Northwest PA Workforce Development Network

The Northwest PA Electronic Manufacturing Service Provider Industry Partnership was established as a communication/collaboration medium for the industry across the 14 counties of the Northwest, North Central and West Central Workforce Investment Boards. The partnership expanded its mission to become the leading resource for the transition to environmentally conscious manufacturing for the electronics industry across the Commonwealth following the directive released by the European Union (EU) that mandated companies doing business in the EU must comply with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Restriction of Hazardous Substance (RoHS) rulings. The partnership sponsored five regional employer workshops aimed at educating companies on environmental legislation requirements and possible implications. The sessions also educated participating companies on available resources to aid in their transition to compliance. 128 EMS-related companies participated in a RoHS “Risk Assessment” survey to identify awareness and readiness for environmental compliance, invite participation in Industry Partnership workshops and recruit Industry Partnership membership. The Northwest PA Industrial Resource Center also completed 21 in-depth needs assessments for employee training with participating companies. The EMS IP has successfully embraced their goal of positioning the partnership as a statewide resource for environmentally conscious manufacturing. The partnership has delivered 6 webinars related to various pertinent topics in the area of environmental legislation and compliance. The webinars garnered participation from every Local Workforce Investment Area in the Commonwealth, with over 350 individual participants. The webinars are recorded and archived on the EMS IP website where they can be continually accessed. In the 14 county region, over 850 incumbent workers were trained in techniques that comply with RoHS and WEEE directives, allowing area businesses to continue to do business in the European Union.