyone searching for information to help them choose a worker development strategy, a web search of “ on-the-job training methods” might produce thirty or forty informative, but confusing, charts. The search result is a mixture of domains, methods, philosophies – one seemingly in conflict with the other. A non-practitioner of workforce development strategies can gather from this search result alone why there is a perpetual state of confusion between even “experts,” marked by decades of employer and trainee disappointment in the lack of recognizable strategies and outcomes, which are often devoid of meaningful results.
Over the years, approaches and methods have evolved out of their ineffectiveness, many diverging from the basic principals of workforce development. Markets for products to address these approaches grew and well-funded marketing began to find unaware customers. The notion of “training” morphed into branded versions of “learning,” selected not so much on their basis in logic, but more on the lack of "smart" choices and how well the marketing effort worked.
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"A great first step is to clearly differentiate between "learning" and "training." The strategies, methods of delivery and outcomes for each are very different. Without such clarity, one might mistakenly invest heavily in a strategy to accomplish worker development objectives that, instead, uses up vital resources and scare opportunity, and sours the organization's attitude toward training for years to come."
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The acceleration started around 40 years ago. Prior to that, job classifications did not change much and were relatively simple in structure. Then panic set in over the approaching “skills gaps,” as computers were introduced into every aspect of our lives. Fear of baby boomers nearing retirement, taking their technical expertise with them, added to the challenge. Solutions started to appear out of academia, based on the world they knew and not as much on the world they were trying to improve, as they would have liked to think. Read More
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Proactive Technologies Announces Summer "Turnkey Project" Discount Offer is Back - Expires September 30th, 2021
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by Proactive Technologies, Inc. Staff
After a year-and-a-half long Covid-19 break, Proactive Technologies Inc. is once again extending to employers a generous discount offer of up to 30% from June 15 to September 30th, 2021 - so sign-up by then to lock in your discounted rate.
This accelerated transfer of expertise™ approach is a tremendous offer without the discount, but with it can help any employer quickly and completely train the skilled workers they need AND realize an increase in worker capacity, work quantity/quality and compliance (ISO/TS/AS, engineering specifications and safety) while reducing the internal costs of training! New-hires and incumbent workers are driven to full job mastery and higher levels of return on worker investment (ROWI). The task-based, structured on-the-job training infrastructure is perfect for the apprenticeships; instead of marking the calendar for “time-in-job,” job-relevant tasks are mastered and documented.
Waiting on general classes or unstructured, ad hoc one-on-one training to improve performance and maximize the investment in each worker usually proves to be futile and disappointing. When a worker masters the work they were hired for, it can now be possible to explain, document, repeat and/or improve performance. When turnover occurs and puts you back to square one - wiping out any gains and wasting your investment - labor costs rise, quality and work consistency decreases and the "gap" skill remains. So why not treat workers as the investment it is and manage it for the outcome you need and expect?
In the event that anyone needs one more way (i.e. in addition to live online presentations, onsite presentations) to gather enough information to decide whether to move forward with structured on-the-job training to boost their training strategy, PTI is resuming onsite presentations. Contact Proactive Technologies to schedule an appointment. Read More
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Proactive Technologies, Inc. Worker Development News
Industry News
Financial News
International News
International Trade News
Education and Workforce Development News
Training and Organizational Development News
Quality News
Science
Cyber and IT News
Human Resources Management News
Environmental, Health & Safety News
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Proactive Technologies, Inc.™ -
capturing worker expertise to build and support job specific, task-based worker development programs (with metric-based solutions) since 1986.
Experience the power of the
Develop all the expert workers you need in a fraction of the time, with a fraction of the investment! Increased worker capacity, work quality and quantity, and worker compliance (ISO9001:2015, AS9100D, TS16949, engineering and quality specifications, and safety requirements)."
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Proactive Technologies' Publications Archive
While at our website, check out past newsletters, articles and more. Helping employers to unlock worker value since 1986!
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Free - Live Online Presentation Schedule
If interested in attending one of the presentations below, click on the title, then select a date/time and press "Send." An online presentation invitation and link will be sent to you. On the date and time of the event, just click on link in email invitation and it will connect you to the presentation. No special equipment required.
Click here for descriptions of all of the available presentations. Click on a specific title for that specific description and schedule or to schedule a date and time that works for you.
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PTI Promo - (Recorded - Available Any Time): A Preview of an Upcoming Presentation (13 minutes)
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If you would like more information or would like to discuss these presentations or anything else, click on the "View Live Upcoming Presentations/Calendar" button below and fill in the "Contact Us" with your request including information specifying an alternative date/time you prefer and how many will be attending. An invitation and link will be sent to you.
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Onsite and group presentations
are being scheduled for the following states, and a representative will be in your area, in the month of:
January, 2021
Proactive Technologies is scheduling stops in the following areas:
COLORADO
FLORIDA
ILLINOIS - Southern, I-80 Corridor
INDIANA
KANSAS - I-70 Corridor, Wichita
MISSOURI
NORTH CAROLINA
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ONLINE VIDEO PRESENTATIONS If you are interested in attending one of our regularly scheduled videoconferences, select from the schedule above or visit our website and select a videoconference from the calendar. An email invitation will be sent to you confirming your selection. This videoconference will be to your computer and no other equipment is required.
If you would like more information or would like to schedule a custom briefing and presentation videoconference for you and your staff, click on the "contact us" link below.
Contact Us to express your interest in an onsite or group presentation.
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U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of Economic Analysis |
Gross Domestic Product, 2nd Quarter 2021 (Second Estimate); Corporate Profits, 2nd Quarter 2021 (Preliminary Estimate)
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 6.6 percent in the second quarter of 2021, reflecting the continued economic recovery, reopening of establishments, and continued government response related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase was revised up 0.1 percentage point from the 'advance' estimate released in July. In the second quarter, government assistance payments in the form of loans to businesses and grants to state and local governments increased, while social benefits to households, such as the direct economic impact payments, declined. In the first quarter of 2021, real GDP increased 6.3 percent.
Corporate profits from current production Profits increased 9.2 percent at a quarterly rate in the second quarter after increasing 5.1 percent in the first quarter. Corporate profits increased 43.4 percent in the second quarter from one year ago. Read Report
Personal Income and Outlays, July 2021 and Annual Update
Personal income increased $225.9 billion, or 1.1 percent at a monthly rate, while consumer spending increased $42.2 billion, or 0.3 percent, in July. Compensation increased and new advance Child Tax Credit payments, authorized by the American Rescue Plan, began in July. Read Report
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U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of the Census |
Advanced Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders
New orders for manufactured durable goods in July decreased $0.4 billion or 0.1 percent to $257.2 billion. July 2021: -0.1° % change; June 2021 (r): +0.8° % change. Read Report
Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders
New orders for manufactured goods in June increased $7.4 billion or 1.5 percent to $506.0 billion.
June 2021: +1.5° % change; May 2021 (r): +2.3° % change. Read Report
Household Pulse Survey - Phase 3.2 (July 21, 2021 – October 11, 2021)
What is the Household Pulse Survey?
