Business Engagement in Supporting the Education Pipeline

How have you nurtured you business relationships to benefit the workplace learning of your students?  

What benefits have been derived from you industry/business partnerships?

Have you used business partners in unique ways not discussed in the webinar?  What are they?

Comments

Hi all,

Miami-Dade County Public Schools has started a baking program for adult students with disabilities. At this point VR is the primary supplier of students. We have had significant support from business in terms of assistance with instructional design of both curriculum and classroom. We have some commitments for mentoring and work experience for students who will need additional practice using their work behaviors as well as technical skills before job placement. At least one of our industry partners currently runs a significant k-12 work experience program in our State. We recruited students from that program as well as other work experience programs in the  district. We feel that connection has given our students some prior knowledge in terms of what is expected in a work training environment. For students who may not have had as much exposure to the world of work as their peers, it has been priceless. Connecting with the combo of VR and our k-12 work experience programs has given adult vocational Ed the potential to develop a viable pathway to employment for students not usually served in traditional adult vocational Ed. We hope the partnerships in the program change our students traditional work experiences of seasonal often very limited hourly work. 

Hi Lynn and Robin...I love this example in Miami-Dade -- non traditional approach to career pathways -- I think one of the keys here is the engagement of business in developing and sustaining the program. This way, they have a "hand it its operation" and can see their future employees. I remember being at a DOL Supply and Demand meeting around employment of people with disabilities and employers were adamant that they did not want transition professionals, VR, and other workforce development staff knocking on their door to say "hire this person". What employers wanted was tangible evidence regarding how a particular employee could contribute to the economic and social well-being of an organization. The model of baking can be useful for other industries - just as a way to build capacity across other sectors! Thanks for sharing!

Judy

Hi Judy,

I agree, business wants tangible skills and contributions from all employees. There is a level of flexibility in Florida Curriculum Frameworks that allows customization of curriculum for some students with disabilities. It is up to the individual districts running the course to design and maintain rigor and marketability of the program. Some previous design thoughts were to take the extensive automotive programs and create, what we humorously called "jiffylube" U and "head chef helper" from the culinary curriculum. Both programs were literally based on feed back from our professional instructors and advisory boards. If designed correctly, for some, these programs can supply not only needed entry level employment but the foundation for success in standard post-secondary ed..