OK-CC Industry Relations Director Attends AGC Committee Meeting

On January 18 Wade Vakulick, Industry Relations Director for the Oklahoma College of Construction (OKCC) and Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) Workforce Development Committee Member, recently attended the committee’s winter meeting in San Diego, California. The purpose of the Workforce Development Committee according to AGC of America’s website is “to foster, promote, develop and implement policies, procedures and programs in such manner as to develop an adequate supply of qualified workers in the most expeditious, economical and practicable manner.”

Some of the topics discussed by the committee in their business meeting were AGC sponsored Career Academies, NCCER activities and updates, the latest AGC craft worker compensation report, the US Dept. of Labor draft competency model, and the training initiatives of the San Diego Chapter of the AGC. The committee also heard reports on the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training efforts of the Laborers, Operating Engineers, Cement Masons, and Carpenters Unions.

The group also had the opportunity to tour the AGC San Diego chapter’s facilities and hold a joint meeting with the AGC of America Construction Education Committee. The committee toured the San Diego Unified School District’s Kearny High Complex. Kearny High is home to an AGC sponsored Construction Tech Academy. The academy teaches high school students in a construction career related forum, preparing them for either a vocation in the construction industry or college. One hundred percent of the Construction Tech Academy’s graduates proceed on to post secondary education.

Oklahoma College of Construction Becomes NUCA’s First Oklahoma Training Center

The Oklahoma College of Construction (OKCC) is now Oklahoma’s first, and currently only, National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) authorized training center for competent person training in trenching and shoring. We are proud to promote trench safety here in Oklahoma and around the nation. With an estimated 10 to 15 deaths per year in each state in trenching accidents, and with OSHA now requiring a competent person to be on-site whenever excavating, there is now a nationally recognized training center in the heart of Oklahoma and the nation.

Troy Rouse, director of corporate training and an instructor, got the ball rolling on this a few months ago. Previous to Troy’s work here at the OKCC, he started his own training company in Michigan and managed it for 10 years. During this time Troy served on the Michigan OSHA Advisory board and became a member of NUCA. He is also certified as an OSHA Construction Outreach Trainer and as a Trench and Shoring Competent Persons Instructor for NUCA.

When Troy started working here 5 months ago, he realized that there was no NUCA training center for trenching and shoring in Oklahoma. Having extensive knowledge and experience with NUCA training programs, he brought up the idea and possibility for the OKCC to become the first training center for NUCA in Oklahoma. Campus President Jerry McGinnis agreed that his was a valuable opportunity for the college. After months of working out the details things finally went through, and now everything is set in place. A big thanks to Troy for taking the initiative and getting things worked out with NUCA.

In addition to his previous work in Michigan, Troy also served as a heavy combat engineer for the U.S. Army and was employed in Iraq as a Heavy Equipment Trainer. He is also a certified NCCER instructor in heavy equipment operation.

NAHETS Introduces iPod, “An Instructor in a Pocket,” for Heavy Equipment Training

The National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools (NAHETS) is introducing a new training tool for heavy equipment operators called, “An instructor in a pocket.” This method of training allows NAHETS heavy equipment students to receive instruction in video format via Apple iPods. The iPods will be used at the Oklahoma College of Construction (OKCC), as well as all NAHETS member schools.

Purpose. The purpose behind this training tool is to provide students with a visual learning resource to help them better remember their tasks and ultimately increase performance on heavy equipment operation. The iPod training tool (a.k.a. “an instructor in a pocket”) will ensure NAHETS students are beyond the curve in technology and learning resources for heavy equipment operation instruction.

Content. The iPod videos will have a series for each type of heavy equipment at the school. Currently, the skid steer series is available, with more to come. On each video series, an instructor takes the student through basic and advanced drills to show students what training objectives they need to complete and how to complete them.

Origin. The “instructor in a pocket” idea originally came from Matt Klabacka, executive director of NAHETS, and Rhett Nielson, media and creative director. They discovered the idea as they were working together with Chris Cannon, director of training and curriculum development, in implementing the Yellow Metal Boot Camp Program, unique to the construction and heavy equipment industry. They envisioned heavy equipment training beyond the traditional textbook, class room, and on-site instruction . . .

Yellow Metal Boot Camp Program. Yellow Metal Boot Camp is the “technology meets heavy equipment operating” curriculum created and implemented by NAHETS:

• Manuals
• DVDs
• Drill cards
• Online “hot tips” videos
• iPod podcast videos

The iPod training tool focuses on the “read, see, and do” NAHETS Yellow Metal Boot Camp philosophy of construction equipment training:

• “Read” it and forget it (textbooks, etc.)
• “See” it and remember it (iPod videos)
• “Do” it and understand (on-site heavy equipment)

iPod Details. Each student who enrolls with any of the NAHETS schools will receive a 4 GB Video iPod Nano. Students are told how to access the private URL links that give them the location of the podcasts to download onto their iPods. Students will use campus computers to download everything into iTunes and then sync onto their iPods. The students can frequently use these videos while attending NAHETS schools and also watch them in the future as they begin new jobs or need to brush up on certain skills. In other words, the “instructor in a pocket” provides a lifetime of instruction.