Preparing Our Emerging Workforce
Having gotten to a partial solution too quickly in this process of addressing the prompt of (paraphrased) schools are not preparing students for the workplace, I zoomed back out to look at the project more conceptually. Wrapped up in the details and specifics was a kernel of an idea: a multi-faceted and self-contained resource that would come to a high school campus and could build from the in-school internship-type experiences of the school newspaper and yearbook staffs which help those students prepare for the working world. Employers and school counselors agree that exposure to the real world in the form of internships greatly improves a student’s knowledge of and preparation for the workplace.
What can we do for the students who are not getting that preparation?
Recently, I spoke with two 17-year olds working at Der Wienerschnitzel a few weeks ago. One is a senior and the other had dropped out of high school. Both were working 32 hours per week. They said they had filled out “tons of applications,” but that this was the only place that had responded. I couldn’t help but wonder what is the future path of each of these young workers and how might things be better?
As evidenced by the high school internship opportunities that exist, employers support mentoring emerging youth workers. Most internships are only offered in the summer and many are unpaid and scattered around town. Others are out of the state or area. Many educators and employers express concern that internships tend to draw those students who have family, financial, and transportation resources. This leaves out a wide swath of students who could also benefit from an internship experience.
A counselor at a Title 1 school in Austin said that they have difficulty getting the community involved and that as a Title 1 campus, they always have issues about financial considerations. A Title 1 school is identified as one whose student body is made up of at least 40% enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program. At these schools, many of the students have a job to help their family meet basic expenses, help with younger siblings in place of a parent, and/or may be helping support one or more children of their own.
Currently within Austin Independent School district, nearly half of the high schools qualify as Title 1 schools, however, these are the smallest campuses in the district. Since all of the schools serve these students, the larger campuses have a smaller percentage, anything below 40%, and cannot be identified as Title 1.
Proposed solution
A self-contained, workspace, along the lines of the mobile classroom model, would come to the high school campus, providing an on-campus internship opportunity. This workspace would include a mentor teacher/job coach, computer workstations, printers, and other necessary equipment and supplies available to support the participating employer who would bring work in the form of a project or other tasks for the student interns to perform. This work will cultivate team work, organization, technology, deadline, and problem-solving skills. The students will also experience the needs and expectations of workplace culture.
This would serve employers, by preparing tomorrow’s workforce and serve students wanting to improve their future by providing paid internship opportunities on-campus during the school day. The mobile unit would be available to student interns during their available class period in the school day and the duration of each could range up to a six week commitment, depending on the specifics of each internship. A mobile mentor/teacher would always accompany the workspace to a school and act as a co-worker with the participating employer, mentoring students beyond the specifics of the work project.
Participating employers and sponsors will have their branding included in all touchpoints during their internship program period. Different branding sponsorship packages would also be available.
Online toolkits and online communication with the employer would supplement the on-site arrangement. Additionally, guest presentations by young entrepreneurs and young people who have successfully navigated the transition from school to work are part of the program. Over time the workspace will become a clearinghouse for internship and job opportunities for high school students.
Value Proposition
This workshop will provide students who want to get started working and earning money, but who have limited support, transportation, or understanding about their options, on-campus access to paid internship jobs, the opportunity to explore and experience a variety of industries, connections to potential employers, and the mentorship to develop workplace skills and confidence to make the most of their current or future work experiences.
Other internships
A variety of internship opportunities are available for high school students, especially within city/county and various state government offices. These vary. Some being unpaid, part-time, paid, full-time, a few weeks in the summer, or the whole summer. These also vary by accessibility — some being on a regular bus line, others are not.
Organizations in town, like the new initiative between IBM and Connally High School, PflugervilleISD, have created short-term partnerships with specific schools to provide a specialized program for highly qualified students. Other businesses and organizations provide internships for current college students or for those who are college-bound.
Opportunity
A variation on PfISD/IBM’s successful project could be developed between IBM and our workshop, by providing a space for the IBM staff to spend volunteer hours bringing a short-term project for students to experience ideation and design thinking. However, while the Connally High School type of collaboration is worthy of aspiring to and can be among our long-term goals, we see our opportunity is to initially help the non-specialized student who needs general preparation for the workplace; for those students who are not planning to enroll in any further education. We can help our students who will be paraprofessionals and those working in trades or food-service, etc. to make the most of their jobs by helping them develop the skills and the resultant confidence, as well as providing exposure to potential industries and jobs, that can ignite further aspiration.
Forecasting
Forecasts of industries and jobs that are expected to grow will be included in the planning for our business partnerships. Many reports indicate the healthcare and computer science fields will continue to expand and have a high demand for workers. Additionally, market analysis, management, cleanroom, event planning, digital media, design in industry, construction, biotechnology, and law will also see increased growth, among others. Along with these fields are also administrative and human resources that would continue. All of these have myriad organizations and potential projects that can be brought to the students.
Customer Segments
The workshop will serve three customer groups.
Students: Beginning initially with seniors at only one Title 1 high school in one school district, the workshop would involve those students who want to get started working and earning money, but who have limited support, transportation, or understanding about their options. Overtime this service would expand to hopefully include juniors and possibly sophomores. The workshop would expand beyond Title 1 schools and beyond the public school system.
Businesses and organizations: These would include high-tech companies, governmental offices, as well as other small and large businesses. Some may already offer a formal internship of some kinds to high school students. Others may not have provided anything to high school students previously.
School(s) and school district(s): The model depends on the willingness of the school(s)/district(s) to allow a vehicle to park on the campus and to allow the students to participate in the workshop during school hours as well as their buy-in on the value of the internship experience, skills building, and workplace preparation for their students.
Competitive Forces
Potential partner possibilities exist for getting and retrofitting a bus and potential partner possibilities for the acquisition of computer equipment. The costs of these is significant and necessary for the launch of the workshop. Successful recruitment of business partners and students and the endorsement by the school/ district are also large factors that are necessary.
Currently there is no internship experience available for high school students on their campuses. Other internships do exist and other jobs with more hours per week also pose a potential threat to the involvement of the students.
The workshop would be funded by sponsorships, including the mentor/teacher, operating expenses, etc. Student interns would be paid by the participating employer of the particular internship. Each participating employer and sponsor would have their branding featured prominently on the bus, website, and all other touchpoints.
Growth
Beginning initially with seniors at only one Title 1 high school in one school district, the workshop would serve those students who want to get started working and earning money, but who have limited support, transportation, or understanding about their options. Overtime this service would expand to hopefully include juniors and possibly sophomores in Title 1 and others in the public school system. The workshop would expand beyond the public school system to include charter and private schools.
Ideally the on-campus high school internship/business partnership workshop that empowers emerging workers would become integrated into the education system, extending the project-based, experiential and applied learning models that schools are embracing, and more importantly, become a mindset for students, families, and the business community overall.
