Owners and managers of woodworking businesses challenged by a low number of job applicants and/or high employee turnover rate are encouraged to attend free College of Woodworking Knowledge seminar sessions featuring the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America at the AWFS Fair, July 17-20 in Las Vegas.

The WCA is scheduled to participate in a pair of free seminars of the fair’s Culture & Workforce Track and one free seminar in the Teacher track.  The sessions include:

WCA – WIIFM: What’s In It For Me?
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 17
Presenter: Patrick Molzahn, director of Cabinetmaking & Millwork, Madison College and secretary of the WCA
Whether you are in education or in industry, this session will provide ideas that you can use to implement the Woodwork Career Alliance credentialing system to create and manage a training program in your school or business. The presenter, who has used the WCA Skill Standards to shape his curriculum, will demonstrate how to improve your training program and discuss how members can take advantage of the WCA’s online library of videos, educational materials and other training resources to help you accomplish your goals faster and better.

Finding, Training and Retaining Workers
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Thursday, July 18
Presenter: Patrick Molzahn, director of Cabinetmaking & Millwork, Madison College and secretary of the WCA
Where are all the workers? If only I could find someone with skills. These millennials just don’t have the work ethic we expect. Does this sound familiar? In a tight labor market, you need to get creative. This seminar will provide strategies to overcome many of the challenges you face recruiting and retaining quality employees.

Building a Training Program for Your Workers
3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday, July 19
Presenters: Scott Nelson, president of the WCA & Patrick Molzahn, director of Cabinetmaking & Millwork, Madison College and secretary of the WCA
Are you looking to create you own in-house training program? This ‘nuts & bolts’ session will show you how to get started and how you can access ready-made resources to make the job easier. The presenters will discuss how to assess new candidates on layout and measurement and how to customize your training template. Come to this session to learn:

• How to access quality training resources;
• How to develop and structure a training plan – including creating a template; and
• The benefits of doing in-house training.

In addition to those three free seminars, instructors of two WCA EDUcation™ institutions will present sessions in the Teacher track. John Stearns of the MiLL is scheduled to talk on Classroom Tool Safety, Teacher Curriculum and Resources, and How to Get Money for Your Program & Spend It Wisely. Mark Smith of Reed Cutler High School will discuss AutoCAD for the Woodworking Program and Marketing Your Program: How to Get Started.
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To learn more and register for AWFS Fair seminars, visit awfsfair.org. 

​ShopBot announces the launch of its Subscription CNC program, emphasizing a simple, straightforward service that makes it easy to put a ShopBot CNC tool to work for your business. For one monthly payment, Subscribers can put a Handibot® Smart Power Tool, ShopBot Desktop, ShopBot Desktop MAX, or ShopBot Buddy® tool into production and access ShopBot’s world-class team of trainers, web training resources, and in-house support. There are no shipping fees and no cancellation fees. Subscription terms start with a minimum three-month commitment.
 
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Subscribers will be shipped new or ‘good-as-new’ tools. ShopBot will continuously refurbish and recycle tools within the program and after these tools become heavily used, they will be offered to communities in need. Prolonging the life-cycle of products is the best way to get a full life out of all the things we make.

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ABOUT SHOPBOT
ShopBot Tools celebrated its 20th year in 2016 and continues to live their mission of making digital fabrication tools widely accessible and user-friendly. ShopBot's CNC routers deliver the power, precision, and reliability of tools traditionally costing thousands of dollars more.
    
ShopBot is one of the largest producers of digital fabrication equipment for small-to-mid sized manufacturing, DIY, and education markets. The company also provides unparalleled support for its user community with forums, production support services, and specialized training classes. All ShopBot tools are designed, built in, and supported from ShopBot’s Durham, NC headquarters.