The Power Transmission Distributors Assn. saw a strong turnout at its Industry Summit, held in Las Vegas in mid-October. A total of 831 members turned out for the annual meeting, a 23 percent increase over last year. Particularly significant was the 26 percent rise in the number of distributors who attended the event.

High on the meeting's agenda was updating members on the association's workforce development project, the Industrial Careers Pathway.

Together with 22 industry associations and one regional development organization, PTDA is working with community colleges and technical schools in the United States and Canada to create certificate and associate degree programs in industrial distribution. To date, programs are underway in Cleveland, Detroit and Omaha, and partnerships have been formed with schools in greater Philadelphia, Orlando, the Twin Cities, Toronto and Vancouver.

The ICP is funded and developed by the PTDA Foundation, the association's education arm. It's designed to create affordable, industry-specific resources for employee training and to serve as a source for developing new talent for the industry, according to PTDA.

In a presentation to members at the Summit, Foundation president Penny Omnes said the group had raised nearly $163,000 this year, a 42 percent increase in contributions compared to last year. The ICP is the Foundation's core initiative.

The next step is to help distributors and manufacturers work with local schools and employers to develop additional programs, Omnes said. The Foundation is working on the Industrial Careers Pathway Implementation Toolkit, which is a manual to be used by those interested in introducing ICP at schools in their communities. The Toolkit will be released early next year.

In addition, a grant on behalf of the Foundation has been submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor to underwrite and substantially expand the ICP initiative. Omnes said the DOL plans to host a series of Web-based seminars to introduce ICP to a national audience of workforce development agencies and help connect employers to available workforce funds.

Further DOL support is under consideration, according to PTDA.

Also during the Summit, Andy Nations, president of Bearing & Drives Inc., was elected the association's 2006 president. Other officers include: Jeff Pickelman of Northern Industrial Supply, first vice president ; John Masek of Bearing Service Inc., second vice president; and Kevin McCloskey of the Dodge-Newark Supply Co., treasurer. Rick White of Flexible Steel Lacing Co. was elected manufacturer council chair, and John Stewart of Duff-Norton was elected manufacturing council vice chair.