Aspire Johnson County’s efforts to create workforce connections between local employers and students are seeing great success.
Now these efforts are being temporarily boosted by an educator-led outreach team before grant funding runs out.
For the last few years, the county-wide chamber of commerce and state-designated economic development organization for Johnson County has worked to improve connections between local employers and schools. These efforts led to the formation of the Aspire School to Work program, which is designed to grow work-based learning opportunities for students across the region, giving them exposure to potential career paths while also helping businesses shape the next generation of talent. As a result of this, the hope is that both internship and apprenticeship placements will increase.
The School to Work program has been going great, said Amanda Rubadue, vice president of economic development for Aspire. Through the program, Aspire officials have led teacher field trips to employers, held skilled trade showcases, facilitated work-study programs, hosted Career Discovery meetings with students and provided connections to employers for students in line with new diploma requirements.
The outreach team is both an extension and an expansion of these efforts. The new initiative equips local educators to serve as advocates for the School to Work program, helping connect employers with schools and promote meaningful work-based learning opportunities for students, chamber officials say.
“I’m happy to have teachers and school counselors in the community speaking with employers about getting involved in Aspire’s School to Work efforts,” said Jennifer Hollingshead, Aspire’s School to Work specialist, in an announcement on the team. “I think it will be impactful for employers to hear first-hand how students and teachers have benefited and to learn more about getting involved.”
Four local teachers and guidance counselors have been contracted by Aspire to meet with employers, share information about the School to Work program and provide them with opportunities to get involved with students and develop the workforce pipeline in not only Johnson County, but also southern Marion County, Rubadue said.
Through Aspire’s own efforts, they have 80 employers from various fields taking part in the program, showing students different opportunities. The involvement ranges from minimal investment to opportunities that are more intensive, like apprenticeships or internships, she said.
With the outreach team, the hope is that the four advocates will be able to bring in new employers or encourage current participants to increase involvement, Rubadue said.
“Maybe they started out and just did a classroom presentation or participated in a mock interview,” she said. “We would love to have them come alongside us and participate in the Career Discovery meetings, or maybe do a job shadow for a student now that they now that they see the benefits and being able to invest in our workforce pipeline."
Aspire officials chose to have educators make up the team because of their unique perspectives. They’ve been able to see the impact the program can have on students, and with the new diploma requirements, they’re the ones who bear the responsibility of ensuring students comply, she said.
“They just have that unique perspective and just a passion for their students,” Rubadue said. “And so really getting them in front of our employers has been very impactful.”
The outreach team is temporary, however. Their work is being funded through an intermediary capacity-building grant Aspire received last year from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. The intermediaries were required to use the grant to increase their capacity to strengthen connections between students and schools with employers.
This grant expires at the end of this month, Rubadue said.
“We’ve got a finite amount of time, so this is just for that short amount of time to be able to connect with our employers,” she said.
So far, the response from employers has been excellent. The teachers and guidance counselors have really enjoyed taking part, Rubadue said.
“It’s a departure from their normal day-to-day with the schools,” she said. “I think it’s just been very interesting for them to get into employers and to learn about their businesses and also be able to to chat with them.”
While the outreach team is time-limited, the initiative is part of a broader marketing strategy to connect with more employers and make sure they’re aware of the different opportunities. Aspire is looking for businesses of all types — from industrial to culinary, from hospitality to attorneys and from professional services to entrepreneurship opportunities,” Rubadue said.
“We want to do all the things and be able to put those career paths in front of our students so that they can see just the breadth of careers that we have available here in Johnson County,” Rubadue said.