The U.S. Census Bureau, in collaboration with multiple federal agencies, is in a unique position to produce data on the social and economic effects of coronavirus on American households. The Household Pulse Survey is designed to deploy quickly and efficiently, collecting data to measure household experiences during the coronavirus pandemic. Data will be disseminated in near real-time to inform federal and state response and recovery planning. Read Data
Small Business Pulse Survey:
The Small Business Pulse Survey (Business Pulse) measures the effect of changing business conditions during the Coronavirus pandemic on our nation's small businesses. Business Pulse complements existing U.S. Census Bureau data collections by providing high-frequency, detailed information on the challenges small businesses are facing during the Coronavirus pandemic as well as their participation in federal programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program. Read Report
Monthly State Retail Sales
The Monthly State Retail Sales (MSRS) is the Census Bureau's new experimental data product featuring modeled state-level retail sales. This is a blended data product using Monthly Retail Trade Survey data, administrative data, and third-party data. Year-over-year percent changes are available for Total Retail Sales excluding Nonstore Retailers as well as 11 retail North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) retail subsectors. These data are provided by state and NAICS codes beginning with January 2019. The Census Bureau plans to continue to improve the methodology to be able to publish more data in the future. Access Tables
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U. S. Department of Labor Statistics |
Consumer Price Index
In July, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers rose 0.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis; rising 5.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.3 percent in July (SA); up 4.3 percent over the year (NSA). Read Report
Producer Price Index
The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 1.0 percent in July, as prices for final demand services advanced 1.1 percent and the index for final demand goods rose 0.6 percent. The final demand index moved up 7.8 percent for the 12 months ended in July. Read Report
Job Openings and Labor Turnover
Job openings increased to a series high of 10.1 million on the last business day of June. Hires increased to 6.7 million while total separations edged up to 5.6 million. Read Report
Unemployment Rate for States
Unemployment Rates for States, Seasonally Adjusted. Read Report
Job Creation - Employment Situation Summary
Job openings increased to a series high of 10.1 million on the last business day of June. Hires increased to 6.7 million while total separations edged up to 5.6 million. Read Report
Civilian Labor Participation Rate
For a 20 year chart of the U.S. Civilian Labor Participation Rate. Read Report
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Cornell Law School - U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index |
U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index
For December 2020 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® has been revised to a level of 81.24, down by 0.91% from its revised level one month earlier and reflecting a higher proportion - relative to the prior month - of U.S. production and non-supervisory (P&NS) jobs paying less than the mean weekly income of all P&NS jobs (“Low Quality Jobs”), relative to those jobs paying above such mean. The JQI remains heavily impacted by the extraordinary disruption in the number and composition of private sector production and non-supervisory jobs since the beginning of the U.S. impact of the COVID19 global pandemic, with regard to which the following additional special factors should be noted: Read Report
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KORE POWER Selects Arizona Site for One Million Square Foot “KOREPLEX” Lithium-Ion Battery Manufacturing Facility |
AZ Commerce
PHOENIX, AZ (July 29, 2021) — KORE Power, Inc. announced today the first lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility wholly owned by a U.S. company will be built in Maricopa County.
12 GWh Manufacturing Facility Will Bring 3,000 Jobs to the state as First Domestic Battery Plant Owned by a U.S. Company Cell Manufacturer Nears Construction.
The one million square foot manufacturing facility, dubbed the KOREPlex, will support up to 12 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery cell production to ensure a reliable and independent U.S. supply chain for lithium-ion battery cells that are critical to the future of electric vehicles, power grids and more. The facility will have the capacity to produce enough power for 3.2 million homes each year. KORE plans to start construction of the facility by the end of the year with the goal of beginning production in Q2 2023. Read Release
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July’s Promising Jobs Report Hides the Challenges of Left-behind Communities |
Brookings - Robert Maxim, Senior Research Associate - Metropolitan Policy Program, Mark Muro, Senior Fellow and Policy Director - Metropolitan Policy Program
Last week’s Bureau of Labor Statistics July jobs report showed a robust, 943,000-job increase from the month prior and a decrease in the unemployment rate, to 5.4%. However, the fact remains that the U.S. economy is still 6 million jobs short of where it was in February 2020—indicating there is still work to do.
Most notably, stark inequality persists between racial and ethnic groups and between places. For many people and places, the economy had never fully recovered from the Great Recession before the COVID-19 recession began. This ongoing distress has left millions of Americans facing limited prospects for finding well-paying, accessible work—damaging their quality of life. Read Article
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Mercedes-Benz Seeks Full Electrification by End of Decade |
Assembly Magazine
STUTTGART, Germany—Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz brand plans to become all-electric by the end of this decade. Shifting from electric-first to electric-only, the car company is accelerating toward an emissions-free and software-driven future.
By 2022, Mercedes-Benz AG will have battery electric vehicles in all segments that it serves, including for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. From 2025 onwards, all newly launched vehicle architectures will be electric-only and customers will be able to choose an all-electric alternative for every model the company makes. Read Article
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Metalformers Face Longer Lead Times, Material Shortages |
IndustryWeek - Staff
Lead times for steel are extending into midyear 2022.
Metalforming companies anticipate little change in business conditions during the next three months, according to the July 2021 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report.
PMA’s July report shows that 36% of metalforming companies forecast an improvement in economic activity in the next three months (the same percentage as reported in June), 55% predict no change (compared to 52% last month) and 9% anticipate a decline in activity (decreasing from 12% in June).
Sixty-three percent of respondents reported an increase in lead times, slightly down from 66% in June. Read Article
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US Economy Reaches Pre-Pandemic Size, But Not as Quickly as Expected |
IndustryWeek - Agence France-Presse
Although economists predict strong growth ahead, it's threatened by supply-chain challenges and variant-related virus resurgence.
The U.S. economy returned to its pre-pandemic level in the second quarter, data released Thursday showed, giving President Joe Biden a political win as Congress moves closer to passing a long-debated plan to improve the country's infrastructure.
However the 6.5 % annualized rate of expansion in the April-to-June period was slower than expected, and the Commerce Department report confirmed that inflation spiked as customers vaccinated against Covid-19 returned to businesses that suffered throughout the pandemic last year. Read Article
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Nine Out of 10 New York City Rats Love Tesla EVs |
Assembly Magazine
NEW YORK—Tesla Inc. is known for its loyal devotees who eat up every bit of news about the start-up automaker. Rats are also apparently quite fond of its electric vehicles—in particular, wiring that is insulated with a soybean-based material instead of traditional plastic.
According to a recent article in the New York Post, Tesla uses soybeans vs. oil to protect its wiring because it is “less expensive and better for the environment.” Unfortunately, that appeals to rodents. The tabloid newspaper quoted one irate Manhattan resident who claims that it has taken more than one month and cost more than $5,000 to get her Model 3 repaired. Read Article
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Labor Giant and Longtime AFL-CIO President Trumka Dies |
IndustryWeek - Staff
The chief of one of the world’s largest unions has died. The AFL-CIO announced August 5 that its president, Richard Trumka, has died. The longtime labor leader was 72 years old.
“The labor movement, the AFL-CIO and the nation lost a legend today,” read a statement from the union group. “He was a relentless champion of workers’ rights, workplace safety, worker-centered trade, democracy and so much more,” it said.
Trumka became president of the now 12.5-million member labor federation in 2009 after serving as its secretary-treasurer for almost 15 years. A former coal miner, Trumka got his start in organized labor at 33 when he was elected president of the United Mine Workers of America and led a successful strike against Pittston Coal Company. Read Article
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Liz Shuler Elected President as Part of Most Diverse Leadership Team in AFL-CIO History |
AFL-CIO - Staff
The AFL-CIO Executive Council today elected Liz Shuler, a visionary leader and longtime trade unionist, to serve as president of the federation of 56 unions and 12.5 million members. Shuler is the first woman to hold the office in the history of the labor federation. The Executive Council also elected United Steelworkers (USW) International Vice President Fred Redmond to succeed Shuler as secretary-treasurer, the first African American to hold the number two office. Tefere Gebre will continue as executive vice president, rounding out the most diverse team of officers ever to lead the AFL-CIO. Read Release
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Pharmaceutical Firms Rake in Billions with COVID Jabs |
IndustryWeek - Agence France-Presse
Pfizer, a top vaccine seller, made more than $10 billion on the vaccine in the first half of 2021.
Covid vaccines have brought billions of dollars to the coffers of pharmaceutical companies.
Germany's BioNTech, maker with partner Pfizer of the pioneering mRNA jab, raised its vaccine revenue forecast for 2021 in its latest earnings report on Monday.
Here are the numbers for the companies that publish financial results: Read Article
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US to Reopen Boeing-Airbus Bidding War Over Refuelers |
IndustryWeek - Agence France-Presse
Boeing won a $35 billion deal in 2011 to supply 179 refuelers to the U.S. Air Force, but has so far run into serious difficulty in delivering functional planes.
The US Air Force is set to reopen a bidding war between Boeing and arch-rival Airbus over the replacement of its ageing fleet of refueling aircraft essential to Washington's ability to project power beyond its borders.
In a tortuous and scandal-riven procurement process, during which two contracts were scrapped, Boeing finally snagged a $35-billion (30-billion-euro) deal in 2011 to develop and supply 179 KC-46 refuelers by 2029. Read Article
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Microsoft Protests Amazon Win of Big US Cloud Contract |
IndustryWeek - Agence France-Presse
The challenge follows Amazon's own, successful challenge of when Microsoft first won the contract in late 2019.
Microsoft on Thursday confirmed it is challenging a decision to award a multi-billion-dollar cloud computing contract to its rival Amazon.
U.S. media reports said the contract valued at $10 billion is for modernizing storage of classified data at the National Security Agency (NSA).
"Based on the decision we are filing an administrative protest via the Government Accountability Office," Microsoft said in response to an AFP inquiry. Read Article
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Star Wars: Blue Origin Sues NASA Over SpaceX’s Lunar Lander Contract |
IndustryWeek - Ryan Secard
The $2.9 billion contract was awarded to Elon Musk’s company SpaceX in April.
