CONVENER

Uniting Stakeholders to Solve the Problem

CSI needed skilled people, and was having difficulty recruiting them. The company reached out to similar businesses in the area (Tamco Steel, Schlosser Forge, Steelscape, Stockmar Industrial and S&D Specialties) and found that all of them were facing shortages of skilled craftspeople. Led by CSI, these six industry leaders decided to invest in their current employees by offering interested employees free job training that would equip them to work at a higher skill level.

In 2000 and 2001, Barbara Halsey was the business services manager of the San Bernardino County Workforce Development Department. She was actively looking for ways to for the WDD to engage with various industry issues, and found the manufacturing sector represented a critical part of the county's workforce and economic health. When Ms. Halsey got word of the needs of the steel companies, led by CSI, she knew the next step was to involve area community colleges. Led by CSI and Ms. Halsey, the six industry leaders met with Chaffey Community College and San Bernardino Valley Community College to co-create a cost-effective curriculum tailored to meet industry training needs.