When Partner4Work, one of Pennsylvania’s 22 Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs), plans its second Career Ready Allegheny conference, it hopes to bring more employers to the table.
“I think we’d like a much larger presence, and that’s something that was communicated from attendees—that they would love to talk with more businesses and employers,” said Jennifer Peedin, Program Manager II, School Age Youth.
This year’s inaugural event–Career Ready Allegheny: Building Equitable Pathways, which was held in partnership with the Consortium—took place Tuesday, February 11, and gave attendees an opportunity to visit with nine employer representatives at a vendor fair. Vendor fair participants included: Allegheny Health Network, Allegheny Intermediate Unit, CareerLink, Catalyst Connection, Green Building Alliance, Mascaro Construction, STEM Coding Lab, and UPMC.
The primary objectives of the first event, however, were to create learning and networking opportunities for K-12 educators and service providers and to bring visibility to the Career Ready Allegheny website. Partner4Work launched the site to give businesses, schools, and others interested in connecting youth with career learning experiences a forum where they can find resources, post opportunities, and engage.
The February conference amply fulfilled its initial goals, according to attendees. Among other ways, the event offered 12 different breakout sessions where participants could delve into topics ranging from Elementary Future Readiness and Growing the Next Generation of Healthcare Workers to Redefining Vocational Learning and Preparing Youth with Disabilities for the Workforce.
“It was helpful to learn what schools are doing to connect students to post-high school opportunities,” said United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania Manager, Building for Success in School & Life, Damon Bethea. “It was also nice to hear there’s a desire to start working with students earlier to get them on pathways, and that college isn’t [viewed as] the only option.”
“I really enjoyed all the sharing of ideas,” said Commonwealth Charter Academy’s Senior Vice President for K-12 Career Readiness, Stephanie Hunter, EdD, NCC.
Like Bethea, Hunter found the Consortium’s breakout on elementary career learning especially beneficial.
“I was really impressed with the session,” she said. “Elementary is kind of the biggest struggle,” she added, noting that the breakout covered ways to meet state standards that make sense for the youngest students.