Despite a failed appeal to the Government Accountability Office, Blue Origin is still protesting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s selection of SpaceX to construct the new lunar lander. Blue Origin, the private space company founded by Jeff Bezos, has sued NASA in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims for the allegedly unfair way in which it awarded the contract to just one company. Read Article
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GM Expands Chevrolet Bolt EV Recall, Adding $1 Billion In Costs |
IndustryWeek – Agence France-Presse
Two manufacturing defects present in electric battery cells can lead to fires in “rare circumstances,” GM said in a news release.
General Motors expanded a recall of its Chevrolet Bolt on Friday, announcing plans to repair thousands more of the electric autos in a move that will add $1 billion in costs.
The recall will address two manufacturing defects that can be present in electric battery cells, leading to fires in “rare circumstances,” GM said in a news release. Read Article
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Louisiana Plastics & Chemical Companies Could See 'Weeks' Without Power |
IndustryWeek - Staff
The greater New Orleans area was the worst-hit region from Hurricane Ida. While the levees mostly held, the region may now face prolonged a period without power.
Sixteen years after Katrina to the day, Hurricane Ida struck the coast of Louisiana as a Category 4 storm. While oil, chemical, and plastic companies in the area were able to take routine precautions against pouring water and pounding rain, lingering blackouts in the area may prove to be the more lasting disaster. Read Article
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Manufacturing's Ego Problem |
IndustryWeek - Paul Ericksen
Rebecca Morgan, a manufacturing veteran, former IndustryWeek columnist and president of Fulcrum ConsultingWorks, is an expert in making businesses more competitive. People familiar with her enterprise-wide, effective approach put her in the same league as Deming, Welch and Drucker.
It was my privilege to interview her in conjunction with the release of her latest book, Manufacturing Mastery: The Path to Building Successful and Enduring Manufacturing Businesses (Routledge Press).
Why did you write your book?
Two reasons: My passion for helping manufacturers, and frustration with many of them. Too many U.S. manufacturers have neither understood foreign competitors nor taken them seriously enough to ensure success over time, and they focus too much on today and not nearly enough on tomorrow. Read Article
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Classes alone will not close the "skills gap," but structured on-the-job training can...every time! |
Under-capacity of workers is an enormous source of untapped value and unrealized return on worker investment. In addition, standardizing expert task performance -between workers and shifts - can add to worker ROI through lower scrap and rework.
- Increased worker capacity, productivity, work quantity, work quality and compliance (specifications, ISO/AS/TS programs and safety mandates);
- Decreased internal costs of training
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Higher return on worker investment! You would be surprised how small of an investment is needed to unlock enormous returns.
If budgets are tight, Proactive Technologies can be an extension to your training department, with our technical implementation support - included with every project!
There's nothing to lose by taking a minute to contact us to learn more.
www.proactivetechnologiesinc.com
Copyright © 2019-21 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™
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If your institution is interested in becoming a Proactive Technologies, Inc. project partner, contact a representative for more information. |
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There's A Way You Can Beat The Best Investors. You've Just Got To Know When To Sell |
NPR Planet Money – Neuman Inter, Taylor Naylor
If you’re Jeff Bezos, you’re not going to have some random dude manage your money and hope for the best. You’re not gonna open up a Robinhood account and risk it all on meme stocks like Gamestop. You’re going to hire the type of investor who has a PhD in mathematics and drives a Bugatti; a go-getter who wakes up with a turmeric latte and pores over satellite images of factories in Asia to predict the earnings of some 3D printing company most of us have never heard of. We’re talking about the best of the best in finance.
Billionaires and gigantic institutional investors turn to these financiers because they want their investments to make the most money possible, which requires making the right calls on both buying and selling stocks. New research confirms they’re whizzes when picking which stocks to buy. But when it comes to the other important part of their job, picking which stocks to sell and when — even these titans of finance are no better than a drunken monkey throwing darts. Read Article
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Hacker Returns Nearly All $600 Million Stolen In Ethereum, Other Tokens After Major Crypto Heist |
Forbes – Jonathan Ponciano, Forbes Staff
In an unusual twist for the one of the largest cryptocurrency heists ever, a hacker who stole more than $600 million in tokens from blockchain-based platform Poly Network on Tuesday has sent back a large majority of the stolen funds after a slew of cryptocurrency experts and businesses pledged to track the hacker’s crypto activity on the blockchain—but the hacker’s identity, and how exactly funds were stolen, remain unknown. Read Article
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SEC Charges Nikola Founder with Fraud |
CFO Dive – Robert Freedman
Dive Brief:
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Trevor Milton, founder, former CEO and former executive chairman of electric truck company Nikola Corporation, for repeatedly disseminating false and misleading information, typically through social media, about the company’s products and technological accomplishments.
The SEC is seeking to have Milton disgorge the gains he made by misleading investors, pay civil penalties, and prohibit him from serving as an officer or director of a publicly traded company. The complaint alleges that Milton made tens of millions of dollars in personal benefits as a result of his misconduct. Read Article
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Is A ‘Massive Wave Of Bankruptcies’ Just Around the Corner? |
CFO.com - Benzinga
The surge in corporate debt has created a ticking time bomb in the market, says one analyst.
The U.S. economy is steadily recovering from the pandemic, and more than $6 trillion in government stimulus appears to have prevented a worst-case economic catastrophe. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF has even nearly doubled from its pandemic lows in March 2020.
However, Stansberry Research editor Mike DiBiase recently wrote that the massive amount of corporate debt that companies accumulated in the past year-and-a-half is setting up a tidal wave of bankruptcies that could devastate the new wave of investors that have piled into the market since the beginning of the pandemic. Read Article
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Almost 90% of SPACs Have Had to Restate Financials |
CFO Dive – Robert Freedman’s
Dive Brief:
More than 540 companies have restated their financials to account for concerns by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) accounting issues, according to reports.
Restatements totaled 571, including 231 that just needed slight revisions, according to Audit Analytics and Bloomberg Law. A look at data by The Wall Street Journal put the number at more than 540. More than 85% of all SPACs had to make adjustments, according to the Journal.
Accounting for warrants, which sponsors include as part of their share offering as an inducement to investors, is the main driver of the restatements, BDO executive Demetrios Frangiskatos told Accounting Today. Warrants are fractional shares that investors can use to buy future shares at a certain price. Read Article
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FTC Unable to Keep Up With ‘Surge’ in Merger Filings |
CFO Dive – Jim Tyson
Dive Brief:
With deal-making in the U.S. hitting a record this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said it cannot keep up with a “surge” in merger filings and complete investigations of deals within the usual 30-day period.
“This year the FTC has been hit by a tidal wave of merger filings that is straining the agency’s capacity to rigorously investigate deals ahead of the statutory deadlines,” Holly Vedova, acting director of the commission’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement. “We believe it is important to be upfront about these capacity constraints.” Read Article
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Former Trucking Giant CFO Convicted of Fraud |
CFO Dive – Robert Freedman’s
Dive Brief:
The former CFO of publicly traded Roadrunner Transportation Systems, one of the largest trucking companies in the U.S., was convicted on four counts of violating federal securities law for his role in a $245 million securities and accounting fraud scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
Peter Armbruster was found to have committed one count of securities fraud, one count of misleading company auditors, and two counts of falsifying company books and records. The conviction follows a trial conducted by the District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Read Article
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Fed Announces Capital Buffers for Big Banks |
CFO.com – Matthew Heller
The U.S. Federal Reserve has announced the capital requirements for banks that underwent the most recent stress tests, with Goldman Sachs having to hold the largest buffer against losses.
The capital requirements ensure that the 34 large banks tested will hold roughly $1 trillion in high-quality capital — enough to survive a severe recession and still be able to lend to households and businesses, the Fed said.
Based on the stress test results, Goldman is required to have a total common equity tier 1 buffer of 13.4%, followed by Morgan Stanley (13.2%) and HSBC (12.0%). Other banks with capital requirements of more than 10% include DWS, UBS, Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas, and Citigroup. Read Article
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Lear to Create Hundreds of Assembly Jobs in Detroit |
Assembly Magazine
DETROIT—Lear Corp. plans to invest $48 million to build a new automotive seat assembly operation here that could create hundreds of new manufacturing jobs.
The plant will be built on the site of a shuttered stamping plant once owned by General Motors. The plant will supply seats for the electric vehicles built at GM’s nearby Detroit-Hamtramck Factory ZERO.
