GGP: YOUTH INCUBATOR PROGRAM

GGP Youth Workforce Summer Incubator Program

This year’s program provided 18 students from seven area high schools with on-the-job training, with a chance to earn additional scholarship money by writing an essay about their experience. Over 20 host businesses across many industries are participating. Betsy Covington, GGP’s Director of Engagement, says that agriculture and manufacturing are the county’s main industries, but stresses that options are endless if you know where to look. “What we try to show the students is that every business has a variety of different careers available to them. There are so many opportunities in manufacturing, for example – there’s the production floor, but there’s also the human resources department, a marketing department, accounting, management, engineering; there’s so many different directions the students can go.” A quick scan of participating area businesses represent careers in social services, government, healthcare, food service, real estate, entertainment, and many more.

Admission is open to any student aged 16 or older, who is enrolled in a Geauga County school (public, private, or home-based) or is a resident of Geauga County, and can complete 120 hours of work-based learning. GGP aims to support students regardless of their pathway post high school graduation, which Glenn Bailey Jr, GGP’s Youth Workforce Coordinator, says is focused on what the program calls the four E’s:

Entrepreneurship (building a business), Enrollment (in further education), Enlistment (in the military), and Employment (and the compensation that comes with it). “A career path is not always set in stone - it can be fluid. What we think we’ll be doing when we first come out of high school is not necessarily where we will be for the rest of our life. Sometimes what is lost in those conversations is, what is it that you want to do, or how can we support you? It’s not just the idea of having a job to make money.”

When it comes to job training, Bailey stresses the importance of mentorship. “The difference between someone who’s your supervisor and someone who is a mentor, is really about the idea that in order to have a successful workforce development program, you have to see it as a learning environment, that there are opportunities for failure, but also a lot of opportunity for reflection as well. If you don’t give the students the opportunity to process and to reflect, then they’re truly not going to develop and grow in the way that we want them to.”

GGP is pro-Gen Z. The kids these days clearly bring a fresh perspective and tend to have an entrepreneurial spirit that transcends their first lemonade stand. “They’re always adaptable, they always try, they’re always willing, they learn pretty quickly, they come back,” Bailey says. “We’ve really been surprised at how some of the students have been able to really jump into projects and have that resolve, and eventually, that confidence to want to make an impact. It’s a generation that certainly wants to be more connected to the work that they’re doing, not just menial tasks. And when you give them that opportunity, they’re certainly going to shine. They’re going to surprise.”

Education changed drastically in 2020, and GGP is sensitive to the challenges that students have faced these last two years, including the loss of summer work. Bailey says that the team wanted to be purposeful about getting students to engage more after so much virtual and hybrid learning. “Just as organizations had to, young people had to adapt as well,’’ he says. “I think one of the bigger challenges was that the students had regressed a little bit in terms of communication. There was a lot of focus on the digital realm, so talking on phones and connecting with people, and being out in the workforce to practice some of those skills that normally would be developed in the school setting - they didn’t necessarily have those anymore. So, there’s been a

“Giving (the students) the confidence to be able to see themselves in this new environment and be successful.”

- Glenn Bailey Jr., GGP

WHO IS GGP?

Geauga Growth Partnership (GGP), a membership-based, economic development nonprofit, recognizes that no matter the size of your business, no one can do it alone. Since 2010, GGP has been helping area businesses problemsolve, strategize and network with peers and mentors for the betterment of the community. Perhaps none of the vital work GGP does is more impactful than preparing today’s youth and tomorrow’s young adults to enter the workforce, and supporting them in determining their career path, wherever it takes them. GGP fosters preparedness through a number of supplementary educational programs targeting students in grades 6-12, and plans to develop customized programs for K-5 classrooms in the future. The programs that are open to teens include career exploration open houses, workshops and coursework to prepare for interviews and presentations, and direct exposure to employers through the 8-week GGP Youth Workforce Summer Incubator Program (previously known as the GGP Summer Internship Program).

lot of retraining to build that mindset of seeing things through. It’s not that the students don’t have the capacity or the capability; it’s just giving them the confidence to be able to see themselves in this new environment and be successful.”

Hundreds of students have gone through GGP’s internship programs over the years, and there are too many success stories to count. Covington lists several examples of different positive outcomes: internships leading to graduates balancing college courses and part-time work; employees who continue their career with the same company for years; and science and tech-oriented young people now acting as innovators and leaders in their fields.

When asked how students make their way to the program, Covington says GGP works closely with student counselors. “Across all of the schools in Geauga county, the counselor is really the first person and the primary lead for the students; they’re tracking their graduation plans and really their progress throughout.” Parents can see promotions for all GGP’s youth programs through their child’s school or by reaching out directly. GGP is always looking for new partners to broaden student horizons. This year Key Bank provided financial wellness and literacy training, and the national personal development program, Telos, offered additional life coaching. “Ultimately, we want to give them the same experience that we’re going to give adults,” Bailey says.

Every successfully completed Incubator Program ends with a final celebration where students give a presentation about their experience. GGP invites host businesses, parents, family and community members, and gives the student the opportunity to reflect on what they’ve learned. This year program awarded two $500 Youth Workforce Scholarships, one to Ryan McGinnis and the other to Shannon Swinerton for winning the essay contest. Students wrote about what they learned from their work experiences–successes and challenges–and how it compared to their career interests and preconceived notions going in. Ultimately, it’s about how it changed them, or at least their perspective about their own potential. It’s called Geauga “Growth” for a reason.

For questions regarding GGP’s Youth Workforce Programs contact: Betsy Covington, Director of Engagement bcovington@geaugagrowth.com www.geaugagrowthpartnership.com