OPINION|
The new school year starts this month in the Springfield region with wonderful opportunities for businesses to develop future employees through existing youth advanced educational programs.
Today’s employers are forward-thinking, hiring employees for today while developing the landscape for the future. National best practices recognize we need to start exploring career options with youth as early as sixth grade. By the time students are in high school, most have decided on a career path.
The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce is helping employers connect seventh and eighth grade students through their “Students Go to Work” program.
The Chamber will facilitate “Students Go to Work” events Oct. 24-25 around southwest Missouri. These events provide employers an opportunity to connect career paths now to develop talent specific for a business need in the future. The goal is to introduce seventh and eighth grade students to high-demand careers, to capture their imagination and spark their passion. Students learn about specific businesses/industries and get hands-on experience.
These opportunities can leave the students thinking about careers they could have in the future. Earlier this year, the Chamber hosted this event with participation from over 2,000 area students. The students engaged with business, municipal government, community technical centers and universities. The program is a collaboration with Missouri State University’s Agency for Teaching, Leading and Learning and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. For businesses interested in the program, please contact the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.
Some other programs I’ve written about previously are worth sharing again. Springfield Public Schools (SPS) continues to stay on the cutting edge with various community partnerships for 11th and 12th grade students. One of these programs is the Chamber’s Greater Ozarks Centers for Advanced Professional Studies (GOCAPS) program. GOCAPS provides expansive course work to students for: Medicine & Health care, Business & Entrepreneurship and Engineering & Manufacturing. GOCAPS instructors use project-based learning strategies through collaborations with business and community partners to develop skills for high-demand jobs. Students explore their passions and develop professional skills, which makes them ideal for paid internship and registered youth paid apprenticeship programs.
OTC Middle College good option for high school students in unique circumstances
SPS partners with many business and higher education establishments to meet industry needs while developing students for career paths. Through community partnerships the student’s and the employer’s needs can be combined to recruit, hire and retain well-qualified employees. Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) has a middle college program designed to train, develop and provide professionalized certifications for students in support of their future career opportunities. The OTC Middle College program is a scholarship-based program provided by different school districts in Missouri and OTC. Students receive free college tuition, textbooks, and other services when they are admitted and enrolled in the program. All SPS students are eligible to enroll, and outlying area schools can request to be considered and should contact their school counselor. OTC has several other programs geared towards adult learners’ success in college as well.
The OTC Middle College program is designed for students with unique life circumstances to attend college with flexible hours to complete their course of study. Students attend high school full time on the OTC campus while taking college courses during their high school junior and senior years. Students explore a variety of careers and technical fields like culinary arts, computer science, graphic design, and much more. The students become very employable with their developed academic and social skills, which are part of the OTC Middle College curriculum.
OTC also partners with rootEd Alliance — rootEd Alliance is a collaborative philanthropic effort dedicated to clearing a path for students in rural America to have a stronger future. OTC works with rootEd Alliance to assist students in rural areas purse and complete postsecondary education. The program covers assistance with two-year and four- year institutions, technical schools and the military, with all options preparing students for the workforce. OTC established a persistence and navigation program for students in the rootEd program to have a dedicated contact person while in the program. These programs include collaborations with employers.
Apprenticeships and other opportunities
The Chamber continues to work with employers to learn more about Missouri’s Registered Youth Apprenticeship Program. This program allows students from across the state to participate in a structured program combined with school-based and work-based learning. The exciting part of this program is the dual role — students prepare for careers while providing Missouri with highly skilled workers in a technology competitive workforce. The benefit for students includes development of essential skills with experience for a future full-time career. The program combines high school curriculum with hands-on training from a local employer and the student earns a paycheck!
Educators benefit from the program because they are preparing the next generation of workers by partnering with local businesses. For businesses, they develop students now, so they are well-trained to join their company upon graduation. Businesses can hire students aged 16 and 17 for these programs.
These are just a few options to consider as businesses prepare for future talent needs. The talent could be right here in the community.
