1. Washington State Centers of Excellence: A Vital Strategic Asset
A Centralia College Partnership
Washington State Centers of Excellence: A Vital Strategic Asset
U.S. Department of Labor
TAACCCT Round 4 Convening
September 26, 2017

2. Panelists
Barbara Hins-Turner, Executive Director, Center of Excellence for Clean Energy, Centralia College
Maria Gingerich, Senior Manager, Third Sector Intelligence, Inc.
A Centralia College Partnership

3. Session Description
The sector based Centers of Excellence model in Washington State has helped land nearly $75,000,000 in grants including two DOL TAACCCT statewide consortium grants.
The model has brought together a multi-sector cluster approach that supports employer engagement, preparation for jobs of the future and economic development for our state. 
We will demonstrate the toolkit developed through WISE grant evaluation to measure the impact of the grant on participant employment and how this contributes to sustainability of grant investments.   

4. Centers of Excellence History
Each Center focuses on a targeted industry that drives the state’s economy
Codified into state legislation
State Board for Community and Technical Colleges selected 10 colleges to serve as Centers of Excellence

5. Celebrating 12 Years Vision Mission Become national model to
develop partnerships:
Business
Industry
Education
Organized labor
Workforce system
Economic development
Liaison between partners and
the state’s education system to:
Drive the economy
Create highly skilled workforce
Provide consistent curriculum
Meet industry needs
Provide state-wide
coordination

6. Washington’s Centers of Excellence
Aerospace & Advanced Materials Manufacturing
Agriculture
Allied Health
Careers in Education
Clean Energy
Construction
Global Trade & Supply Chain Management
Homeland Security & Emergency Mgmt.
Information & Computing Technology
Marine Manufacturing & Technology

7. Core Expectation #3:
Education, Innovation, and Efficiency: Leverage resources and educational partnerships to create efficiencies and support development of curriculum and innovative delivery of educational strategies to build a diverse and competitive workforce.

8. Provides for Sustainability Beyond the Life of the Grant
WA Centers of Excellence – Industry Engagement Model Platform for Attracting/Managing Grant Funding
Provides for Sustainability Beyond the Life of the Grant
WISE (Washington Integrated Sector Employment) TAACCCT Round 4 This $9,994,854 project brings together the clean energy, advanced manufacturing and construction sectors to prepare participants for employment in entry level, pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship occupations. It addresses the unique needs of unemployed, or under-employed dislocated workers, using innovative and sophisticated strategies.
A Centralia College Partnership

9. Core Expectation #4:
Workforce Supply and Demand Focus: Research, analyze, and disseminate information related to training capacity, skill gaps, trends, and best practices within each industry sector to support a viable new and incumbent workforce.

10. The goal of the evaluation is to develop a consistent, meaningful way to assess program effectiveness
Program evaluation is designed and executed in partnership with a program’s leadership
A strong evaluation will be formative as well as summative – i.e., will influence program leadership throughout the grant as well as report on outcomes
The WISE evaluation has two key components: process evaluation and outcomes evaluation
The evaluation will help WISE leaders better serve participants and support employers with prepared employees

11. The evaluation is conducted using a set of tools
2015
2016
2017
2018
Process Evaluation
Goal
Measure program implementation
Outcomes Evaluation
Measure program impact
Key tools
Annual target setting process
Quarterly dashboard
Employment predictive modeling
Survey results
Navigator impact analysis
Comparison cohort quasi- experimental impact analysis

12. Evaluation Tools: Annual target setting process1
Renton Technical College
Cumulative Participants Actuals vs. Targets (Q5)
Targets also allow us to:
Provide input to grant leadership on whether the grant is on-track to meet DOL goals
Benchmark performance at various levels of granularity (program, college, grant)
Identify opportunities to provide support or shift resources to improve performance

13. Evaluation Tools: Quarterly Dashboard2
A quarterly Tableau dashboard is our on- going and primary measurement tool

14. Evaluation Tools: Employment Prediction3
Significant Explanatory Variables
Total Credentials
Quarters in WISE
Race – White, Asian
Gender – Male
College – Walla Walla
Program (Com Building Eng, Major Appliance, Energy Systems Program)

15. Evaluation Tools: Surveys4
**ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY**
Student, Employer and Faculty surveys will allow us to triangulate on outcomes and better understand employer perception of how WISE is contributing to hiring and retaining qualified workers

16. Evaluation Tools: Comparison Groups6
DOL requires a quasi-experimental design to better understand the TAACCCT program impact, by using two similar groups we can attribute a difference in outcomes to the one thing that is different between them – the WISE program
Treatment Group
Comparison Group
South Seattle Community College Manufacturing Academy Participated in WISE
Dedicated Navigator
Other WISE contributions
Bates Technical College Manufacturing Academy did not participate in WISE but is similar to the treatment group in other meaningful ways (curriculum, student recruitment and background)
Some general college navigation but no dedicated Navigator

17. 21st Century Skilled Workforce
How do we recruit, train, and retain them?

18. Thank you! WISE http://cleanenergyexcellence.org/projects
Washington Centers of Excellence
Thank you!
This workforce product was funded by a grant in the amount of $9,994,854, representing approximately 56% of program costs, awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. This product was created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. Department of Labor make no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. WISE is led by Centralia College and the Center of Excellence for Clean Energy in partnership with the Centers of Excellence for Aerospace & Advanced Manufacturing and Construction. Centralia College is an equal opportunity employer/program and auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.