Career Connected Learning Happenings Across the Region

Published On: March 19th, 2022|Categories: News|
Career Connected Learning Happenings Across the Region

Career Connected Learning Happenings Across the Region

Did you know North Central ESD serves as the regional co-lead for Career Connect Washington? Our team works with schools and employers across the region to give meaningful, real-world experiences to students of all ages. Keep reading to learn more about some of the initiatives the NCESD Career Connected Learning team has worked on this school year.

If you want to learn about how we can support your district, school, and students, please reach out to Sue Kane.

MVP Series

Community-based organizations are a vital part of ensuring that there are equitable opportunities for youth to participate in Career Connected Learning. Common barriers like transportation, mentorship, or basic resources are quite familiar to educators and support staff who are doing their best to connect students with these opportunities, but connections to community resources and organizations who can help are sometimes more limited.

That’s why we launched the NCW MVP Series, a podcast-style weekly introduction to a community partner who offers services that can support youth and extend career-connected learning services and programs farther across the region.

You can watch recordings of these interviews anytime via our Youtube channel:

Regional Agriculture Forum

Regional employment data for North Central Washington highlights the top sectors in North Central Washington have remained relatively steady over the last decade and even though the pandemic. Agriculture, Healthcare, Local Government, Retail Trade, and Hospitality hold the greatest majority of the jobs in the region; however, within those sectors, the types of jobs and their respective career paths have changed over time. That is particularly true in agriculture.

In February, our Career Connected Learning team worked in partnership with our regional CTE program directors, school counselors, teachers and advisors to host a regional event focused on the great variety of careers in agriculture. The Youth Ag Forum was a virtual event, hosted regionally through a live stream on February 3rd. The Career Connected Learning team worked with area schools to stream the live event in classrooms and libraries across the region.

“I thought the forum was a great way to have a lot of people who entered the agriculture industry in their own way talk about how they got where they are today and talk about what they do,” Chelan High School student, Cassandra S., shared. “I think that appeals to a lot of young people who are still deciding what they want to do with their lives.”

More than 500 students, educators, and community members learned more about careers in agriculture by watching the discussion live or on-demand afterwards. Watch the discussion now on Youtube!

Industry Connection Partnerships

The Summit (Moses Lake School District)

When Joy McClennon, the program lead for Moses Lake School District’s transitional support program called The Summit, reached out looking for connections to employers who might be willing to work with students and consider how their different abilities might align with role-specific skills, our team knew exactly who to call: Chemi-con, a site host for the AJAC Youth Apprenticeship program.

Human Resources Director, Stela Herschkel, stopped by for a visit to The Summit to meet with students and share information about the company and open operator positions. This kind of introduction provides a low-risk and highly controlled environment for students to engage with potential employers. Students are able to ask questions and articulate some of the things they have been working on to prepare for future career success.

After this introduction, our team stepped in to coordinate a site visit for the students. The tour was a success and a few students were interested in applying for employment with Chemi-con. The Summit will continue to support students with their applications and transition plans and our team will be here to offer support.

Careers After School (Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce)

This year, our career connected learning team continued to partner with Wenatchee Valley Chamber to bring Careers After School events to students in Chelan and Douglas counties. These events provide opportunities for students and their support networks to discover occupations and training pathways. Held on-site at local businesses, students engage directly with businesses and industry partners while doing hands-on activities. Careers After School events are free to attend and open to 6-12 grade students, parents, educators, and school support staff.

Events during the 2021-22 school year:

  • Wenatchee Police Department
  • Microbiologist & Medical Lab Tech – Confluence Health
  • Cardiology – Confluence Health
  • Chelan Douglas County Fire
  • Water Treatment – Alcoa
  • Graphic Design & Print Shop – Chelan County PUD
  • Carpentry – Building NCW & Gold Construction
  • Fish & Wildlife – Chelan County PUD
  • Video Production – Voortex Productions
  • Municipal Court – City of East Wenatchee

Career Expo & Youth Employment Summit

This year, we provided two interactive, virtual opportunities for students to engage directly with employers across the region.

Geographic Reach of College & Career Expo
Blue dots on the map above indicate the locations provided by participants.

Virtual College and Career Expo & Conference

In November, we hosted the Virtual College and Career Expo & Conference which provided a free opportunity for nearly 800 high school and college students to connect with incredible regional college and career opportunities.

The event included presentations from experts ranging in topic from financial aid, apprenticeship, resume building, and interviewing tips. In addition, there were more than 100 regional businesses, educational institutions, training programs, and student support service organizations in the “exhibit hall” where students could connect with representatives via text-based chat.

Youth Employment Summit (YES!)

In March, we hosted the Youth Employment Summit which was designed to connect students with regional employers who are actively hiring youth ages 14+. During the event, nearly 100 youth were able to learn about over 15 businesses and organizations, meet with representatives to learn more about current job opportunities, and even submit a resume and apply for the job!

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Career Connected Learning Happenings Across the Region

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