Partner Perspectives on Workplace Learning and the Role of Launch NowAt Launch Now, we are passionate about connection, and we mean that in a multitude of ways—from linking students’ interests with opportunities to introducing schools to community partners. We are grateful to the collaborators who make these connections possible, and we look forward to serving them and many others as our platform grows. In this three-part series, we highlight a few of those individuals and organizations who understand the value of workplace learning and who have been supporting our mission since the beginning. Resolving the disconnect between interests and opportunitie Melorah Bisaillon is a school counselor at Epping Middle and High School with more than 20 years of experience working with students. And she is well aware of the disconnect between students who are interested in exploring opportunities within the community and businesses who are likewise interested in linking with youth. “Despite interest on both sides, there simply was no way to bridge that gap without knocking on doors myself,” she explains. Melorah has played a role in the creation of the Launch Now platform and continues to be an important part of the conversation. “It was clear that a tool was needed to facilitate those connections.” Melorah shared the story of a student who was interested in becoming an architect. She really wanted to do an internship, or job shadow for a week. So, my response to that was to Google architects in the area. Then I had to cold call. While in some schools there are counselors who are entirely dedicated to extended learning, in my role this is just one of many responsibilities. Launch Now can significantly minimize the time spent searching for willing individuals and partners.” Melorah is clear that Launch Now is not intended to replace the one-to-one conversations she has with students about their interests or learning plans. The platform can, however, reduce her administrative burden as well as provide students with helpful interest profiles and the ability to preview the opportunities available in the community.
“Once a student has completed their interest profile, we will have a discussion so I can answer their questions, talk to the potential employer, and help craft a plan, such as a month-long internship three days a week after school, etc. From there, I can literally click the button to put the student and the employer in direct communication.” Because students can earn credits for their work, Melorah will continue to oversee their progress and monitor the engagement overall, to ensure that it continues to be a good fit and that students meet their milestones. Melorah is passionate about the value these workplace learning opportunities can provide, both to students and to community partners. “It’s important for kids to discover what they like and don’t like before paying thousands of dollars on a degree,” she says. “What is also so gratifying for us and for students is the real-world applicability of what they are learning in the classroom. They may have never understood before why or when they would need algebra, for example, and then suddenly it clicks for them. When students experience something that sparks an interest in them, it adds real life value to what they do here in school and gives their academic life more meaning. It also gives them a window into life after their diploma, too. If sitting in class and doing homework is not their thing, now they see a purpose.” For employers, there are also many benefits to these engagements, none the least of which is gaining insight into their future workforce, explains Melorah. “They may not regularly be speaking to 16- and 17-year-olds, and it’s so valuable to see what they are like and hear what they are thinking about.” Melorah greatly appreciates the Launch Now vision and believes it can resolve a disconnect she has seen for many years. “This is one way we can help students get more from this time in their life and be more successful in the future.”
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Partner Perspectives on Workplace Learning and the Role of Launch NowAt Launch Now, we are passionate about connection, and we mean that in a multitude of ways—from linking students’ interests with opportunities to introducing schools to community partners. We are grateful to the collaborators who make these connections possible, and we look forward to serving them and many others as our platform grows. In this three-part series, we highlight a few of those individuals and organizations who understand the value of workplace learning and who have been supporting our mission since the beginning. Shining a Light on Job ShadowingChinburg Properties is a premier development, construction, and property management firm that has grown from a small family business to the largest builder of homes in the Seacoast region. Chinburg’s interest in Launch Now is driven in part by their desire to reach out to high schools and connect with potential talent as their team continues to expand. “As a business that depends in great part on the trades, it’s important for us to generate interest in these types of jobs among the younger generations,” says Emilie MacDonald, Chinburg’s talent development coordinator. This year Emilie helped to create an official shadowing program, inspired by her own shadowing experience at the firm. “One of the benefits of our company is that we do so many different things, across so many fields,” Emilie explains. “Our goal is for students to experience as many different parts of the business as possible and get interested in one of them—or none of them! Many of wish we had the opportunity to rule careers in or out at an early age.” Chinburg’s human resources manager Michelle Glidden shares Emilie’s excitement for the shadowing program and for the role Launch Now will play in this effort.
