Learning resilience through career development

Summer break is over, and class is back in session! This week on Good Day Clermont!, Traci Rea & Darrell Edwards of the Clermont Educational Service Center talk about how they are building career programs to help students succeed after graduation. The episode highlights new and upcoming opportunities for students of all ages in districts across the county.

Education has excelled in Clermont County for years. College-prep courses have been available to students in every school district. But as the academic culture modernizes and changes in the labor market become unavoidable, Clermont Educational Service Center has begun to rethink its approach to career readiness.

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“We’ve done an outstanding job in education in our county, in teaching kids how to read, write, math… we were really venturing out and understanding that there was another piece of education,” Edwards told Good Day Clermont!

The origins of the Work-Based Learning Program date back about three years. Rea and Edwards noticed the growing student desire to pursue jobs earlier in their academic careers. The two traveled to different school districts to ask what resources teachers and students needed, how the Service Center could help, and to identify “voids” that existed in the current educational process.

Traci Rea and Darrell Edwards

Organizing faculty and industry partners was a major undertaking in the early phases of the Work-Based Learning Program. Before its implementation, schools worked in silos. Now, organizers hold regular monthly meetings with school district representatives to help teens prepare for their future.

Two notable programs that emerged from this initiative include the JumpStart Academy and the Content Creator Academy.

JumpStart is a 15-week IT learning experience. Students meet for 2 hours every Wednesday for applicable studies, site visits to active businesses, and credential testing. Graduating students earn a Career Apprenticeship Certificate that signals several hours of preparatory work experience.

The Content Creators Academy.

Connect Clermont founded the Content Creators Academy two years ago, supported by Community Partners like Nestle Purina, Park National Bank, and the Duke Energy Foundation. The program introduces high schoolers to a wide range of media fields, including marketing, journalism, public communication, and more.

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Guest speakers have been instrumental to the success of these programs. Students learn firsthand from people who work and innovate in their fields of interest. They also have the opportunity to ask questions and gain valuable, soft-leadership skills to take forward after graduation.

“One of the number one keys for a student's success is networking,” Rea said.

Meeting professionals from different industries allows many seniors to build meaningful connections to pursue employment and internship opportunities. However, Rea said that networking also allows students to learn from the experiences of those who came before them. In many cases, professionals in one industry started in another, and seeing that career pivot can ease the anxiety some students have if they are not yet sure what they want to do after high school.

Organizing at the Clermont Educational Service Center.

In her words, resilience is one of the most important skills a high schooler can learn before their graduation. The 21st century labor market can be as fluid as water, particularly impacted by economic conditions and the speed at which technology changes every industry. Students who understand that their path may change in high school, college, or post-grad can prepare them for the challenges they may face when starting their careers.

Rea also emphasizes the importance of expanding similar opportunities for younger students. “It's important to talk to a third grader about what they like, what they are good at, and what they are not good at,” she said. These conversations help prepare youth to pursue their interests without feeling railroaded down a single path throughout their academic careers.

Edwards praised his colleagues and the faculty for the achievements they’ve observed over the last few years. “Every student that I’ve seen in the other programs, or in ours, have been very complimentary about having the opportunity to experience this,” He hopes that the Work-Based Learning Program receives additional participation from small businesses in and around Clermont County in coming years.

Willing partners would help expand the mission for every school involved in the initiative. While the existing model provides opportunities for students who want to pursue specific roles in manufacturing, media, and healthcare, Rea and Edwards hope to expand the program to include 40 or more options.

Learn more about work readiness opportunities in Clermont County.