Fearless Futures: Students get glimpse of local career opportunities
To read complete article: https://www.reformer.com/local-news/fearless-futures-students-get-glimpse-of-local-career-opportunities/article_93b0033c-e908-11ed-adc0-5f0689d9b998.html
WHITINGHAM — Students interacted with dozens of local employers and gained skills needed for landing jobs during the Fearless Futures Summit hosted at Twin Valley Middle High School on Tuesday.
“I think it’s great,” said Ariel Bronson, a freshman at Twin Valley. “This is offering a lot of opportunities.”
Bronson said the event provided some ideas for career options in the future, including criminal justice and psychology. The Brattleboro Retreat, a mental health and addictions hospital, spurred his interest at the summit.
“At our age, we don’t always think about what we want to do and who we might to work with,” Bronson said. “This is just fantastic.”
Christy Betit, Pipelines and Pathways program manager at Brattleboro Development Credit Corp., said the event is intended to “highlight all of the possible post secondary pathways that kids can pursue.” She noted how GS Precision offers a program for employees to earn an engineering degree at no cost.
“We’re trying to let them know that there’s things like AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, that they can think about later,” she said. “The military pathway can be right for some.”
Betit said her group tries to bring in a wide array of businesses from different sectors including the arts, medical and manufacturing, where there are opportunities for high wages and growth. She pointed out job readiness stations at the summit involve creating “an elevator pitch” and business cards.
Before the event, students were asked to develop questions for employers. They wrote the answers down in a “passport” document.
“So they have to have a meaningful interaction with the businesses by asking the question and getting an answer, and then they get a stamp,” Betit said. “So it’s not just like going around gathering candy.”
Students picked out five employers they think are most interesting and then one that they think is boring. Betit said she designed the program that way so students keep an open mind.
Bella Bowen, a sophomore at Leland & Gray Union Middle and High School in Townshend, said the summit is good for looking at opportunities for jobs after college or for the summer. She showed interest in the Brattleboro Food Co-op and one of the schools presenting at the fair.
Mary Kate Simpson, librarian at Twin Valley, snapped headshots for students as part of a resume-building package. At the time of the interview, she estimated about half of the students weren’t so comfortable having such a formal photograph taken of themselves.
“I think it will become an annual tradition,” she said of the summit, seeing potential for students to become more involved. “So far, so good. It seems like a good start.”
Betit estimated more than 50 presenters and more than 200 students from Twin Valley and Leland & Gray attended the summit. Another one will be hosted June 6 in Bellows Falls for students from the public high schools in Bellows Falls and Brattleboro.
“It’s a good turnout,” Wilmington Town Manager Scott Tucker said.
Wilmington Fire Chief Scott Moore had given out applications for junior firefighter positions.
“They’re asking good questions,” he said of the students.
Angelo Moultair, assistant vice president and branch manager at M&T Bank in Wilmington, called the event “a good experiment.” He found students wanted to know what his day was like, how they should go about establishing credit and how they could apply for a job.
“I would say this has been a really big success,” he said. Students “took advantage of the moment.”
Julie Koehler, owner of Beaver Brook Children’s School, said her group is trying to get students interested in a career in the child care field.
“I’m so impressed,” said Cindy Hayford, a presenter for Wings Community Programs. “They’re coming up. They’re saying their names. They’re shaking your hand and introducing themselves. They’re asking really insightful questions.”
Hayford noted Wings has job opportunities for youth. She said there’s a lot of interest among students at the event.
About Pipelines & Pathways
BDCC’s Pipelines and Pathways Program (P3) provides employment oriented career-planning for the region’s high school students. It brings training in 21st Century skills, work-based learning, and personal learning plan (PLP) engagement opportunities to all four public high schools in Windham County. The program assists in developing workforce-oriented curricula, expanding classroom relationships, and growing work-based learning through opportunities with local employers. It also supports teachers working face to face with students to implement personal learning plans and seize the myriad opportunities presented by Vermont’s Flexible Pathways Initiative under Act 77. Pipelines & Pathways is a BDCC Workforce Center of Excellence program based on SeVEDS strategies to increase the size and quality of the workforce. For more information please visit https://brattleborodevelopment.com/workforce/
Funding for P3 is provided by M&T Bank, the McClure Foundation,Vermont Community Foundation, the Windham County Economic Development Program, the George W. Mergens Foundation, Chroma Technology in Bellows Falls and the West River Education District.
