Tuesday, August 24, 2021
www.the-papers.com
Serving Elkhart County and parts of Noble, LaGrange & Marshall Counties
Know Your Neighbor. .2➤ Speak Out . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Good Neighbors . . . . . . . 4
Vol. 49 No. 20
Goshen (574) 534-2591
134 S. Main, Goshen, Indiana 46526
Careerwise Elkhart County offers exciting opportunities for high school students %\ /$85(1 =(8*1(5 $VVRFLDWH (GLWRU As students work their way through high school they are asked to consider their future after graduation. Do they see college in their future? Trade school? What do they want to do career-wise? Since 2019, Horizon Education Alliance has been offering an apprenticeship program, Careerwise Elkhart County, to assist high school juniors and seniors in finding some of the answers to those questions. To date 17 students have participated in the program. Four have completed the program in two years. Five students lost their apprenticeships due to COVID. According to Breanna Allen, director of student pathways, Horizon Education Alliance, the business’ the five students were working at shut down temporarily due to the pandemic and then were unable to come up with policies that would address the apprentices in this situation. Another seven businesses kept their apprentices, allowing them to work remotely or created policies to allow them to work in a safe manner during the pandemic. Currently there are 15 employers that partner with the Horizon Education Alliance for the Careerwise Elkhart County program. “We’re always, always looking to find new business partners,” Allen said. Pre-COVID, Allen said the supply and demand for apprentices was pretty equal, now employer demand for apprenticeships is higher “because they need the talent,” Allen said.
Careerwise Elkhart County offers students seven pathways to explore possible careers through an apprenticeship. Those pathways are: IT, health care, financial services, manufacturing, business operations, education and law. The program works with all seven public school districts in Elkhart County along with Bethany Christian Schools, Clinton Christian School and Elkhart Christian Academy. Students begin working with their high school guidance counselor in their freshmen and sophomore years of high school regarding what careers they may be interested in. If the Careerwise Elkhart County program seems to be a good fit, their counselor can direct them to careerpathways. org where they can register for an apprenticeship. Allen explained apprenticeships take place during the school day, so students need to provide their class schedule, a resume and do some interview preparation. While most students don’t have a resume, Allen explained students are counseled to think about the skills they have gained through their extracurriculars. “Employers can get an understanding of what they bring (to the apprenticeship),” she said. “We leverage technology extensively,” Allen said, explaining Careerwise uses technology to build connections between the business and the student. Careerwise staff then offer support to the apprenticeship mentor because they have to make sure the student is accomplishing the necessary competencies for the job.
6,*1,1* '$< ³ *UDKDP 1HHU VHFRQG IURP OHIW WKHQ D MXQLRU DW 1RUWKULGJH +LJK 6FKRRO KROGV D .HP .UHVW VKLUW DQG SRVHV IRU SKRWRV DIWHU VLJQLQJ KLV \RXWK DSSUHQWLFHVKLS DJUHHPHQW ZLWK .HP .UHVW LQ (ONKDUW RQ $XJ :LWK 1HHU DUH IURP OHIW 052 0DQDJHU 7UDYLV 0H\HU 7DOHQW 'HYHORSPHQW &RDFK 0HQD &DOOHQ DQG &RPPXQLFDWLRQV 0DQDJHU 0HJJDQ )LQN RI .HP .UHVW 3KRWR SURYLGHG E\ $QGUHZ +HU VKEHUJHU +RUL]RQ (GXFDWLRQ $OOLDQFH “Many of them may have had an intern or high school student over the summer. This is more intense,” Allen explained. “The goal is to develop the talent (in the student) and thinking upward mobility and what that looks like.” Allen stressed supervisors participating in the program just can’t let an apprentice shadow someone for the duration of the apprenticeship. They are expected to be given tasks to complete since the apprentices are considered employees and are being paid a salary. The goal is for the apprentice to show he or she has the talent to move up in the company while at the same time the company is providing the apprentice an opportunity to explore a career opportunity. An example of this is Graham Neer, who recently completed the program with an apprenticeship at Kem Krest. Neer recently graduated from Northridge High School
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and will be attending IU Bloomington’s Kelly School of Business to study supply chains. He will work at Kem Krest during school breaks and during the summer and after graduating, Kem Krest intends to have a position waiting for him. “The plan is not to interfere with college plans but to enhance it,” Allen explained. If a student finds an apprenticeship isn’t working for them, they can switch. “It’s not ideal because if they switch to a completely different apprenticeship, the competencies will differ, so there will be a lapse of time,” Al-
len said explaining the student would have to make up for some lost time. Apprentices in the Careerwise Elkhart County program are registered apprentices with the Department of Labor and receive a certificate of completion when they complete the apprenticeship. Businesses interested in participating with the Careerwise Elkhart County program can contact Allen at (574) 970-5820. Allen will set up a 30-40 minute appointment to see what the needs of the business are and if the program will work for them.
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