Work-Based Learning is an Employer's Gift to Their Future Self

BY BRYAN HORSEY

WHAT’S THAT EXPRESSION you hear so often—build the future you wish to live in?

That’s the power of work-based learning for employers. When you offer work-based educational experiences to college and high school students, you are engaging with your future workforce. It provides a rare opportunity to shape your employees by getting to know them early; generating excitement about career paths in your field; and starting to build foundational skills so when the students are hired a couple years later, they are ready to be effective and impactful to your organization.

But employers have a lot going on right now—and frankly, many are overwhelmed by staffing shortages and navigating an unpredictable marketplace. Engaging a future workforce at any level can feel unrealistic when the present is so demanding. Even if there are significant long-term benefits in the balance.

That’s where the Delaware Office of Work-Based Learning comes in.

Our office is the state-designated intermediary to support and grow work-based learning in Delaware to aid in securing the state’s economic future. Here’s how it works:

First, we consult with Delaware educators to understand student needs. Some student needs are very straightforward, like opportunities to participate in mock job interviews or learn about new career pathways through the personal stories of industry professionals and workplace tours. Other needs are more involved, such as receiving outside professional mentoring with a school-based, industry-led project or the participating in a multiweek immersive internship or pre-apprenticeship.

Once the needs are identified, we partner with employers and community-based organizations to design work-based learning opportunities that teach the essential hard and soft skills young people need to secure jobs in high-demand fields. Sometimes this is straightforward, like lining up speakers for school-based career days or evaluators for students’ industry projects. In other instances, our office helps employers build comprehensive, unique internship programs that attract young applicants and establish an employee pipeline for their human resources department.

Lastly, we serve as a matchmaker—connecting Delaware students to employers. There truly is meaningful opportunity for employers to engage with students at any level. And we are committed to ensuring successful work-based learning experiences for all.

At the Delaware Office of Work-Based Learning, we are facilitators, cocreators, and ambassadors. We are building a strong, work-based learning infrastructure across the state so that our industries can thrive with a talented, homegrown workforce.

Our job is to make it easy for employers to engage in work-based learning... because the success of your future workforce depends on student preparation today. Please visit us at deowble.org— sign up for a webinar or reach out to our team. We’d love to help you get involved!

Bryan Horsey is the director of the Delaware Office of Work-Based Learning.