“The facility will be one of our most energy-efficient plants in North America, and not only create hundreds of new jobs, but will be another important step forward in the redevelopment of Detroit’s eastside neighborhood,” the company said in a statement. Read Article
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Home Prices Are Now Higher Than The Peak Of The 2000s Housing Bubble. What Gives? |
NPR Planet Money – by Greg Rosalsky
Even before the pandemic pushed the U.S. housing market into overdrive, the price of the average American home was on a rocket ride, climbing more than 50 percent between 2012 and 2019. It was the third biggest housing boom in American history. Then came the pandemic, marked by a buying frenzy and a selling freeze, which created a supply-demand mismatch that made the price boom go into warp speed. The average price of American homes, in real terms, is now the highest it’s ever been — even higher than the peak of the housing bubble in 2006, before it crashed 60 percent and bottomed out in 2012.
Now that home prices have surpassed the peak that preceded the 2000s housing crash, many people are worried. Are we in another bubble? Or maybe the housing bubble a couple decades ago wasn’t really a bubble? If so, then why was there a crash? Read Article
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Steering Clear of Ponzi Schemes |
CFO.com – John J. Carney and Bari R. Nadworny
Recent examples show Ponzi schemes are still very prevalent and leave significant investor losses and hardships in their wake.
Ponzi schemes, named after the infamous swindler Charles Ponzi, have been around for more than a century. Yet, despite their age, these schemes show no sign of slowing down. In fact, headlines announcing the latest attempts to perpetrate these frauds still regularly fill the news cycle. And federal regulators keep the prosecution of Ponzi schemes at the top of their enforcement agendas. Read Article
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Fintechs Handled Higher Rate of Suspicious PPP Loans: Study |
CFO Dive – Anna Hrushka, Reporter
“Paycheck Protection Program and Reminder Note” by Marco Verch is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Dive Brief:
- Fintech lenders were almost five times more likely to be linked to suspicious Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans than traditional banks, according to a study released Tuesday by researchers at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, Austin.
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The study scoured more than 10 million PPP loans for potential red flags such as unregistered businesses, multiple businesses at one residential address, abnormally high implied compensation per employee and large inconsistencies in jobs reported with another government program. Read Article
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Exec Hit with Insider Trading After Buying Rival Stock |
CFO Dive – Robert Freedman
Dive Brief:
- The former business development head at Medivation, a mid-cap oncology-focused biopharma, was charged with trading on confidential information for buying stock in a rival company after learning his company would be acquired by industry giant Pfizer, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.
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Matthew Panuwat purchased short-term, out-of-the-money stock options in Incyte Corporation, another mid-cap oncology-focused biopharma, just days before an announcement that Pfizer would acquire Medivation at a significant premium. Read Article
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CFOs Using Annuitization to Derisk Their Pension Liabilities |
CFO Dive - Robert Freedman, Editor
Conditions are right for companies to spin off obligations to insurers to improve their balance sheets and protect against a drain on future cash flow.
The CFOs of big U.S. companies with traditional, single-sponsor pension plans are taking advantage of the strong stock market, among other things, to lessen the risk the massive obligations the plans pose by transferring a portion of their liabilities to insurers, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Not a lot of companies today have the kind of defined-benefit plans that were popular decades ago. Only roughly 20,000 companies do, according to Mercer LLC, and of these, only a handful still offer the plans to new hires. Many of the companies, although obligated to pay the benefits promised to existing participants, now offer 401(k) plans for new hires instead, essentially offering employees an employer-contributed benefit that transfers the long-term risk to employees. Read Article
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Move from Pension to 401(k) Riles Union |
CFO Dive - Robert Freedman, Editor
Striking Nabisco employees want the company to restore the pension contributions that were frozen three years ago, among other demands, given healthy revenue gains at parent Mondelez International.
Strikes by workers employed by Mondelez International, the owner of Nabisco, at plants across the United States stem partly from the company’s decision three years ago to freeze the pension it offers workers and offer instead employer-contributed 401(k) plans. Read Article
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Mexico, Latin America, South America and the Caribbean |
Haiti Earthquake: Tensions Rise in Struggle to Get Aid to Victims
BBC
Five days after a powerful earthquake killed at least 2,189 people in Haiti help is trickling in, but struggling people say they need it more quickly.
The poorest country in the Americas is in urgent need of medical, food and sanitation assistance, experts say.
Rescue crews are still digging through rubble in a search for survivors, as the stench of death fills the air. Read Article
The Impact of Policy Measures on Trade in Services in Latin America and the Caribbean
InterAmerican Development Bank – Danielle Trachtenberg,
This paper uses data on policy measures affecting services operation and trade to document and estimate the impact of different types of policy measures on services exports and imports, with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. It finds that market-entry measures are important to both total services exports and imports in the region and bilateral trade flows with the United States, while measures relating to the operation of service providers are important for bilateral trade flows with the United States. Read Publication
Indigenous People Protest Land Restrictions in Brazil
DeutscheWelle
With feather headdresses and body paint, thousands of indigenous demonstrators camped out in Brasilia to protest President Jair Bolsonaro's policies and an initiative that could take away their ancestral lands. Read Article
Wife of Murdered Greek Ambassador Jailed Over His Death in Brazil
BBC
The remains of ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis were found in a burnt-out car in 2016
A Brazilian woman has been sentenced to 31 years in prison for planning the murder of her husband, the former Greek ambassador to Brazil.
In 2016, Kyriakos Amiridis' charred remains were found in the boot of a burnt-out car in Rio de Janeiro.
His wife Françoise de Souza Oliveira had been having an affair with a military police officer, Sergio Gomes. Read Article
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Canada, Europe and Great Britain |
North Macedonia Reels From Raging Wildfires During Heat Wave
DeutscheWelle
North Macedonia has declared a state of emergency for 30 days in response to the wildfires that have been raging through the country for the last four days. That means the government in Skopje can centralize all resources and forces and take complete command of the situation from local communities. The scorching heat and strong winds have already resulted in huge damage. Read Article
“None of the above?”: Germany’s Eminently Resistible Chancellor Candidates Have Escaped the Hardships of Previous Leaders
Brookings – Constanze Stelzenmüller, Senior Fellow – Foreign Policy, Center on the United States and Europe Fritz Stern Chair on Germany and trans-Atlantic Relations
Editor’s Note: Compared to Germany’s past chancellors, all of the candidates to replace Angela Merkel are untested; whether they are prepared for the challenges of being Germany’s ninth chancellor remains to be seen, writes Constanze Stelzenmüller. This post originally appeared in the Financial Times.
It’s August, and the living ought to be easy. But Germany votes in eight weeks, and all three candidates vying to replace Chancellor Angela Merkel seem eminently resistible. In a recent poll asking who should be their next leader, 45% of Germans chose “none of the above.” Was it always this way?
The question generates a jolting realization: I have been alive when all eight of Germany’s postwar chancellors were in office. My father wrote speeches for one of them; I worked with another. Read Article
Hungary vs EU: Is Orban striving for Huxit?
DeutscheWelle
Hungary’s unofficial government paper “Magyar Nemzet” advocates Hungary’s exit from the EU. Is Prime Minister Viktor Orban pulling the strings behind the scenes?
Hungary’s unofficial government newspaper Magyar Nemzet (Hungarian Nation) often floats issues that Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his government would like to gauge public opinion on without addressing those issues themselves. Last weekend, it happened again. On Sunday (August 15), the paper opened debate on an issue that had previously been deemed off-limits even in Hungarian government circles: Hungary’s exit from the EU. Read Article
Germany Enters 4th Coronavirus Wave
DeutscheWelle
Germany’s Robert Koch Institute made the assessment as the country grapples with rising positive test results. This time, younger age groups are more affected.
Germany has “clearly” begun a fourth wave of coronavirus infections, according to the country’s agency for disease control and prevention, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
Positive samples among PCR tests had risen from 4% to 6% within a week until mid-August, the RKI said in its weekly report on Thursday evening. Read Article
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Japan Rain: Nearly Two Million Residents Told to Seek Shelter
BBC
Nearly two million people have been urged to evacuate their homes amid heavy rainfall in parts of Japan.
Highest-level rain warnings have been issued in a number of prefectures, including Fukuoka and Hiroshima.
One woman has died and her husband and daughter are missing after a landslide destroyed two homes in Nagasaki prefecture. Read Article
Is South Korea in Danger of Repeating Japan’s Economic Bubble Collapse?
DeutscheWelle
Asia’s fourth-largest economy is experiencing soaring real estate prices and busy stock market trading that are raising fears of a correction, but analysts say underlying economic problems are the greater danger.
