Chamber partners on county-wide work-based learning program

The Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce has partnered with the Career Technical Education (CTE) Foundation Sonoma County on an innovative new model to bring more relevance into today’s classrooms through work-based learning. This model connects educators with local industry partners for guest speakers, real-world work projects, site tours, job shadows, internships, and in-class programs that drive home the relevance of classroom learning.

Industry involvement is crucial to ensure the next generation is ready for the workforce after high school or college. The Chamber seeks to recruit local businesses to engage in the program and create student opportunities that are tied to Sonoma County’s key economic development sectors.

“Over the last several years, the attraction of talent has been the number one challenge for our local business community,” says Brandon Jewell, Director of Economic and Workforce Development. “Work-based learning offers business representatives the opportunity to showcase their company and industry as a desirable career option to students. This can be a two-fold win: promoting local careers and helping set students on a pathway to success.”

Businesses interested in participating are encouraged to contact Brandon Jewell at the Chamber: (707) 545-1118.

This county-wide work-based learning program is a collaboration between the Career Technical Education (CTE) Foundation Sonoma County and the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE). The model provides a county-wide coordinated system for linking educators and students with local businesses, and is being piloted as a model for other regions.

“We’re increasing ways in which students can apply and connect the things that they’re learning in school with the things that they will do in their future lives and careers,” states Stephen Jackson, Director of Career Technical Education at SCOE. “We want students to see a clear connection between their coursework and the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in a chosen career.”

The Chamber’s role in this work-based learning model is to help educators make strategic connections to industry based on the needs of the curriculum or class project. “Business leaders are very supportive of work-based learning programs,” states Kathy Goodacre, Executive Director for the CTE Foundation, “By providing opportunities for students to learn about their industry and potential careers, and the skills and training they need to get them, businesses get to brand their job offerings and generate excitement for their industry.”

Work-based learning has been nationally recognized as playing an important role in helping students explore career options and practice critical skills necessary for success in college and work life. In 2014, SCOE, as lead agency representing a six-county region, received a $15 million California Career Pathways Trust Grant to integrate education with career learning to better prepare students for college and employment in high-demand fields. Over 3,600 Sonoma County students have since engaged in internships, job shadowing, and industry-mentored projects due to the initiative.

“We have been building work-based learning components into our curriculums for a while now, and many teachers have done a wonderful job of reaching out to local contacts to develop opportunities,” Jackson says, “We realized that in order to scale up the model and fully integrate these industry engagement opportunities with the classroom experience, we needed a more streamlined approach.”

The goal of the new model is to transform the classroom experience by leveraging industry-sponsored projects, mentoring, and internships in such a way that core curriculum is directly applied to real work life situations. Educators are able to create a deeper, more authentic learning experience, and students will clearly understand the relevance of their coursework at the outset.

All K-12 students are targeted at some level for work-based learning, beginning in Elementary School with guest speakers from local business to foster career awareness, moving to Middle School where students will tour local businesses and practice project-based learning, and culminating in High School with opportunities to job shadow and participate in internships.

“Everyone wins,” Jackson says, “Students work harder and succeed in school at a higher rate because they see the relevancy between their coursework and future careers, educators are more engaged because they can clearly connect their teaching to real work situations, and industry benefits by getting a better trained local workforce.”