Wayne County adding position to boost work-based learning
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The Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce is partnering with six school districts to create a position focused on expanding work-based learning opportunities.
The director of employer engagement will serve each of the county’s six school districts equally to help ensure that students in grades 9-12 have access to quality learning experiences with employers, the chamber said in a news release.
The position, a culmination of months of collaboration, regular meetings and strategic planning, aims to improve the latent pipeline for employers while meeting the needs of students following Indiana’s new diploma requirements, the release said.
The state revamped its high school diploma requirements last year to boost college enrollment among high school graduates but also give Hoosier students valuable work-ready skills should they pursue other options, Inside INdiana Business reported.
“When the state announced the changes for the high school diploma, I knew it was going to take a community to achieve the results we needed,” Centerville-Abington Superintendent Mike McCoy said in the release. “When I asked for the first meeting, I had no idea where it would take us. Working in collaboration with so many individuals and seeing true collaboration between the schools, I knew we had something special.”
In addition to Centerville-Abington Community Schools, the other districts involved are Nettle Creek Schools, Northeastern Schools, Richmond Community Schools, Seton Catholic Schools and Western Wayne Schools. The schools will contribute funding and resources.
“Our school districts are clearly passionate about preparing the future workforce of Wayne County,” chamber President and CEO Melissa Vance said in the release. “If we can assist by helping our employers stand up viable work-based learning opportunities to fill their talent pipeline, that is exactly what we should do. This is an exciting time for Wayne County to lead the way and provide a model for other communities across Indiana.”
The chamber did not provide a timeline for when they will select a candidate for the position.