The prices of houses in the South Korean capital have increased almost 10% in the first half of the year
There are growing concerns that soaring real estate prices, an overheated stock market and worsening household debt in South Korea are combining to create an economic bubble — similar to the situation in Japan in the late 1980s — with the fear that when the bubble bursts, the whole Korean economy will also experience a comparable crash.
Japan's bubble was also rooted in real estate and stock markets. When the Nikkei stock market plummeted to half its previous value, the bubble burst and banks were left holding vast amounts of unrecoverable loans. The following years were known as the "lost decade" for Japan's economy. Read Article
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Asia, India and Australia |
Australia: New South Wales ‘In Worst Ever Covid Situation’
BBC
Restrictions will get tighter in the state as cases increase.
The leader of New South Wales has warned this is “the worst situation Australia’s been in” since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said rules would be tightened in Sydney, the state capital, which is in lockdown.
Covid fines will also go up to AU$5,000 (US$3,685; £2,656) from AU$1,000. Read Article
Coronavirus: Police, Anti-lockdown Protesters Clash in Australia
DeutscheWelle
Police in Australia arrested more than 250 people as anti-lockdown protests turned violent. The country has seen its biggest spike in COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began.
Thousands of protesters clashed with police in the Australian city of Melbourne
There have been violent confrontations between police and anti-lockdown protesters in Australia. In Melbourne, police used pepper spray on crowds of up to 4,000 people.
Police on horseback and units on foot clashed with protesters who approached their lines. Read Article
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Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Russia |
Nigeria’s Twitter Ban is a Misplaced Priority
Brookings – Mary Blankenship, Intern – Africa Growth Initiative Student Researcher – University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Christina Golubski, Associate Director – Africa Growth InitiativeI
n early June 2021, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari announced the indefinite suspension of Twitter after the platform deleted one of his tweets and temporarily suspended his account. The tweet pertained to Nigerian secessionists and to treating “those who misbehave today” in “the language they will understand,” infringing on Twitter user rules prohibiting content that threatens or incites violence. Despite the ban, many Nigerians still have access to the site using virtual private networks (VPN) and can share their opinion on other apps, like Indian-based microblogging site Koo. Read Article
Commission Reports on Fifth Negotiation Round with Five Eastern and Southern African Countries to Deepen Existing Economic Partnership Agreement
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH – European Commission
As part of its transparency commitment, the European Commission published today the report ummarizing progress made during the latest negotiation round to deepen the existing Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with five Eastern and Southern African partners (ESA5): Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe. Read Release
South African Riots and Food Security: Why There’s an Urgent Need to Restore Stability
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH – University of Witwatersand, Wandile Sihlobo
Statement by Wandile Sihlobo, who is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), and also a member of the South African President’s Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).:
South Africans should not panic about the food system. But authorities will need to act swiftly and assertively to restore stability. Read Article
Russia Arrests Journalists Protesting Media Crackdown
DeutscheWelle
Independent journalists are angry that Russian authorities labeled two news outlets “foreign agents” on Friday.
Authorities charged the reporters with breaking picketing rules.
Russian police Saturday arrested eight journalists who protested against a government decision to brand two independent news outlets as “foreign agents.”
Authorities charged the reporters with breaking picketing rules during a demonstration outside the FSB security agency in the Lubyanka Square of Moscow. Read Article
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Proactive Technologies' Project Partners |
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Frank J. Gibson Consulting |
"One thing is certain... nothing is certain!"
The rate of change affecting work, the worker, management and the educational institutions that service all three has been accelerating - made worse by the unexpected Covid-19 pandemic. The economy, the consumer, supply chains and operational strategies have all been disrupted in the short-term, casting doubt on the long-term.
Rapid adaptation is the key to survivability, sustainability and growth. Sometimes an experienced outside advisor can help facilitate needed improvements to take the worry out of change and the fear out of growth. Frank J. Gibson Management and Workforce Excellence Advisor
- Business Development & Growth
- Workforce Development and Optimization
- Training and Cross-Training
- Local,/Regional Workforce Development Projects and Community Development
- Facilitated Problem Solving
- Process Improvement Cross-Functional Leadership Coaching and Mentoring
- Internship and Apprenticeship Projects
- Strategic Doing/Strategic Planning
Copyright © 2021 Frank J. Gibson
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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PTI Systems
International, Inc.™
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- Affiliated with Proactive Technologies, Inc. for projects outside the United States;
- Workforce development partner for employers, and education/ training providers who support employers, to ensure every worker can be trained to full job mastery;
- Experienced with governmental, IDB, GIZ and economic development agency sponsored projects;
- Experienced in assuring multinational employers expanding to the U.S. have the skilled workforce they need.
- PTI Systems International sets-up complete worker development and performance management systems, and provides technical implementation support;
- We provide strategies for our project's transition to local management.
- Speakers for seminars and conferences.
Don't complain about a "skills gap," deliberately develop every worker to full job mastery!
© 2018-21 PTI Systems International, Inc.™
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“Management of a system requires knowledge of the interrelationships between all of the components within the system and of everybody that works in it.”
American engineer, statistician,
professor, author, lecturer, and
management consultant
1900 - 1993
"Speculators may do no harm as bubbles on a steady stream of enterprise. But the position is serious when enterprise becomes a bubble on a whirlpool of speculation. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill done. "
English economist, whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments
1883 - 1946
“Finance is not merely about making money. It's about achieving our deep goals and protecting the fruits of our labor. It's about stewardship and, therefore, about achieving the good society.”
Shiller is an American economist, academic, and best-selling author.
1946 -
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U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of Economic Analysis |
U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, June, 2021
The U.S. monthly international trade deficit increased in June 2021 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit increased from $71.0 billion in May (revised) to $75.7 billion in June, as imports increased more than exports. The previously published May deficit was $71.2 billion. The goods deficit increased $4.0 billion in June to $93.2 billion. The services surplus decreased $0.7 billion in June to $17.4 billion. Read Report
U.S. International Transactions, First Quarter 2021 and Annual Update
The U.S. current account deficit widened by $20.7 billion, or 11.8 percent, to $195.7 billion in the first quarter of 2021, according to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The revised fourth quarter deficit was $175.1 billion. The first quarter deficit was 3.6 percent of current dollar gross domestic product, up from 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter. Read Report
New Foreign Direct Investment in the United States
The statistics on new foreign direct investment in the United States provide information on the acquisition, establishment, and expansion of U.S. business enterprises by foreign direct investors. Read Reports
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U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of the Census |
Monthly Wholesale Trade
June 2021 sales of merchant wholesalers were $588.1 billion, up 2.0 percent (+/- 0.4 percent) from last month. End-of-month inventories were $717.6 billion, up 1.1 percent (+/- 0.2 percent) from last month.
June 2021: +1.1 % change in Inventories; May 2021 I: +1.3 % change in Inventories. Read Report
Manufacturing and Trade Inventory and Sales
U.S. total business end-of-month inventories for June 2021 were $2,057.4 billion, up 0.8 percent (+/- 0.1 percent) from last month. U.S. total business sales were $1,640.8 billion, up 1.4 percent (+/- 0.2 percent) from last month. June 2021: +0.8 % change in Inventories; May 2021 I: +0.6 % change in Inventories. Read Report
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Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
U.S. Data Versus the World
Find, compare and share the latest OECD data: charts, maps, tables and related publications. Access Data
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International Trade in Services 2021
Our World in Data
Trade in services records the value of services exchanged between residents and non-residents of an economy, including services provided through foreign affiliates established abroad. This indicator is measured in million USD and percentage of GDP for exports, imports and net trade. Services include transport (both freight and passengers), travel, communications services (postal, telephone, satellite, etc.), construction services, insurance and financial services, computer and information services, royalties and license fees, other business services (merchanting, operational leasing, technical and professional services, etc.), cultural and recreational services, and government services not included in the list above. Trade in services drives the exchange of ideas, know-how and technology, although it is often restricted by barriers such as domestic regulations. All OECD countries compile their data according to the 2008 System of National Accounts (SNA). Read Report
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Making Sense of the New Automotive Customs Rules |
IndustryWeek – Gregory Husisian, Jenlain Scott
Legal experts lay out the best compliance practices for importers of record.
The U.S. Customs & Border Protection has had quite a year, with the USMCA replacing NAFTA, COVID upending its operations and intense scrutiny for immigration policies at the U.S. border.
Last spring, President Joe Biden announced his intent to appoint a new head of customs, Tucson, Arizona, Police Chief Chris Magnus. How will this impact automotive import operations and global supply chains?