“Launch Now will be enormously helpful in initiating and maintaining connections with area schools,” says Michelle. “The platform eliminates cumbersome processes and administrative requirements, which are typically a ton of work. This means we can reach far more high school students than we could on our own.” Emilie and Michelle each have their own stories of job exploration and understand firsthand how careers are as much a journey as a destination. Michelle worked in the passport center at the U.S. Department of State in New Hampshire before returning to school to study accounting, eventually joining Chinburg in an accounting role. Having grown up in a mill building that was renovated by Chinburg, Michelle was already familiar with the company and experienced firsthand how they made her community of Newmarket a better place to live. Michelle loved accounting but eventually missed the interpersonal aspects of a more communication-driven role. So, when a human resources position opened at the firm, Chinburg supported her change of hats. After she graduated college, Emilie has what she describes as a wild journey that included teaching second grade in a charter school in DC. The COVID-19 pandemic eventually brought her back to New Hampshire, where she jumped at the opportunity to shadow several roles at Chinburg. She fell in love with the company and quickly applied for a role as an assistant project manager for the residential team. She served in this position for a year and a half before helping to craft a new role focused on talent development during a time of tremendous growth for the company. As an example of her work, Emilie led the creation of a seven-week course to help field staff understand how to read construction plans. “Experts in the company led the course, and the participants were eager to learn,” said Emilie. “We received some excellent feedback, and the desire for more was clearly there.” Michelle adds that the company culture at Chinburg is what makes much of this possible. Leadership encourages and supports professional development at all levels. “This family run company was founded more than 30 years ago, and what started as a three-person firm has grown to a team of 145 people,” explains Michelle. “But despite that growth, the company continues to be warm and welcoming and supportive. Everyone is passionate about the variety of projects they get to work on. And I think we are all grateful to have the opportunity to work with such uniquely talented people.” After a successful trial run with a handful of high school students this past year, the Chinburg team is very optimistic for the launch of their formal job shadowing program in the coming months and eager to leverage Launch Now in that effort. How work-based learning for youth supports equity—and paves the way for greater opportunity10/7/2022 The path from the K-12 educational system to a good job is an obstacle course for many young people. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that neither secondary nor postsecondary systems have a clear interface with the world of work. Young people are not only unsure of their own passions and abilities, but they are also underexposed to the types of careers available to them. Moreover, there are few shared benchmarks outlining the skills required for different occupations … or how to obtain them.
At Launch Now, we believe children “can’t be what they can’t see.” We also know that this especially holds true for minorities, who are underrepresented in most industries in part due to lack of exposure. This lack of exposure to what is possible is more than a missed opportunity—it perpetuates a cycle that significantly hinders the economic mobility of millions of people and prevents them from becoming part of the pipeline of skilled workers employers seek. Work-based learning can help Work-based learning, or WBL, refers to activities in a work setting—whether paid or unpaid—that equip youth and young adults with firsthand work experience. This includes meaningful introductions to workers, job duties, and workplaces and authentic engagement with the tasks required in a given field. Such programs offer opportunities to learn occupational and employability skills in ways that are difficult to achieve in the classroom alone. And when introduced as early as 6th grade, we believe high quality work-based learning has the potential to unlock entirely new trajectories for youth who might otherwise be limited by a labor market stratified by race and educational attainment. What makes work-based learning work Communities and the educational system share a responsibility to create more robust pathways into the labor market. A report by the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution explores the ways in which work-based learning can play a role in this effort, promoting equity and economic opportunity by way of:
Reimagining the pathway from school to work There is no single straight line to a meaningful career. And without exposure to the opportunities that exist, that path is harder to find. Long before they search for their first job, learners need time to discover possible careers, consider which of those careers might be a good fit, and develop the skills and social capital that will help them navigate their careers as they enter and progress through adulthood. We need to reimagine the school-to-work transition so that it does not systematically leave millions of young adults behind. Rich in relationships and meaningful experience, work-based learning opportunities can be a lever for greater economic opportunity. At Launch Now, we believe in the power of work-based learning to advance equity and economic opportunity for young people, particularly when introduced as soon as 6th grade. This early intervention can help children see what’s possible and continue to imagine those possibilities as they learn more about their own interests and abilities over time. Ask us how we make it easy for schools to connect students to opportunities and enable companies to compete in the marketplace of the future. |