Academy for Career Excellence (ACE) college and career prep programs for high schools and ATCs

ACE ACADEMY for CAREER EXCELLENCE

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educator We live at an exciting time for our region‟s youth. Employers throughout our ten-county region tell us they face a current and future shortage of qualified workers to replace retiring employees in jobs that pay well above the minimum wage.

Many of the jobs in demand today have starting wages that will support a family with full healthcare and other benefits.

The employers who have these high-quality-of-life jobs available, however, seek young people who are truly careerready, reliable, and energetic about work.

Employers value the skills that our Area Technology Centers are teaching students. But getting the best jobs in-demand today requires students and future employees develop great “soft skills” like the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, interviewing and problem-solving skills and more. The purpose of the Academy for Career Excellence (ACE) is to combine the BRADD Workforce Investment Board‟s successful Teacher Academy program (click to view video) with your strengths and new career preparation resources to serve your students.

Your students will benefit directly from the ACE sessions and curriculum described in this brochure. Working together, the skills you have taught students can and will be put to work in our region‟s economy.

We invite your school‟s participation with us at this exciting time for careers in South Central Kentucky.

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view Monster.Com’s Making Your Future Count September 24 and 25 at the WKU Carol Knicely Center Monthly Workshops Each 90-minute workshop will focus on one of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens as well as students learning, practicing and applying career driven activities.

Junior Achievement By partnering with Junior Achievement (JA), the Academy for Career Excellence (ACE) will cover additional topics that directly relate to seeking and gaining future employment.

Homework Challenge Each Month Students will practice what they have learned in the ACE workshops. Each month students who have completed the assignments will be eligible for a special drawing and prize.

Industry/Education Site Visits BRADD and JA will coordinate employer site visits for all students and teachers who participate in ACE Workshops.

The visits are hosted by industries and businesses in the 10 county region that BRADD serves. Transportation costs for your school will be reimbursed by BRADD.

Parent Engagement The program will include a parentâ€&#x;s night in August to give them awareness of careers and scholarship opportunities for their children.

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big ACE/Making Your Future Count Kick-Off Celebration September 24 and 25, 2014 Carol Knicely Center Western Kentucky University From 1998 to 2013, Monster.Com‟s Making It Count programs reached more than 25 million youth through live presentations in high schools and colleges throughout the country.

Through targeted messaging and engaging content, Monster‟s trained speakers empower youth to make informed choices about their future and inspire action.

Although Monster.com‟s original MIC is no longer on tour, Monster.Com‟s Making Your Future Count is designed to be a more flexible and responsive solution to support skill development, career exploration, and to help young people from all backgrounds make the most of their educational experiences and set the stage for ACE workshops throughout the school year.

Transportation costs for your school will be reimbursed by BRADD.

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habits Each month‟s ACE workshop is “framed” by one of Sean Covey‟s 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, (CLICK HERE) based on Dr. Stephen Covey‟s international best-selling management book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Students will learn how to achieve personal independence by mastering the first three habits: Being Proactive, Beginning With The End in Mind, and Putting First Things First.

Students will discover how putting the first three foundational habits into practice opens the opportunity for effective teamwork and rewarding interdependence in the succeeding habits: Think Win-Win, Seek First to Understand (Then to be understood), and Synergize.

The seventh habit, Sharpen the Saw, emphasizes personal health and well-being, through positive outlets such as physical fitness and reading for enjoyment.

BRADD is partnering with the FranklinCovey organization to deliver this exciting curriculum throughout the ACE workshop series.

October

September 24 & 25 WKU Carol Knicely Center

ACE Kick-Off: Monster.Comâ€&#x;s Making Your Future Count

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Be Proactive: Taking Responsibility for your life. Being proactive is more than taking initiative. It is accepting responsibility for our own behavior (past, present and future) and making choices based on principles and values rather than on moods or circumstances. Proactive people are agents of change and choose not to be victims, to be reactive, or to blame others. They take an Inside-Outside Approach to creating changes.