The short answer: Customs compliance will be more important than ever, due to the confluence of multiple trends that should have a long-term impact on automotive importers: Read Article
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Supply Shortages Contributing to Record-Breaking Trade Gap |
IndustryWeek – Staff
The U.S. trade gap between goods exported and imported is now 46.6% bigger than it was in June 2020.
Pandemic-era supply shortages are aggravating the U.S. trade deficit. According to the latest report on international trade from the Census Bureau, the gap between goods the U.S. exports and the goods and services it imports from abroad rose more than 5% in June to a record high, driven by a substantial increase in imports of industrial supplies and materials.
In June 2021, the Bureau says, the U.S. imported $283.4 billion worth of goods and services, compared to only $207.7 billion in goods and services exported. That nets a trade deficit of $75.7 billion—6.7% larger than it was in May, 46.6% bigger than it was in June 2020. The three-months moving average deficit rose slightly, by $200 million to $71.9 billion. Read Article
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Smallholders Produce One-third of the World’s Food, Less Than Half of What Many Headlines Claim |
Our World in Data – Hannah Ritchie
It is often claimed that smallholder farmers produce 70% or even 80% of the world’s food. This claim has even been made by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO).
It has been a linchpin for agricultural and development policies. But it is wrong. Recent studies suggest that this figure is too high: smallholder farmers produce around one-third of the world’s food, less than half of what these headlines claim. Read Article
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Mexican GM Workers Leave Union After USMCA-Spurred Vote |
IndustryWeek - Ryan Secard
Workers at General Motors’ vehicle assembly plant in Silao, Mexico have voted to terminate their contract with a chapter of the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM). According to the Associated Press, GM employees at the plant, which assembles Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks and GMC Sierra SUVs, will continue to work with benefits provided by their old contract for the time being.
In a vote Monday, 3,214 workers voted to terminate their CTM contract while 2,623 voted to maintain it. Read Article
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White House Appoints Port Envoy to Address Persistent Port Congestion |
Pocari is "uniquely qualified" to work on port congestion, according to Transportation Secretary Buttigieg.
President Biden is taking a stab at unplugging container-clogged ports. The White House announced August 27 that it would appoint John D. Porcari to Biden’s supply-chain disruption task force as its port envoy.
International supply chains around the world are in the midst of a monthslong disruption due to spikes in demand and delays exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to address those issues, President Biden announced the Biden-Harris task force on supply chain disruptions shortly after entering office. Read Article
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China’s Digital Yuan Is All about Data—and, Perhaps, Control |
IndustryWeek - Shruti Gupta
Adoption of a central bank-issued digital currency in any other country may not be as much of a business concern.
China last year became the first major economy to pilot a central bank-issued digital currency—a digital yuan, also referred to as the eCNY—and interest in the potential of such currencies in many other countries is also on the rise.
The impact of the digital yuan may not be that significant in the near future for companies with manufacturing or trading operations in China given that this currency is in a pilot stage and focused mainly on individual consumer adoption. However, the path forward for the digital yuan to become the primary currency in China has been set; it may only be a matter of time before it is the norm even for business-to-business transactions such as payments to suppliers, revenues from industrial customers, bank financing or capital investments with joint venture partners. Read Article
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AFTE Calls on Biden-Harris Administration to Improve USMCA Enforcement in Mexico |
WASHINGTON (September 8) – Yesterday, ahead of the United States-Mexico High-Level Economic Dialogue, the Alliance for Trade Enforcement (AFTE) wrote Vice President Kamala Harris urging that the Biden-Harris administration take swift enforcement action to hold Mexico accountable for its persistent non-compliance with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
“It’s unfortunate that more than one year after USMCA was supposed to be fully implemented, Mexico is still not adhering to many of its provisions,” said Brian Pomper, Executive Director of the Alliance for Trade Enforcement. “Mexico’s actions impact a range of industries and put U.S. companies and workers at a disadvantage.” Read Release
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Education And Workforce Development News |
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Loyd is Biden’s Pick to Lead OCTAE |
Community College Daily News – Staff
Amy Loyd, who was previously a vice president at Jobs for the Future (JFF) and a former community college student, is President Joe Biden’s pick as assistant secretary for career, technical and adult education at the U.S. Education Department. Since April, she has served as acting assistant secretary of the office and as its deputy assistant secretary of policy and strategic initiatives.
At JFF, Loyd was vice president of Building Educational Pathways for Youth and led the Pathways to Prosperity and college and career pathways work. She focused on state and regional policies, practices and cross-sector partnerships that engaged K-12 education, community colleges, adult education, workforce development, economic development and employers to build systems of college and career pathways. Read Article
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How Does Virtual Learning Impact Students in Higher Education? |
Brookings – Stephanie Riegg Cellini, Nonresident Senior Fellow – Governance Studies, Brown Center on Education Policy
In 2020, the pandemic pushed millions of college students around the world into virtual learning. As the new academic year begins, many colleges in the U.S. are poised to bring students back to campus, but a large amount of uncertainty remains. Some institutions will undoubtedly continue to offer online or hybrid classes, even as in-person instruction resumes. At the same time, low vaccination rates, new coronavirus variants, and travel restrictions for international students may mean a return to fully online instruction for some U.S. students and many more around the world.
Public attention has largely focused on the learning losses of K-12 students who shifted online during the pandemic. Yet, we may have reason to be concerned about postsecondary students too. What can we expect from the move to virtual learning? How does virtual learning impact student outcomes? And how does it compare to in-person instruction at the postsecondary level? Read Article
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Thousands Of Defrauded ITT Tech Students Are Getting Their Loans Erased |
NPR – Associated Press
The U.S. Education Department said Wednesday it's erasing student debt for thousands of borrowers who attended a for-profit college chain that made exaggerated claims about its graduates' success in finding jobs.
The Biden administration said it is approving 18,000 loan forgiveness claims from former students of ITT Technical Institute, a chain that closed in 2016 after being dealt a series of sanctions by the Obama administration. The new loan discharges will clear more than $500 million in debt. Read Article
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Teacher Assistants are Needed—Now More Than Ever |
Helen F. Ladd, Former Brookings Expert Susan B. King Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, Samford School of Public Policy - Duke University; Steven Hemelt, Associate Professor, Department of Public Policy - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Calen R. Clifton, Research Associate, Samford School of Public Policy - Duke University Strategic Data Fellow, The Center for Education Policy Research - Harvard Graduate School of Education
The challenges facing elementary schools this coming year will be huge. Large numbers of children will begin school having missed a year of kindergarten, and many others will have fallen behind after struggling with remote learning for long periods during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, elementary school teachers will undoubtedly need significant help from other adults such as teacher assistants, health-care providers, and social workers. Only with such support will regular teachers be in a position to address the varied and multiple challenges that children will bring to the classroom in the post-pandemic period.
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Training And Organizational Development News |
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Developing a Coaching Culture: What It Takes, and Why It’s Needed |
IndustryWeek – Ken Vaughan
Built upon humility and valuing others, it is a subset of servant leadership.
Too often, leaders think that they are responsible for making most, if not every, decision in their organizations. Perhaps their ability to make good decisions has played a large part in advancing to a position of leadership, so they continue on that track. Perhaps they enjoy the power or control that they feel in making every decision. Or maybe they just don’t trust the people around them to make good decisions.
Often, making decisions at the top seems the most expedient thing to do. Whatever the reason, “the buck stops here (and only here)” is the way that many leaders operate. Read Article
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What’s Really Behind Bad Performance Reviews? |
While it’s great to be open and vulnerable and listen, not all criticism is created equal.
Let’s say that the engagement surveys come back, and they point to a problem with a manager. Five of seven people on his team point to issues.
What to do? It’s pretty simple. You present the manager with the scores and make it clear that he must turn around the disengagement. His first step is to meet with the team, both as a group and individually. They’re the ones who can teach him how to manage them. Read Article
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Access Proactive Technologies' Recent "Proactive Technologies Workforce News" Article Quicklinks |
Located on the left panel below, this includes articles on structured worker development, achieving worker "full job mastery," engineering/quality/safety compliance, ISO/TS/AS quality program support and compliance, and many other contemporary worker development and management topics. |
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Recent Proactive Technologies News Article Quicklinks |
AUGUST
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Proactive Technologies, Inc. Staff
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
JULY
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Proactive Technologies, Inc. Staff
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
JUNE
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Regional Director of Operations – Eastern U.S. – Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Proactive Technologies, Inc. Staff
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
MAY
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Regional Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Dr. Dave Just, formally Dean of Corporate and Continuing Education at Community Colleges in MA, OH, PA, SC. Currently President of K&D Consulting
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
APRIL
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of East Coast Operations – Proactive Technologies, Inc..
by Dr. Dave Just, formally Dean of Corporate and Continuing Education at Community Colleges in MA, OH, PA, SC. Currently President of K&D Consulting
by Frank Gibson, Workforce Development Advisor, retired from The Ohio State University – Alber Enterprise Center
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Proactive Technologies, Inc. Partners With Educational Institutions, Workforce/Economic
Development Groups, Government Agencies
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Structured on-the-job training attracts and engages employers in workforce development partnerships...some projects sustainable for more than 18 years!
