CAREER READINESS:
Business Information
In Fairfield County and across the United States, the workforce is challenged by a skills shortage, an aging workforce, and a slow-growing labor force, all of which negatively impact employee recruitment and retention.
More than 800 students that graduate high school in Fairfield County each year do not immediately attend college. To fill the workforce gap, the Fairfield 33 Alliance and the Fairfield County Educational Service Center created the Fairfield County Career Readiness Program with input from local businesses and schools. The Career Readiness Program provides relevant workplace skills and essential trainings that prepare students to be professionally competitive and to connect students to local employers directly out of high school. Our Career Navigators, Mary Rawlins and Karie Stone, help coordinate the program and meet with students to help them achieve the endorsement.
As the program continues to grow, the Fairfield County Economic and Workforce Development department have created a more structured and uniform process for the program that aligns as a pathway to graduation. Last year, 162 students received the Career Readiness Endorsement, an increase of 230% from the 2018-19 school year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, our Career Navigators worked to help the students finish the endorsement requirements remotely. We were unable to host an on-site Career Expo for students to attend; instead, we created a virtual expo with 36 businesses, 6 county/city agencies, and 5 college/career training programs.
Looking forward, we need your participation for this program to be even more successful. We ask that you support the students in some of the following areas, which will help prepare students for success and hopefully find you a future employee:
• Presentation to classes providing an overview of your industry’s career opportunities (at schools or virtually/recorded)
• Organized tour of your business (on-site or virtually/recorded)
• Mock interviews (at schools or virtually)
• Attending the Career Expo in April
• Participation in our Career Signing Day event in May/June
• Participation on an advisory board for the program
We are eager to find placement for students passionate about pursuing their career paths. Please complete the following commitment form, indicating in which activities you are willing to assist.
Thank you for your support in making Fairfield County a great place to work.
More than 800 students that graduate high school in Fairfield County each year do not immediately attend college. To fill the workforce gap, the Fairfield 33 Alliance and the Fairfield County Educational Service Center created the Fairfield County Career Readiness Program with input from local businesses and schools. The Career Readiness Program provides relevant workplace skills and essential trainings that prepare students to be professionally competitive and to connect students to local employers directly out of high school. Our Career Navigators, Mary Rawlins and Karie Stone, help coordinate the program and meet with students to help them achieve the endorsement.
As the program continues to grow, the Fairfield County Economic and Workforce Development department have created a more structured and uniform process for the program that aligns as a pathway to graduation. Last year, 162 students received the Career Readiness Endorsement, an increase of 230% from the 2018-19 school year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, our Career Navigators worked to help the students finish the endorsement requirements remotely. We were unable to host an on-site Career Expo for students to attend; instead, we created a virtual expo with 36 businesses, 6 county/city agencies, and 5 college/career training programs.
Looking forward, we need your participation for this program to be even more successful. We ask that you support the students in some of the following areas, which will help prepare students for success and hopefully find you a future employee:
• Presentation to classes providing an overview of your industry’s career opportunities (at schools or virtually/recorded)
• Organized tour of your business (on-site or virtually/recorded)
• Mock interviews (at schools or virtually)
• Attending the Career Expo in April
• Participation in our Career Signing Day event in May/June
• Participation on an advisory board for the program
We are eager to find placement for students passionate about pursuing their career paths. Please complete the following commitment form, indicating in which activities you are willing to assist.
Thank you for your support in making Fairfield County a great place to work.
