RICK FOGARTY

More and more training is (being done) with virtual classrooms.

FOCUS ON EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND EDUCATION

October 23, 2009 www.centralpennbusiness.com

Page 27
Next week: Health care update YORK COUNTY

In brief

REGION

ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICES JOBS IN PENNSYLVANIA

280,000 270,000 260,000 250,000 240,000 Aug. 2008 July 2009 Aug. 2009

Six Sigma training evolves in region

BY JESSICA BAIR
jessicab@journalpub.com

EMPLOYMENT SERVICES JOBS IN PENNSYLVANIA

100,000 95,000 90,000 85,000 80,000 75,000 70,000 65,000

Aug. 2008 July 2009 Aug. 2009

EDUCATIONAL SERVICES JOBS IN PENNSYLVANIA

205,000 203,000 201,000 199,000 197,000 195,000 Aug. 2008 July 2009 Aug. 2009

Cross-training workers improves productivity, but it can be difficult for some companies
BY JIM T. RYAN | jimr@journalpub.com

JOB JUGGLE
training can help an employee advance and improve the company, sometimes there isnt enough time, money or willing employees to follow through, some executives said. please see JUGGLE, page 22

PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL SERVICES JOBS IN PENNSYLVANIA

320,000 315,000 310,000 305,000 300,000 Aug. 2008 July 2009 Aug. 2009

Theres a thin line between improving worker productivity and reality. Such is the case with cross-training workers in multiple aspects of a business, executives said. Although

The practice of Six Sigma quality management is not novel in the business world. But the way companies and individuals receive training on the technique has begun to change. Six Sigma can help a company refine a business process to make it Smeltzer more predictable, said Michael Smeltzer, executive director of the Manufacturers Association of South Central Pennsylvania. It is a tool that firms can use to improve the quality of their products by identifying problems and reducing the potential for mistakes, he said. York College of Pennsylvania responded to the ever-increasing popularity of Six Sigma last year by beginning to offer full courses on the specialty within its Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. I think whats cool about what York College is doing is theyre embedding it into their MBA program, Smeltzer said. Often today, Six Sigma training occurs after someone is on the job. What York College is doing is the absolute right thing to do. It just makes perfect sense. The topic has been touched on within graduate courses over the years, but semester-long discussions of lean operations practices is new, said Eric

please see SIGMA, page 23

SOCIAL ASSISTANCE JOBS IN PENNSYLVANIA

155,000 153,000 151,000 149,000 147,000 145,000 Aug. 2008 July 2009 Aug. 2009

Work force training programs cope with cuts in state support

BY JOEL BERG
Contributing Writer
Sales are down. Profits are flat. But companies still need employees who keep their skills sharp. So, for the most part, local companies appear to be persisting in their efforts to train and educate workers, according to local leaders in work force development. The biggest challenge is finding money, particularly as the state shaves its share of the funding. The cost of training often is shared among companies and the government, said John Lloyd, president and chief executive officer of York-based Mantec, a nonprofit that offers advice to manufacturers. Companies are ready and anxious to train their employees, Lloyd said. However, they need support and assistance in retraining the work force, and unfortunately, with the state budget crisis, training programs are going to be cut dramatically going forward. The news could have been worse for job trainers. Some budget proposals would have completely eliminated state money for training programs, said

REGION

SOURCE: PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR & INDUSTRY

please see PROGRAMS, page 24

22

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October 23, 2009

READERS GUIDE JUGGLE: Cross-training improved firms productivity

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Its usually worth the effort to cross-train employees, said Mary Ann Stoltzfus, owner and vice president of operations for Dutchland Inc., a Sadsbury Township, Lancaster County-based company that makes precast and poured concrete structures such as holding tanks for sewage treatment facilities. Cross-training solved a productivity problem for Dutchland after the company found many employees were disconnected from the projects their precast parts went into, Stoltzfus said. Although those workers are an important part of the process, they rarely got to see or take part in the construction of the finished structure, she said. People need to see a beginning and an end to their work, Stoltzfus said. Since Dutchland makes custom concrete structures, its not the same as counting widgets at a factory, she said. For Dutchland, needing fewer employees to finish a project is a good measure of better productivity it means there are more people to start the next one, she said. After learning the additional skills, employees were happier and more interested in their work, too, she said. New workers integrated into a team faster because they had more people

People need to see a beginning and an end to their work.

Mary Ann Stoltzfus, Dutchland Inc.
around them versed in every aspect of a job, she said. (Cross-training) helped me realize Ive been wrong for 10 years, Stoltzfus said. Cross-training employees is a matter of necessity for many small companies. If a business has fewer than 10 employees, then teaching each as much as possible about their coworkers jobs can keep things moving when the company has to deal with lifes curve balls, said Bob Gallagher, owner of Palmyra, Lebanon County-based Gallagher Printing Inc. If someone gets sick, that job still has to be done, he said. If someone goes on vacation, you cant shut down for that week. Its a concern for Gallagher Printing

because it employs only six people, he said. When each employee knows more than their own job, it makes everyone more productive and prevents lost time, he said. I think it makes the employee more valuable, too, he said. Workers who learn new skills are able to adapt to new technologies, he said. That flexibility helps a company to adapt, he said. There is a risk that more skilled employees will look for greener pastures, but its a risk Gallagher is willing to take, he said. You cant prevent every good employee from moving on, he said. Gallagher said he knows of at least four former employees who started printing companies and now compete with him for business. But hes unconcerned about it, he said. Some people say, If you teach them all that, then theyre going to leave for a better job, Gallagher said. I say, More power to them. If you can do better than our little printing company after we train you, thats OK. Although cross-training employees is good for business, sometimes its not easy, said Glenn Eyster Jr., president of Shrewsbury, York County-based Eysters Machine and Wire Products Inc. The company manufactures custom parts for a variety of industrial

applications and machines. That type of work requires that machines be frequently reset for new jobs, Eyster said. When youre changing the machines so often, its difficult to train someone on a new machine, he said. Someone else will always have to set it up first. Theres also the issue of time; training takes a lot of it, he said. If a companys bottom line is stressed by economic conditions, it needs every employee working on the vital tasks, he said. That leaves less time to train. More importantly, sometimes workers dont have the drive to learn new jobs, machines and skills, Eyster said. Its kind of up to the individual. If theres someone who wants to advance, well take that person and train them, he said. The person that is happy on one machine and doesnt want to learn, eventually you have to lay them off. Employees who last are the ones willing to learn, he said. Good companies nurture that, he said. You accommodate those people because it makes them happy, Eyster said, and ultimately it gives you a better work force. <

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