This creates a steady need for your related technical instruction, services and a pathway for employment.
These partnerships:
- enhance your institution's opportunity to market your products and services to incumbent workers;
- allow your organization to include structured on-the-job training as a capstone to preemployment preparation;
- document a trainee-to worker's increasing value to the employer - the key to retention - rather than leaving it to chance;
- properly aligns workforce development resources and maximizes the impact and results; allows you to engage an employer's facility, equipment and staff in the training process;
- provides the best, sustainable infrastructure for apprenticeships and internships that last!
- is a win for the trainee, win for the worker, win for the employer, win for the institution and win for the community!
This approach has continued to prove itself since 1988, and does not compete with your school's or agency's products and services; it adds to your efforts the clear, tangible, measurable advantage that employers seek.
Copyright © 2021 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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To supplement onsite PROTECH™ system of managed human resource development classes, these regularly scheduled webinars are available to the registered staff of clients:
- Structured On-The-Job Training Instructor Certification
- Structured On-The Job Training Checklist Administrator Certification
- Management Structured On-The-Job Training Project Support Briefing
- Integrating Support for Plant-Wide ISO/AS/TS Quality and Safety Systems with PROTECH Workforce Development System
- Supporting "Pay-For-Value" Systems
- Promoting Continuous Process Improvement While Implementing the PROTECH System for the Accelerated Transfer of Expertise™
- PROTECH Onsite System Administrator Certification
Contact US to attend one of these seminars will send you an e-reservation. Include your client ID, name and user ID number and which webinar you would like to attend.
Copyright © 2019-21 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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How To Gain Traction with Your Continuous Improvement Journey…and how to make those gains stick. |
IndustryWeek – Larry Fast
In my last article, I addressed five major obstacles that often derail a continuous improvement initiative before it gets out of the gate. In this article, I share how to gain traction for a more vigorous CI journey, and I address specifics required to sustain excellence. As always, the leaders must clearly communicate their commitment and high expectations to achieve and sustain business improvements. Start here.
1. Constancy of purpose and message. Make it clear that “our CI agenda is not the ‘flavor-of-the-month.’ Manufacturing excellence is not in addition to our work. It is our work.” Read Article
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Quality Certification Background |
Quality Magazine
In the 1960s quality certification activities expanded into many other quality disciplines such as quality engineer, reliability engineer, quality auditor, etc. Auditor and lead auditor certifications came into existence with the introduction of the quality standards by the ISO organization. Read Article
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Quality Inspector in Quality 4.0 |
Quality Magazine – Navin S. Dedhia
Quality 4.0 does not focus exclusively on the technology, but rather on the improvement in culture, collaboration, competencies, and training.
Industry 4.0 and resulting Quality 4.0 are driven by the exponential growth of disruptive technologies and the changes these technologies are bringing to the workplace. Quality 4.0 connects the inspector to machines and machines to data. Inspectors who have an attitude of never stop learning will gladly embrace the change.
The fourth industrial revolution is the move towards digitization including automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Quality 4.0 is not a trend, but a reminder that performance excellence depends on how well technology is being adapted, changed, and transformed. Read Article
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US Opens Probe of Tesla Autopilot After 11 Crashes: NHTSA |
IndustryWeek – Agence France-Presse
The vehicles crashed into stationary first responder vehicles despite the presence of flares, road cones, and illuminated arrow signs.
U.S. safety officials opened a preliminary investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot after identifying 11 crashes involving the driver assistance system, officials said Monday.
The incidents dating back to 2018 included one fatal crash and seven that resulted in injuries, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Read Article
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Building the World’s Largest Telescope |
IndustryWeek – Peter Fretty
The team building the Giant Magellan Telescope shares details about the unique production process.
While some complex production processes can take days or weeks, creating something as monumental as the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is in its own realm with individual steps measured in months and years.
Consider the production of the massive yet highly accurate mirrors needed for the one of a kind telescope. The process is happening far beneath the University of Arizona football field at the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab where six of the world’s largest mirrors are under construction using the world’s purest glass, within a giant spinning oven. In a marvel of modern engineering that takes four years of effort, the 8.4-meter (28 feet) mirror manufacturing is well underway. Read Article
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So Much Ice is Melting That Earth’s Crust is Moving |
Nature
As the continents’ frozen burden dissipates, the ground deforms — not only in the immediate area, but also in far-flung locations.
The loss of melting ice from land masses such as Greenland and Antarctica is causing the planet’s crust to warp slightly, even in spots more than 1,000 kilometres from the ice loss.
Ice melt removes mass from Earth’s continents. Liberated from the overlying weight, land that was once covered by ice lifts up. This vertical response has been much studied, but Sophie Coulson at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and her colleagues wanted to analyse how the ground shifts horizontally. They gathered satellite data on ice loss from Greenland, Antarctica, mountain glaciers and ice caps, and combined them with a model of how Earth’s crust responds to changes in mass. Read Article
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How the Strange Idea of ‘Statistical Significance’ Was Born |
Science News - Bruce Bower
A mathematical ritual has led researchers astray for decades.
Research in social and biomedical science often uses a statistical method known as null hypothesis testing to determine whether results are “statistically significant.” A P value less than 0.05 is considered significant.
In the middle of the 20th century, the field of psychology had a problem. In the wake of the Manhattan Project and in the early days of the space race, the so-called “hard sciences” were producing tangible, highly publicized results. Psychologists and other social scientists looked on enviously. Their results were squishy, and difficult to quantify.
Psychologists in particular wanted a statistical skeleton key to unlock true experimental insights. It was an unrealistic burden to place on statistics, but the longing for a mathematical seal of approval burned hot. So psychology textbook writers and publishers created one, and called it statistical significance. Read Article
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Cyber Security And IT News |
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Designing Digital Services for Equitable Access |
Brookings Institution – Tech Stream, Sean McDonald
In 1995, the U.S. National Telecommunications Infrastructure Administration was the first government body to empirically document the existence of the “digital divide”—the gap between those who do and do not have ready access to internet service. In a report that year—”Falling Through the Net“—the agency described the geographic, demographic, and economic divides in the adoption and use of the internet. The report was prescient in recognizing the role that disparate infrastructure and hardware access played in driving digital inequality and showed how those inequalities impacted how people were using the internet. Read Article
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Germany: Will Foreigners' Private Data be Unprotected? |
DeutscheWelle
The German government wants to centralize the storage of personal data of foreigners. This is intended to improve efficiency. But experts warn of data leaks that could lead to persecution.
Germans take data protection seriously. And with good reason: Their experience under two dictatorships in the 20th-century have made people extremely aware of the dangers.
This becomes even more apparent whenever the state wants to collect more private information. For example, a weekslong controversial debate was recently mounted about what data should be available in the federal government's coronavirus contact-tracing app. In the end, a compromise was agreed: Data could be collected if stored anonymously and decentrally. Read Article
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Manufacturers Beware as Threat Landscape Evolves |
IndustryWeek - Peter Fretty
NTT Security expert shares insights into the current threat landscape as cybersecurity become a strategic initiative for manufacturers.
As cyber events continue to make the news, it is clear the threat landscape is escalating. And hacker sophistication is growing. Additionally, today’s cyber criminals have found tools and methodologies that are proving fruitful. Read Article
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What is the Hafnium Microsoft hack and Why Has the UK linked it to China |
The Guardian - Alex Hern
Britain has joined the US and other allies in formally accusing China of being behind the cyber-attack.
Vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s Exchange software allowed hackers to take control of corporate servers.
In March, tens of thousands of organisations around the world discovered their private internal discussions had been cracked open and lain bare by a group of Chinese hackers.
Four previously undiscovered weaknesses in Microsoft’s Exchange software, known as “zero days” because of the amount of time the company had had to fix the flaws before they were exploited, lay behind the mass hack. Read Article
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Human Resource Management News |
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Moms in Manufacturing – How to Keep and Attract This Talent Pool |
IndustryWeek - Adrienne Selko
“We saw companies get very creative in flexible work arrangements and shifts in reaction to the pandemic, and want to see that continue with regard to working moms," says Allison Grealis, president of Women in Manufacturing.