Discover Who You Are and Define Where You Want To Go: This segment will help students understand how learning more about themselves and their personality strengths can assist them in defining the path they wish to follow towards future success and the importance of defining long-term goals and how to achieve them.

Goals & Attitude: Will focus on how to set goals – long and short term with activities that directly apply the practice. Also assessing our attitudes, and becoming more positive and professional. We will practice and apply positive thinking, losing negative words, pondering the positive, and learning how to make a positive impact.

workshops November

December

Begin With The End In Mind: „Control Your Own Destiny, or Someone Else Will‟ – Defining your mission and goals in life.

All things are created twice – first mentally, second physically. Individuals, families, teams, and organizations shape their own future by creating a mental vision and purpose for any project. They don‟t just live day to day without a clear purpose in mind. They mentally identify and commit themselves to the principles, values, relationships and purposes that matter most to them.

Put First Things First: Prioritize and do the most important things first. Putting first things first is the second or physical creation. It is organizing and executing around mental creation (your purpose, vision, values, and most important priorities.) The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

Identify & Build The Skills Needed To Succeed: Students will learn about the various skills they will need to possess in order to be successful in their future career.

Make Yourself Heard! Professional Communication Skills: Self assessment – Communication Mistakes. Learn the 6 actions for effective communication.

Build Your Money Management Skills: We will cover topics that help students understand how to develop effective money management skills that will empower them to achieve financial independence.

Keys To Self Management – Managing Your Time and Yourself! Students will learn the skills to prioritize their work, tasks, and schedules. They will understand setting deadlines, being punctual, responsible and how important accountability is in everything they do.

November/December Site Visit and Tour for Students/Teachers

January

February

Think Win Win: Have an everyone-canwin attitude. Thinking win-win is a frame of mind and heart that seeks mutual benefit and is based on mutual respect in all interactions. It‟s not about thinking selfishly (win-lose) or like a martyr (losewin). In our work and family life, members think interdependently-- in terms of “we,” not “me.” Thinking win-win encourages conflict resolution and helps individuals seek mutually beneficial solutions. It‟s sharing information, power, recognition, and rewards.

Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood: Listen to people sincerely.

When we listen with the intent to understand others, rather than with the intent to reply, we begin true communication and relationship building.

Seeking to understand takes kindness; seeking to be understood takes courage.

Effectiveness lies in balancing the two.

Respecting Diversity in the Workplace: Students will understand the importance of recognizing diversity in their lives and how to respect diversity in the workplace.

Teamwork & Motivation: Collaboration with other students, teams and family members. Students will learn to apply skills that help them keep commitments, communicate constructively, listen more actively, take initiative and share openly and willingly and know how to put aside differences to complete tasks and goals.

Resolving Conflict: Students will learn how to identify and resolve conflicts in personal, professional and academic environments.

Play Nice & Stay Employed! Workplace Relationships & Conflict Negotiations: Are you a hero or a zero when building relationships? Students will practice and apply skills to master an executive presence with their colleagues and managers alike.

February/March Site Visit and Tour for Students/Teachers

March

April

Synergize: Work together to achieve more. Synergy is about producing a third alternative – not my way, not your way, but a third way that is better than either of us would have come up with individually.

Synergistic teams and families thrive on individual strengths. They go for creative cooperation.

Sharpen The Saw: Renew yourself regularly. Sharpening the saw is about constantly renewing ourselves in the four basic areas of life: Physical, social/emotional, mental and spiritual. It‟s the habit that increases our capacity to live all the other habits of effectiveness.

Identify & Build the Skills Needed to Succeed: Students will learn about the various skills they will need to possess in order to be successful in their future career.

Lead with Integrity! Leadership and Ethics – Students will learn and practice lessons on leadership, ethics, and the power of teamwork. They will understand what traits make a leader a leader. Also, applying the skills that track these achievements and to know how to practice thoughtful awareness.

Discover Who You Are: This will help students understand and learn more about themselves and their personality strengths and can assist them in defining the path they wish to follow towards future success.

