Engaging Employers

Students and teachers need opportunities to learn in a work environment the skills and knowledge required for today's fast-paced economy. School-to-Career partnerships and local schools need the active participation of employers to provide these work-based learning opportunities, along with support and input towards making curriculum more focused on the needs of local communities and economies. With this need often comes numerous demands on proactive Bay Area companies.

BaySCAN has successfully coordinated the connection between regional employers and local school-to-career partnerships and programs. This streamlined approach eliminates barriers to participation and better manages the process of engaging the employer and labor communities to significantly increase learning opportunities in the workplace and the community for students and teachers across the region.

Effective employer participation in school-to-career is no easy task. Sharing best practices and models of participation is crucial to establish the critical mass of employer partners needed to build a skilled future workforce. BaySCAN recently published Employer Best Practices in School-to-Career, a study of seventeen Bay Area employers that have effectively implemented and supported school-to-career in their organizations and in local schools. The profiles will help other employers understand the potential impact and benefits of participation, while providing local school-to-career partnerships with valuable models for engaging workplace partners in their efforts.

BaySCAN continues to foster the connections between employers and education in order to provide powerful learning for students and teachers and ensure a highly skilled workforce of tomorrow.

"Return on our investment comes in many forms: staff members build mentoring and teaching skills through working with interns, students produce real work and productivity for the company, and our training and recruitment costs are reduced."
Terry Kunysz, President,
Casady and Greene, Inc.
BaySCAN Employer Best Practice Report, 1999