One of the most profound effects of the pandemic is that companies are now looking at their workforce from a much larger -- human -- perspective. Work-life balance became central to determining how employees were able to do their jobs. And for women especially, this became more difficult as balancing the needs of children no longer in school with work was at times impossible. In fact, increased household responsibilities during the pandemic forced many working women to not only scale back on hours but to leave the workforce entirely.
According to the National Law Center, more than 2.3 million women have left the labor market since the beginning of the pandemic. Of those working, 25% are considering leaving the workforce or downshifting their careers due to the impact of COVID-19 according to a study done by LeanIn and McKinsey and Company.
There are, however, bright spots in the labor situation as many manufacturing companies have learned how to adjust work schedules. Read Article
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EHS Today - Dave Blanchard
Protecting your workers from psychological harm is as important as keeping them safe from physical danger.
If one of your employees was in physical danger, would you do everything you could to keep them out of harm’s way? That’s a no-brainer: Any safety leader—in fact, any person of conscience whatsoever—would certainly answer “yes” to that question. One thing we’ve all learned from our shared COVID experiences, however, is that people face many dangers that aren’t immediately obvious to an observer and can’t be prevented simply by donning the appropriate protective gear.
One of the topics du jour in the mainstream media is what’s being called The Great Resignation. Read Article
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6 Misconceptions About Future Employee Experience |
EHS Today - Staff
The division between employers' and employees' perceptions could lead to " critical failure to build trust and employee buy-in for future," says new Gartner study.
As companies are designing future work strategies based on the higher value now places on increased flexibility at work, a gap is emerging between executive and employee perceptions on the future of the employee experience, according to Gartner, Inc.
“We examined the key areas crucial to planning for the future employee experience and discovered significant dissonance between employee and executive sentiment across all,” said Alexia Cambon, director in the Gartner HR practice, in a statement. “If left unaddressed, this division may lead to a critical failure to build trust and employee buy-in for future of work plans.” Read Article
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Threading the Needle on the Future of Work |
IndustryWeek - Stephen Gold
The question is not if manufacturers will change, but how they’ll create a balance that ensures workforce stability.
“Others are going to a hybrid model, and we’re going to be competing for talent. So how do we do a good job of threading that needle to make sure that we’re not making decisions … that put us at a disadvantage in terms of getting talent?” – Manufacturing CHRO, Summer 2021
Nothing exemplifies the transformation of the past year more than manufacturers’ 180-degree philosophical pivot regarding their work models. They aren’t alone on this journey, of course, but historically the factory sector has been slow to evolve. That is not so much the case anymore. The question is not if manufacturers will change, but how they’ll thread the needle to create a balance that ensures workforce stability. Read Article
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Innovative Ways to Connect to Future Employees |
IndustryWeek - Adrienne Selko
Employee resources groups, online tours, and targeted information build a strong foundation to attract workers.
A meeting of the minds is a good place to start when trying to attract future workers into your company. But that is often harder than it sounds given that many times the desires of the workers aren’t aligned with a company’s culture. And it’s not a matter of ignoring the needs of the other, but more likely a matter of not knowing what is important to the other.
A good example is data from Tallo, a talent development platform, which examined the needs and wants of the youngest generation of workers, referred to as Gen Z. (In an attempt to stop the practice of labeling an entire generation with specific characteristics, we will use the term youngest workers.) Their recent survey showed that 78% of this group expects their future employer to offer employee resource groups (ERG). And yet 35% of the companies that they are working for do not have these groups. Read Article
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Environmental, Health & Safety News |
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New Mask Mandates Cause Confusion |
EHS Today - David Sparkman
Attorneys attempt to sort this latest COVID-19 mess out for employers.
How volatile is the government response to COVID-19? From the moment we began assembling the materials for writing this article till now, strongly worded recommendations and enforceable restrictions have abruptly changed and almost completely altered from what they were only days earlier.
To make situation even more disruptive, both state and local standards now being dictated also vary wildly, creating confusion and inspiring widespread popular anger. This is especially the case because the same officials—starting with President Biden and stretching on down through the federal bureaucratic ranks—had adamantly declared that no one would need to wear a mask anymore following their full vaccination. Read Article
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Empathic Leadership and the Three-Term Contingency |
EHS Today - E. Scott Geller
Safety leaders should take time to understand somebody’s perspective before giving direction, advice, or support.
Four different leadership styles or approaches to optimize desirable behavior and attitude vary as a function of the amount of direction and motivation needed. These distinctions connect directly to the three-term contingency of behavior-based safety—the activator-behavior-consequence (ABC) foundation of applied behavioral science (ABS).
Activators precede behavior and provide direction through written or verbal prompts, reminders, or instructions. Consequences motivate the recurrence of a desirable behavior with genuine recognition, appreciation, or gratitude for the performance of that behavior. ABS researchers and practitioners use the terms behavioral directive or feedforward, and behavioral support or feedback for activators and consequences, respectively. Read Article
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Researchers Probe the Connection Between Sleep, Dementia and Death |
EHS Today - Nicole Stempak
A recent study underscores the importance of rest for our overall functioning and well-being.
If you aren’t prioritizing your sleep, you need to start.
Too little sleep has more of an impact on you than meaning you have to increase your caffeine intake the next day. It could make a difference in your mental health, mental faculties and ultimately your life.
And unfortunately, too many Americans aren’t getting enough sleep. One in three Americans don’t get the recommended seven or more hours of sleep each night, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read Article
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OSHA Updates Guidance on Preventing Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace |
EHS Today - Staff
OSHA continues to emphasize that vaccination is the optimal step to protect workers and encourages employers to engage with workers and their representatives to implement multi-layered approaches to protect unvaccinated or at-risk workers from the virus.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued on August 13 updated guidance to help employers protect workers from the coronavirus. Read Article
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DOJ & HHS Issue Long COVID Guidance |
EHS Today - David Sparkman
The civil rights offices of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have issued a joint guidance for employers regarding workers with Long COVID—defined as COVID-19 symptoms that persist for months, and perhaps longer.
In addition to the guidance, the document provides resources for additional information and best practices. This document focuses solely on Long COVID, and does not address when COVID-19 may meet the legal definition of disability, DOJ and HHS said. Read Article
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Having trouble finding, selecting, training and keeping the skilled workers you need? Are your employee turnover costs a concern?
Let's start with what we already know:
- Classes alone will not train workers to perform your tasks...
- Quality Control policies and Process Documents are not a substitute for task training...
- Putting 2 people together and hoping for the best is not a training strategy...
- Wishing and hoping won't develop the skilled workers you need...
The cost of one worker malperformance or one worker's under-capacity or under-performance - due to lack of proper training - can more than justify the investment to train all your workers properly!
AND, unstructured, uncontrolled, undocumented task training is going on all day, every day. But if you cannot explain the process, you surely cannot measure and improve it.
Proactive Technologies's approach to structured on-the-job training takes place where, and while, the work is performed. You need no additional staff and structured on-the-job training does not interrupt your work schedule like unstructured, haphazard and ad hoc training or classroom learning does.
You probably have most of the pieces are already in place; they just need structure around them to make the training experience work for everyone through the accelerated transfer of expertise™.
As part of every project, Proactive Technologies provides the support to set-up, implement, manage, document and revise the worker development system so you can stay focused on business.
Copyright © 2019-21 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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EMPLOYERS!
If your organization sees training as a cost, not as an investment, maybe you should consider another approach!
- Cuts the employer's internal costs of training;
- Lowers the costs associated with turnover;
- Drives new-hires and incumbent workers to "full job mastery;"
- Increases worker capacity, work quality, productivity and compliance (ISO/AS/TS training and records requirement, engineering specifications and safety mandates);
- Creates framework for cross-training, retraining and worker certification;
- Establishes the framework for employer specific/job-specific apprenticeships and internships - registered or not;
- Builds career development tracks and succession plans for hourly (and salary) workers;
- Ensures the increased and maintained "Return on Worker investment" through any type of change...
ALL OF THIS FROM ONE APPROACH!
This structured on-the-job training is performed where, and while, the work takes place!
You need no additional staff, and this will not disrupt your work schedule or burden your existing staff!
If your firm is partnered with local career and technical educational institutions, use of shared employer's equipment, facilities and paid wages of trainer(s) and trainee(s) are attractive match for potential grant assistance.
for more information.
Copyright © 2019-21 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Copyright © 1988 - 2021 Proactive Technologies, Inc.TM
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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