The Perfect Match: Students will review the 7 steps to getting hired and succeed and analyze job-hunting skills. They then participate in mock interviews to prepare for the job shadow challenge at the site visit. When returning from the visit, students will reflect what they have learned before and during the site visit, and they will practice business communication by composing a thank-you note. They then create one of four career-preparation tools; a career assessment, elevator pitch, resume‟ or infographic profile.

job Seeing is believing. Our regionâ€&#x;s employers open their doors to your students through exciting and informative student tours and site visits. Many of these employer-partners also participate in the ACE mock interview sessions held toward the end of the workshop series. ACE participants will visit many of our regionâ€&#x;s top employers to see for themselves what a modern manufacturing career is all about.

site visits JA Job Shadow™ Preparing for the Site Visit: The site visit introduces students to the workplace and to the career opportunities available to them. Although the product developed or service provided differs from business to business, many companies provide similar career opportunities. For example, public relations firms, government agencies, and biotechnology firms all need accountants, project managers, and writers. The JA Job Shadow site visit experience inspires students to learn and demonstrate the basic skills that will make them valuable assets to any employer.

Teacher Academy: (For all teachers, guidance counselors and parents) The Teacher Academy is where we bring all educators together to provide overview, input, get feedback, look at reflective questions regarding the goals of the program and workshops and evaluate the program for improvements. We also will divide into groups and take teacher/parent tours of industries and businesses to allow you to see first hand all the opportunities that manufacturing facilities can provide for your students/children.

Professional Development Credits may apply depending on your district.

more IC3

WIN & NCRC

BRADD offers job seekers of all ages the Internet and Computing Core Certification, or “IC3”

ACE participants will use BRADD‟s licenses for WIN, (Worldwide Interactive Network) to practice and pass the WorkKeys NCRC exam.

The IC3 is a valued credential that tells a prospective employer that an applicant has strong competence in most office software functions, including internet and networking literacy.

If your school would like to become a BRADD-designated IC3 training site, check the box for IC3 on the school confirmation page.

The NCRC (National Career Readiness Certificate) is widely recognized by employers as evidence that an applicant has grasped basic workplace skills such as reading for information, applied math, and locating information independently.

If your school would like to become a BRADD-designated WIN NCRC test prep site, check the box for WIN on the school confirmation page.

InterviewStream BRADD makes getting job interview practice just a click away. ACE participants will learn how to use this valuable tool and “ace� their first job interviews.

resources Youth criteria Certain criteria should be met for students to participate in BRADD Youth programs. Please contact our staff for application process.

There will be limited space available for each school.

CareerScope The CareerScope assessment tools offered through BRADD, help students sift through the myriad of career choices confronting them. Through the CareerScope assessment, users discover the types of jobs that will excite them and best-utilize their skills and abilities.

confir ACE workshops and other certification programs may be limited to 30 student seniors per school.

To begin, simply print and complete the following page and email or fax it to Jennifer Rogers: jennifer@bradd.org fax: (270) 842-0768 To register your school for ACE using our online system, click HERE.

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YES: My school will participate in the BRADD Academy for Career Excellence (ACE).

1) The best date for our ACE Parent’s Night is: August ______, 2014 at ___ PM 2) The best day of the week for holding our schoolâ€&#x;s monthly 90minute ACE Workshops will be: _____________

Mornings at: ____ AM

(Mon-Fri)

_____________

Afternoons at: ____ PM

(Mon-Fri) (Except for: _____________________________________ ) indicate if necessary

3) We will send our students to the Monster.Com Making It Count Kick-Off Event at The Knicely Center ____ On September 24, 2014 (number)

____ On September 25, 2014 (number)

Name of School: ____________________________________ Principal: ____________________________________ Contact Info: ____________________________________ (phone number)

(email address)

My school is interested in becoming a BRADD-designated WIN (NCRC test preparation) site. Please contact me with the details.

My school is interested in becoming a BRADD-designated IC3 training site. Please contact me with the details.

EMAIL or FAX (270) 842-0768 this page to jennifer@bradd.org

bradd Barren River Area Development District

177 Graham Avenue Bowling Green, KY 42101 (270) 781-2381