P3 Pivot! Career Classes in the Time of COVID19
The Pipelines and Pathways Program (P3) was gearing up for a busy 2020 spring packed full of employer speaker panels, mock interviews, worksite tours, career expos, our annual Sophomore Summit, and so much more. Then our plans, along with the entire world as we know it, came to a screeching halt. Schools were busy managing core class content, decelerated by foreseeable student social emotional learning challenges, and technology snafus. To continue to support our schools, P3 had to pivot.
P3 provided work-based learning coordinators with written lesson plans, supporting worksheets and materials. But a request from Vermont Technical College to provide a virtual Introduction to Resume Writing workshop for their Licensed Nursing Assistant program hit the perfect sweet spot for P3 innovation and online learning.
Alex Beck, Workforce and Education Specialist and Christy Betit, Pipelines and Pathways Coordinator, created a resume writing workshop that focuses not only on basic content, but also on tips real hiring managers recommend. On average, HR professionals only look at a resume for a total of 6 seconds! This would make anyone feel discouraged. But P3 helps empower students, providing concrete and proven techniques to help them stand out from the competition and snag that interview.
After the initial workshop, Alex and Christy followed up with a Q&A session via Zoom. Students were prepared with a wide range of astute questions pertaining to their resumes as well as best practices for a successful interview, how to control their online footprint, and how to negotiate their salary once they receive a job offer. Several students commented that they felt more confident about and prepared to take on the challenges of their job search. Following the Q&A, students were invited to send their resumes for one-on-one feedback and coaching sessions.
This workshop, designed with the entry-level graduate in mind, will be made available to Windham County students when P3 kicks off the 2020/21 school year. We look forward to creating even more virtual career education tools that will help us reach every student and prepare them for quality jobs in high wage/high growth careers.
Funding for P3 is provided by the McClure Foundation, Vermont Training Program, Vermont Community Foundation, the Windham County Economic Development Program, Thompson Trust, People’s United Bank, and the Whitney Blake Company in Bellows Falls.
About Pipelines & Pathways
The 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 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/
