Greensburg, PA - The Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette, Inc. (PIC), the Western Pennsylvania Operating Engineers Joint Apprenticeship and Training Program (WPOEJATP), and Lyceum Group today announced an innovative partnership designed to assist WPOEJATP in identifying candidates who are most likely to succeed in the organization's apprenticeship program and who are suitable for training/employment.

Both PIC and Lyceum Group provide various aptitude and skill assessments that can aid employers in making staffing decisions. These assessments will be used by the Western Pennsylvania Operating Engineers Joint Apprenticeship Training Program to evaluate over 750 potential Operating Engineer apprentices and over 100 potential Heavy Equipment Mechanic Technician apprentices between February 20 and March 2, 2007. All assessments will be administered by PIC staff at its corporate office in Greensburg, PA.

This partnership is a unique opportunity for PIC and Lyceum to work together toward common workforce development goals. The information gained from the assessments will not only help WPOEJATP in the initial selection decision, but will provide information to allow for effective ongoing management and coaching by training providers, instructors, and supervisors.

After a referral from Bill Thompson (Executive Director of the Westmoreland/Fayette Workforce Investment Board), Terri Campbell (Vice President of Operations for PIC) and Dave Rea (Senior Consultant for Lyceum Group) worked with Steve Columbus (Administrative Manager for WPOEJATP) to analyze jobs, identify critical job skills and aptitudes, and customize the assessment process.

PIC will administer the System for Assessment and Group Evaluation (SAGE), a comprehensive assessment system that is available in both a computerized and a manual version, and is administered by PIC at multiple locations. The SAGE is made up of 19 individual assessments with categories that include cognitive and conceptual abilities, vocational aptitudes, and additional units such as temperament factors, vocational interest, work attitude and ethic, and learning style. Potential apprentices will take the vocational aptitude inventory assessments of Finger Dexterity, Form Perception, and Eye/Hand/Foot Coordination, as well as a Work Attitudes Inventory.

Lyceum Group will provide the WorkKeys Assessment, a job skills assessment system measuring "real world" skills that employers believe are critical to job success. WorkKeys, licensed by ACT, includes assessments in communication, problem solving, and interpersonal skills. Prospective WPOEJATP apprentices will take the problem solving assessments of Applied Mathematics, Observation, Locating Information, and a Mechanical Aptitude Assessment.

The Western Pennsylvania Operating Engineers Joint Apprenticeship and Training Program is a non-profit educational training program organized for the purpose of providing qualified Heavy Equipment Operators and Mechanic Technicians to employers in the construction industry by utilizing two related but separate apprenticeship courses: a Heavy Equipment Operator course and a Heavy Equipment Mechanic Technician course.(www.wpaoperators.org)

Lyceum Group is a Pittsburgh-based workforce development consulting firm that creates and implements innovative solutions to workforce issues faced by employers, school districts, community-based organizations, post-secondary training providers, and Workforce Investment Boards in southwestern Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and across the United States.(www.lyceumgroup.com)

The Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette, Inc. (PIC), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, that operates employment, education, and training programs in Westmoreland and Fayette Counties. From its inception in 1983, PIC has provided services to over 50,000 families and individuals. PIC has strategically-located offices throughout both counties to assist children, youth, families, adults, dislocated workers, and the economically disadvantaged in attaining educational achievement, supporting their family growth, and obtaining and retaining employment.(www.privateindustrycouncil.com)